How E Coli Entered Our Food System
I am a chef and food activist but admittedly not a scientist. Still there is an overwhelming amount of evidence that e coli entered our food system via genetically modified seeds, specifically corn.
To make corn that was resistant to their “Round Up” weed killer, Monsanto Chemical Company developed a way of changing the genetic structure of corn so that “Round Up” wouldn’t hurt it. The way they got the genetic modifications into the seed germ was to piggyback it on an obscure bacteria found in feces and soil. That bacteria was e coli. This is a well known and well documented story that has been mentioned in documentaries like King Corn and Food Inc. Monsanto does not deny that they use e coli in their GM products but they do deny that it is connected to the outbreaks of the past few decades. The time line of outbreaks corresponds perfectly with the introduction of GM seed into the food system.
Cows are fed this e coli laced GM corn. Corn is not a natural food for cattle therefore it takes their stomachs longer to digest than it would natural foods like grass or hay. A cow’s stomachs (they have four of them) are the absolute best breeding ground for e coli reproduction. Now the bovine scat is teeming with the deadly bacteria; this scat is then sold as fertilizer all over the world. That is how it finds its way to produce like spinach, cilantro and sprouts. Since these foods are commonly eaten raw there is no heat application to kill the e coli microbes.
As far as prevention of e coli dosing simply spray all of your produce with a combination of water and white vinegar. The vinegar will kill most any bacteria including salmonella and e coli. From the The Vinegar Institute:
Add 2 tablespoons white distilled vinegar to 1 pint water and use to wash fresh fruits and vegetables, then rinse thoroughly.
E coli symptoms according to WebMD:
- Severe stomach cramps and stomach tenderness.
- Diarrhea, watery at first, but often becoming very bloody.
- Nausea and vomiting.
Seriously, USDA – A Food Safety Mobile?
The USDA has come up with a brilliant plan to help consumers survive the next salmonella outbreak. It’s called the Food Safety Mobile. The goal of this roving banana of knowledge is to bring safe food handling skills to the masses. Because after all, these constant outbreaks aren’t the result of questionable farming practices by Big Ag companies but rather the fault of the American people for recklessly choosing to eat their lettuce raw.
This is yet another sign that USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and his cronies are completely unqualified for the job. Vilsack is not a farmer, nutritionist, doctor, chef or scientist. He is a lobbyist, specifically a lobbyist for Monsanto. That’s why he and his staff continue to miss or ignore the fact that the problem is not with consumers cross contaminating their food but rather with factory-farming that is more factory than farm. In short, Vilsack doesn’t get it.
The Food Safety Mobile is the heart of the USDA’s $1.37 billion push to teach Americans how to wash fruit. In addition to the traveling roadshow the program also maintains a toll-free hotline for your food safety questions providing assistance in both English and Spanish and an online chat. Both are available from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. Oh, and I would be remiss not to mention the youtube channel, food handling demos, coloring books and of course the Food Safety Mobile Discovery Game.
This is such a waste of tax payer dollars. Hey, Mr. Vilsack, here’s a thought – instead of buying a million dollar lunch truck how about not imposing dangerously lax regulations on genetically modified foods in exchange for campaign contributions for your boss? That way you could save the over-taxed and ignored citizenry a nickle or two. Not to mention how it would help clean up one of the most corrupt branches of the federal government.
You can take a virtual tour of the USDA’s Food Safety Mobile HERE but be warned – the decor has been known to trigger epileptic seizures. You’d think a billion dollars could by an interior that doesn’t look like Walt Disney threw up.