After reading "Bird Flu: A Virus of Our Own Hatching", by
Michael Greger, M.D., I was stunned to realize the extent to
which we have endangered our health by allowing factory farms to
flourish and produce 99% of the meat, dairy, and eggs we eat.
Not only are dangerous flu viruses mutating because of these
concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO's), but we are also
being exposed to some other very serious bacteria and pathogens.
It seems that things have gotten out of hand in our food
production, especially in the livestock sector. In my last blog,
Dr. Greger explained the growing potential of deadly flu
viruses; in Part 2 of the interview, we discuss E. coli,
Salmonella and other worrisome pathogens.
Kathy Freston: Where does E. coli come from and how does it get
into food? Why is it often found on vegetables?
Michael Greger: E. coli is an intestinal pathogen. It only gets
in the food if fecal matter gets in the food. Since plants don't
have intestines, all E. coli infections--in fact all food
poisoning--comes from animals. When's the last time you heard of
anyone getting Dutch elm disease or a really bad case of aphids?
People don't get plant diseases; they get animal diseases. The
problem is that because of the number of animals raised today, a
billion tons of manure are produced every year in the United
States--the weight of 10,000 Nimitz-class aircraft carriers.
Dairy cow and pig factories often dump millions of gallons of
putrefying waste into massive open-air cesspits, which can leak
and contaminate water used to irrigate our crops. That's how a
deadly fecal pathogen like E. coli O157:H7 can end up
contaminating our spinach. So regardless of what we eat, we all
need to fight against the expansion of factory farming in our
communities, our nation, and around the world.
KF: What percentage of the population gets hit by the bacteria?
How many of them die? Could that likely increase?
MG: While E. coli O157:H7 remains the leading cause of acute
kidney failure in U.S. children, fewer than 100,000 Americans
get infected every year, and fewer than 100 die. But millions
get infected with other types of E. coli that can cause urinary
tract infections (UTIs) that can invade the bloodstream and
cause an estimated 36,000 deaths annually in the United States.
KF: It seems we only occasionally hear of the very few terrible
cases where E. coli kills; is it really a widespread problem?
MG: When medical researchers at the University of Minnesota took
more than 1,000 food samples from multiple retail markets, they
found evidence of fecal contamination in 69% of the pork and
beef and 92% of the poultry samples. Nine out of ten chicken
carcasses in the store may be contaminated with fecal matter.
And half of the poultry samples were contaminated with the UTI-causing
E. coli bacteria.
Scientists now suspect that by eating chicken, women infect
their lower intestinal tract with these meat-borne bacteria,
which can then creep up into their bladder. Hygiene measures to
prevent UTIs have traditionally included wiping from front to
back after bowel movements and urinating after intercourse to
flush out any invaders, but now women can add poultry avoidance
as a way to help prevent urinary tract infections.
KF: Are there any long term problems for people who ingest E.
coli and have a bad day or two with diarrhea, or is the problem
over once out of the system?
MG: Last month the Center for Foodborne Illness Research &
Prevention released a report on the long-term consequences of
common causes of food poisoning. Life-long complications of E.
coli O157:H7 infection include end-stage kidney disease,
permanent brain damage, and insulin-dependent diabetes.