Largest Beef Recall, Ever. Now, Real Change?

Huffington Post | Posted February 21, 2008 | 03:50 PM (EST)

Maybe you're one of the more than 200,000 people who have seen this disturbing video revealing the animal cruelty caught on tape by a Humane Society investigation at a California slaughterhouse. (I, personally, couldn't stomach to watch it).

Whether you saw the video or not, you most certainly have heard the response: Prompted by public outcry, the company that processed meat from this slaughterhouse issued the largest beef recall in U.S. history even though -- oops -- much of the 143 million pounds recalled has already been eaten, including possibly by children in school lunches.

The animal cruelty was disturbing enough, what it revealed about possible threats to human health adds even more reason to be wary of the burger....[read more]

Pass the Arsenic, Please

A new article in Chemical & Engineering news, reports on Roxarsone, an arsenic-based additive used in chicken feed. The most common arsenic-based additive used in chicken feed, scientists are worried its use could pose health risks to humans. (Why is it used at all? It's used to promote growth, kill parasites and improve the color of chicken meat). Though it's normally benign, concern has been growing that under certain conditions it can convert into more toxic forms of inorganic arsenic. Because of these concerns, a number of food suppliers have stopped using roxarsone, but still estimates approximate that 70 percent of the 9 billion broiler chickens produced annually in the United States are fed roxarsone. Yum. Read the article here: Chemical & Engineering News, Vol. 85, No. 15, April 9, 2007: 34-35 (Free Full-Text Article) Science Daily April 10, 2007