Federal food foul-up sickens hundreds

When my dad needed to teach us a lesson, he made sure it stayed learned. If he caught you smoking a cigarette, you'd better believe you were headed to a nearby closet to finish the pack -- and by the time you left, you never wanted to LOOK at tobacco again.

That's because sometimes, to make a point, you need to be extreme. And right now I need to make a point that could save your life -- but I'm going to have to be a little extreme to do it.

By now you've heard that ANOTHER salmonella outbreak has sickened hundreds of people who made the terrible decision to put their trust in Uncle Sam and Big Food. And once you hear the REAL story behind this outbreak, you may never touch mass-processed supermarket chicken again.

Because the question isn't how this outbreak happened in the first place -- it's how these outbreaks don't happen more frequently.

You see, the chicken company at the center of the outbreak, Foster Farms, isn't exactly new to the filthy food scene. Consumer Reports once rated Foster Farms as having the second dirtiest, disease-covered chicken they studied.

And, really, it's no wonder if you've ever seen how the poultry industry raises and processes chickens. Imagine 10,000 birds stuffed wing to wing in a rusting shed, doing nothing all day but eating and defecating. These birds are loaded up with antibiotics and every other Big Pharma med you can imagine just to keep them alive long enough to slaughter -- but even then, many of them don't make it.

The conditions are so unhealthy that many chickens die of HEART ATTACKS before they even make it to the chopping block! The ones that do survive are rushed through a lightning speed processing line where they're stuffed into packaging that practically BEGS you to wash and cook the dirty birds thoroughly.

And if you think Uncle Sam is protecting you from this putrid poultry, think again. In the weeks before the outbreak, the USDA inspected a Foster Farms plant and warned the company that it was covered in enough chicken crap to fertilize a farm. But our government STILL didn't have the cojones to shut Foster Farms down.

You've heard of "let them eat cake," well our government's motto ought to be, "Let them eat crap." And this isn't the exception, friend -- it's the rule.

Uncle Sam and Big Food are cozier than two fat guys in a sleeping bag, and neither one gives a damn if you or your loved ones get sick. But we do. That's why I tell you to always buy organic meat locally from a farmer that will look you in the eye -- and won't be embarrassed to show you how his animals live.

It's the Wild West out there, and the sheriff's asleep on the job. Your best weapon is a little knowledge -- and a whole lot of trust in yourself.

Yours in good health,

Bob Reagan

Sources:
Poultry plants linked to outbreak won't be closed: (yahoo.com)