Cheap Meat Has a Hefty Price Tag

Author:
         Dave WardI          

Email:                    [e-mail]                                        

Date:
                    07/9/2014

Cheap
Processed Meat Comes with a Hefty Price tag

There
has been a significant amount of attention recently pertaining to
some of the controversial techniques adopted in modern meat
processing; aside from the outrage regarding the inhumane  conditions
imposed  unnecessarily on the animals there is also serious concern
about the possible health risks it brings to humans.

         Case in
point, when British chef Jamie Oliver won his case against the
McDonalds Corporation by exposing their controversial technique of
treating scrap meat with ammonia to render it suitable for human
consumption (Oliver, 2012), the McDonalds Corporation was forced to
take a public stance, informing the consumer they were phasing out
this process. Despite this victory it was later exposed in an ABC
news report that this technique was also being used ito process 70%
of US supermarket ground beef products (Avila 2012).  Other recent
scandals include  contaminated meat products tainted with horse meat
in Europe (Guard, 2013).

However,
according to a report by the World Cancer Research Fund
(Mecola, 2011) the gravest danger lies in other types of processed
meat products like spam, corned beef, ham, bacon, hot dogs and
certain other  types of sausages. After reviewing more than 7000
clinical studies the report concluded "There is strong evidence
that ... processed meats are causes of bowel cancer, and that there
is no amount of processed meat that can be confidently shown not to
increase risk..."

So what
is it that makes these processed meats so deadly?  According to Dr
Mecola it is the addition of nitrates which pose the biggest risk.
Nitrates added to processed meats are frequently converted into
nitrosamines 'which
have been found to be strongly connected to certain types of cancers.
Processed meats are also frequently cooked at high temperatures which
can cause the formation of as many as 20 different types of
heterocyclic amines (HCA).  Dr Mecola says that cooking at high
temperatures has also been shown to increase the number of
nitrosamines, he therefore recommends the avoidance of charring your
meat on the BBQ grill.

In light
of all this hard to ignore evidence, how is it that the public
remains so perfunctory? The answer lies in the attraction of today's
indisputably low cost meat prices; in an interview with the PBS
program" Frontline"  Patrick Boyle CEO of the "American
Meat Institute" (Boyle,2002) is quoted as saying "Meat is
a relative bargain today compared to what it was 10-20 years ago".
This was Boyles response to a comment the interviewer made about
a statistic he had read that stated "The price of beef was
roughly half of what it was back in 1970".  As with most other
economic benefits, human nature dictates cost to be a dominant
factor, thus forcing other elements of the equation lower down on the
list of priorities in any decision making process..

This is
unfortunate; but in society we are conditioned to focus on the short
term benefits rather than consider long term values.  A recent CNN
report predicts there will be a 57% rise in cancer cases worldwide
over the next 20 years (Hume, et al, 2014), the report advocates more
commitment to preventive measures and early detection.  For
prevention to be effective the report addresses the need for
lifestyle changes in the areas of smoking, alcohol consumption, diet
and exercise.  Of the four activities listed above diet is the only
one that affects every human on the planet. after all you can live
without alcohol, tobacco and even exercise, but food is a
nonnegotiable to sustaining life.  Furthermore, through campaign
advertising the public has been made much more aware of the dangers
pertaining to cigarettes and alcohol; even though many are in denial
regarding the consequences of engaging in such recreational
activities.

On the
other hand, consumers have to rely on governments to ensure their
food is kept safe through regulatory agencies like the "Food and
Drugs Administration" (FDA). The shameful truth however is that
all too often integrity loses out to the almighty power of the
dollar, and food production is no exception. Thus the predicted
global surge in cancer cases will never be avoided or markedly
reduced  without a call to change in attitudes. If we are to defeat
the cash rich lobbyists (those who block every bill that threatens
their profit margins), there needs to be a public outcry; which will
only come about through educating the masses. Yet this alone of
itself will not be a sufficient action; in addition we need more
research into finding alternative safer ways of processing meat; that
can also sustain a global economy. 

Organic
meat production has been criticized for being uneconomically viable.
But is this just rhetoric from the mass meat producers, those who are
reluctant to diverge from taking shortcuts in the name of easy profit
margin increases? A  group of British scientists believe that organic
farming methods are more than capable of producing quantities of food
that would be sufficient to sustain large populations, stating that
"The lower quantity yields can be offset by the savings in
chemical additives, fertilizers and machinery" (Podger, 1999).

A
successful change will require a cooperative team effort from  all of
the participating bodies of society  Every player in the game needs
to first understand how their own interests will benefit them long
term, because unless everyone is a winner embracing safer ways to
produce our food will never happen.

Corporations have an opportunity to revise their business models and
adapt to safer practices of food production, while governments need
to enforce transparency and honesty regarding  content labelling by
food companies.  In return both entities will enjoy a higher level of
trust and confidence from the public who also have their part to play
by becoming more aware to the risks associated with modern meat
production; the benefit to the consumer will be a drastic reduction
in risk to their long term health.  Of course we all want our slice
of a successful economy, the consumer wants cheap food, corporations
want high profit margins, and governments want to gain the support
and trust of their citizens.

However
an all-out victory that benefits everybody cannot prevail unless each
party first  acknowledges this need for change. The concept of
cheaper food and lucrative profits may seem like an alluring
gratification, but if we continue churning out low cost meat products
as we do, we will ultimately pay for this in other ways, and the
price tag that we incur will far exceed the financial savings that we
currently enjoy.

The
health Industry worldwide already bears a brutal financial burden for
the treatment of cancer. According to a CNN report published in 2010
the cost to the health industry for treating cancer patients globally
was estimated at $1.6 trillion; much of this could have been avoided
if preventive programs had been implemented much earlier.

The bottom line is this: "Are you willing to pay the exorbitant
hidden interest on your cheap cuts of meat in years to come"?

Citations

Oliver,
Jamie "Victory for Jamie Oliver in the US as McDonalds is forced
to stop using pink slime  in its burger recipe" Daily Mail
01/27/ 2012, Web 06/10/2014 ,

Victory
for Jamie Oliver

Avila,
John "70% of Ground Beef at Supermarkets Contains' Pink
Slime", ABC News 03/07.2012, Web 06/10/2014

70%
of Supermarket Ground Beef ihas Pink Slime

Mercolita,
Dr, If you eat processed meats are you risking your life?"
Mercola.com 01/22/2011 Web 06/09/2014

Dangers
of Processed Meat

Hume,
Tim. Christensen, Jen "WHO: Imminent global cancer 'disaster'
reflects aging, lifestyle factors" CNN Health Tuesday Feb 4th
2014, Web 06/11/2014.

Imminent
Global Cancer, reflects Lifestyle

theguardian.com,
"How the horse meat scandal unfolded - timeline" The
Guardian 02/15/2012. Web 06/10,2014 

How
the Horse meat Scandal Unfolded

Boyle,
Patrick, Industrial Meat", PBS Frontline, Web 06/09/2014

Modern
Meat Processing

References

British
Cancer Society, "Processed meat
consumption and risk of cancer: a multisite case-control study in
Uruguay"

Processed
meat consumption linked to cancer

Modern
Meat, "Meet your ,meat", Top Documentary Films 2006", Web
06/10/2014

Modern
Meat

         

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