Foods dirty little secret
Dear God, “please help me” as you lay there praying in the hospital bed begging for the agony to stop. The slightest twitch brings pain that feels like a jagged hook has been thrust into your abdomen. The pain squeezes and rips your insides out as your head feels like it is being twisted in a vise. This is when you start asking, “was it something I ate?” The realization of just how dangerous our food is became a reality to one mother whose four years old child died of E. coli O157:H7 poisoning. His name was Alex; he died because contaminated cattle feces lurked in the hamburger he ate. The meat industry and the USDA betrayed this family and someone died because of it (Donley 1999). It is unsuccessful governmental regulations and corporate greed that allows food to be contaminated and lets the consumer pick-up the tab, in the way of our health. It is important to educate ourselves and others on proper food handing and how to prevent foodborne illness. Foodborne illness comes from biological and chemical hazards that can be prevented by antibiotic free meat, organic food and establishing good habits when handling and preparing food.
Foodborne illness starts from biological contamination such as organisms and pathogens. Our current problems with food safety are defiantly not something new, but compared to ten years ago it has changed (Nestle, 2010). As our food has become more dangerous from field to fork, the producers have resisted the attempts to enforce safer standards and methods of food safety. This puts more consumers at risk of contracting a foodborne illness. With the Government more concerned about filling their pockets, America is feeling the wrath with un-healthy antibiotic resistant food that has the potential to kill. Donya Currie, a health specialist pointed out, “the risk for foodborne illness is just one part of the