Taking a Closer Look at the Food We Eat. (EC)

As consumers, it is our job to find out where our food comes from, how it is being produced, and how it effects our health. Do we really know what the food industries have been up to all these years? Most of us don't even try to find the answer to that question because we believe that food industries care about our health and well-being, but that is not the case. There are many factors that contributes to the food we eat everyday and the truth isn't all that pretty.

When it comes down to meat production, how much do we really know about the chicken, pork, and beef we are consuming on a daily basis? Meat production is a huge deal because meat goes into the hamburgers we eat at fast food restaurants. Fast food restaurants purchases large amounts of ground beef so it is important to know where the beef comes from and how it is being produced. Farmers are being paid to mass produce their animals in a short amount of time so we are not getting the quality meat we think we are getting. For instance, cows are meant to eat grass, but they are being fed corn because it fattens them up quicker. Corn-fed beef contains more fat and calories and they are more consistent in taste which is ideal for fast food places. The cows then get slaughtered when they reach a certain amount of size.

When cows are being fed corn they can be infected with E. Coli. E. Coli is a type of bacteria that lives in the intestines of animals or humans. If one cow is infected with E. Coli then the infection can spread to the other animals and it becomes a domino effect. The disease can easily be spread to humans when they consume the contaminated beef. The virus doesn't apply to just cows, it can also occur in chickens and pigs and people often don't know that the disease can disperse to them. E. Coli is a very dangerous infection that can be life-threatening. Food industries need to put an end to processed meat because it affects consumer's health and society. As consumers, we need to start being aware of what is in our food by educating ourselves and taking a step back to think about what we are really ingesting in our bodies. If we have knowledge about what we are really eating, then we can make the world a better environment.