"Don't drink the water and don't breathe the air." [Menu Foods Recall]

[asterroc]

Not only have 50 thousand pigs destined for human consumption been fed melamine-tainted feed, but I missed the announcement that 20 million poultry had, and now they're saying an unknown number of fish at fish farms and used to stock bodies of water, top it all off. The pork has been tested for melamine contamination but there are no results, the poultry have tested negative (i.e., comparatively safe to eat), and the fish are a new development so they're just looking into it. I have not heard any news against beef or lamb.

Authorities are claiming a "dilution factor" would result in humans consuming less melamine (presumably by weight of the consumer) than the dead cats and dogs did. However it's worth pointing out that being at the top of the food chain has its own drawbacks, as it is easier to end up with a high concentration of chemicals in the body, as in the case of bald eagle eggshells and DDT.

If you're a meateater (like me), keep your eyes peeled about this, and consider different sources of food. Anybody know how long it'll take to get these tainted meat products out of the human food system?

Comments

[sammka.livejournal.com]

The DDT issue only shows up in chemicals that don't metabolize at all and are stored in fat, muscle, or other parts that people eat. I don't think that melamine does, unless you're planning on eating animal kidneys.

[l0stmyrel1g10n.livejournal.com]

wow, i'm suddenly really glad i turned vegetarian when i did...

[l0stmyrel1g10n.livejournal.com]

also, is the post title a lyric from that Tom Lehrer song about pollution, or is that just coincidence?

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

It's definitely from a song about pollution. I wasn't aware of the original composer of the song until you mentioned it - I knew it from a cover by an acapella group from I think Yale.

[sammka.livejournal.com]

even so you might not want to eat that many wheat gluten products. I would be more worried about those than the meat. Some of the tainted wheat gluten had been labeled "human grade" so it very well might have gotten into our food supply.

Luckily, tofu still seems to be ok!

[galbinus-caeli.livejournal.com]

What about the Tofutebeasts? Is it still save to eat their pale cube shaped flesh?