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Germaphobia is in full swing. News reports of nasty microorganisms lurking on remote controls, doorknobs, and in public restrooms have many of us reaching for hand sanitizer. Sure, those tales are unappetizing, but chew on this: The real germs you need to worry about and avoid -- the new-breed, potentially lethal ones -- are hiding out in your grocery store's meat aisle. So what's the deal? Is meat healthy? Is it even safe?

Take these disturbing meat industry facts into account and learn to make wiser choices when you're food shopping...

Fact: American animals raised for meat eat more than 30 million pounds of antibiotics a year. Most supermarket meat today comes from operations that routinely feed animals low doses of antibiotics. This constant contact with drugs helps bacteria learn how to outsmart the meds, creating dangerous strains of hard-to-kill superbugs.

Shopping tip: Instead of tossing supermarket meat into your cart every shopping trip, plan some meatless meals that include organic dried beans or these vegetarian protein sources. When you do eat meat, be sure to practice proper food-safety measures, no matter how the meat was produced.

Fact: Each year, food animals raised in North Carolina alone ingest more antibiotics than the entire American public. About 80 percent of all antibiotics used in the U.S. go to nonorganic farm animals to help speed livestock growth and counteract filthy, stressful housing situations that debilitate the animals' immune systems. The lack of accountability for the meds in industrial farming might surprise you. While people head to the doctor for a professional evaluation and prescription, anyone can walk into a farm store and buy pounds of antibiotics. The Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act, or PAMTA, a proposed legislation in Congress, would end the dangerous practice of feeding drugs to healthy animals, saving the medicines for when an animal is actually acutely ill and needs them.

Shopping tip: The organic seal ensures that animals were raised without the use of antibiotics or growth hormones, so go that route if you're trying to avoid drugged meat. Animal Welfare Approved and Certified Humane certification programs only allow giving antibiotics when an animal is actually sick.

Fact: MRSA kills more people than AIDS, and it's in your meat. Forcing animals to eat drugs is creating a silent crisis in the U.S. A 2011 study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases took the gross-out factor to a whole new level. Researchers found that half of the U.S. supermarket meat sampled contained staph infection bacteria, including the hard-to-kill and potentially lethal MRSA. Turkey products were most likely to harbor staph bacteria, followed by pork and chicken products.

Shopping tip: Since contamination can occur in large processing plants, too, check LocalHarvest.org to find antibiotic-free meat from local farmers in your area who either slaughter on farm or use smaller processors. (The less meat gets mingled at a processor, the lower the risk of contamination.)

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I cook my meat properly before cooking and I've only had one stomach problem caused by meat in my entire life, and that only happened when someone else cooked me a meal and it wasn't done properly. As with all things all you need is a bit of common sense, and to arm yourself with knowledge so you know which meat is processed naturally and which is not.

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This is in the wrong forum, needs to be in the Conspiracy forum

 

Especially since they've been saying the same BS for close to a decade and yet none of the dire forecasts have happened, this is up there with man made global warming on the BS meter

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Wrong - the breeding of antibiotic resistant bacteria in this way is very real, and also results from them being overprescribed in humans. This is why organisms that formerly could be treated with standard therapies now need front lne antibiotics originally conceived for countering bacteriological warfare.

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 I now buy most of my meat from Mennonites,  so it is all natural raised.   It is ABSOLUTELY AWESOME.   I mean, I finally found out that chicken can taste so food, and thier steaks need not to be seasoned with anything else other then salt!!!!!    The taste of meat is great..      So, for health reasons and definately for the taste too,  I pick such meats.    And if I am willing to drive for 3 hours, I can get it at the same price as average crap meat from supermarket.

 

So I buy in bulk, and freeze, and defrost as I need.   Still tastes amazing!  I would not like to buy any other meat ever now.

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This is in the wrong forum, needs to be in the Conspiracy forum

 

Especially since they've been saying the same BS for close to a decade and yet none of the dire forecasts have happened, this is up there with man made global warming on the BS meter

 

 

anti biotic resistant germs have become more and more coming in the last decade as well, its not an overnight thing.

 

luckily I don't live in America so I'm not as affected, unfortunately the American disregard for this doesn't affect only them, resistant bacteria doesn't know borders, especially not with modern high speed travel. 

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Here's a fun fact: The human body has 10 times as many bacteria cells as it does human cells.

 

 

And not all bacteria are bad for you, but necessary for overall health. ;)

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When you do eat meat, be sure to practice proper food-safety measures, no matter how the meat was produced

 

Which includes (but obviously not limited to) washing and drying hands thoroughly before and after handling uncooked meat, as well as not letting uncooked meat touch any surface without sanitising it straight afterwards.

 

Pretty much case closed on this whole thread. Awesome.

 

"Super-bugs" (a superfluous term which makes me laugh) that are evolving to dodge our antibiotics is a common issue that effects us as much as the cows we eat. This isn't to say it's a non-issue, but to say all of a sudden it's a call to not eat all supermarket meat from now on is a molehill issue on the same level as the horse meat scandal in the UK - that is to say, an overzealous media frenzy (or a wag the dog scenario ;))

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Here's a fun fact: The human body has 10 times as many bacteria cells as it does human cells.

 

Yeah, and most of them are either neutal or actually helpful for your healths (like gun bacteria in healthy people)   

 

The reason taking antibiotics is bad (and I am sure it is just as bad for animals) is that they kill a LOT of good bacteria as well.

That is the reason why you should avoid prolonged antibiotics use!

 

 

 

Btw, I have fixes myself from many infections by taking large does of Aged Garlic Extract or allicin extract  (the only froms or garlic supplements that work)

 No harm, and it only kills bad bacteria.  Nature always has better solutions.  I would only take regular antibiotics when there is a serious risk (like i blood infection)   

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PS.    If you feel you are eating something that is potentially contominated,  not fresh...    eat a lot of garlic with it (or extracts to get large dose)
 

 

Or just drink a few shots of straight VODKA with it.   It really works wonders to disinfect all that nasty bacteria, and it is also fun!   Just make sure you do straight shots with food! no mixed drinks!   Saved my ass a lot of times in traveling, when i had to eat out of date or non refrigerated foods!

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Yeah, and most of them are either neutal or actually helpful for your healths (like gun bacteria in healthy people)   

 

The reason taking antibiotics is bad (and I am sure it is just as bad for animals) is that they kill a LOT of good bacteria as well.

That is the reason why you should avoid prolonged antibiotics use!

Well, that was partly the reason why I posted that fact. We shouldn't be so paranoid about bacteria. Bacteria are part of us.

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Well, that was partly the reason why I posted that fact. We shouldn't be so paranoid about bacteria. Bacteria are part of us.

 

The article is mostly about antibiotics in the meat and anti biotic resistant bacteria on the rise though. not your natural bacterial culture. 

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