Chapter 21. Chapter 21: Agriculture: Raising Livestock

What food safety issues are associated with meat products...?

Why You Should Care

In the United States, beef is what's served for dinner—and lunch. Maybe not for breakfast, but that's likely still to have pork and eggs. According to the USDA, the United States is the world's largest consumer (both total and per capita) of beef and chicken and the third largest consumer of pork. Why is this a cause for concern? The current production methods of meat products in North America are a serious threat to human health, the environment, and our ability to produce food in the future.

Air pollution flows wherever there is atmosphere, so where it is produced and the areas it impacts downwind can be separated by continents. It truly has a global impact because the global wind patterns spread out the pollutants wherever the wind blows. Areas closer to the source will have higher levels and those effects are more acute, but even at the North Pole, where there are no humans or human activities, there is measurable air pollution.

Meat puts consumers at risk through infectious disease (and several diseases related to diet). The threat of infectious disease comes from the unsanitary, factory-like conditions of modern food animals. Cattle, pigs, and chickens are raised for at least part of their lives in high-density feedlots that create environmentally hazardous amounts of manure (that can eutrophy surface water and taint ground water). That, coupled with the animals' immune systems being compromised by their stressful environment, makes treating animals with antibiotics almost essential to keep them alive until they reach their target weight. The manure in these facilities contains bacteria, some of which are normal inhabitants of the gut and harmless, but also some that can become harmful if ingested (certain strains of E. coli), and others that are always pathogenic (Salmonella, for example). It is easy for meat to be contaminated with these bacteria as it is processed in packing facilities. To compound this problem, the rampant use of antibiotics makes it likely that the bacteria will be resistant. There is also a risk of infection from crops fertilized with feedlot manure.

Currently, meat production in the United States is based on corn agriculture and high-density operations. Modern corn production uses unsustainable amounts of water, fossil fuels, and fossil fuel–based fertilizers and pesticides. Moreover, corn is human food, not typically eaten by cows and not particularly healthy for them, which leads to more antibiotic use. Corn-fed beef is also fattier and less healthy for humans to eat. It is healthier to feed cows grass, which also doesn’t require using land to produce food for cows instead of human food.

Because of the resource use and environmental degradation caused by modern meat production, the potential is high for the current meat-centered diet in the United States to eventually lead to the permanent degradation of agricultural land. You as a consumer can help reverse the problem by eating less meat and eating meat that is free-range, grass-fed, or organically grown. Buying a community-supported agriculture (CSA) share in a local farm will provide you with local, environmentally conscious, and tastier meat year round. By voting with your wallet, you allow smaller operations of sustainable meat producers to gain a larger share of the market. Eventually, if enough consumers demand it, large companies may follow their lead.

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