Monday, August 11, 2008

Another Beef Recall: Whole Foods is NOT exempt

I wonder how many beef recalls need to happen before people realize that eating conventionally raised beef is a bad idea. It's a bad idea, in the same way that eating mass packaged produce is -- there is just too much risk. And somehow the idea that if you bought the stuff at Whole Foods it was going to be pure, is now turned on its ear (or somewhere else).

The latest recall is for 1.2 million pounds of beef that came from Coleman's Natural which had assured Whole Foods that its product was just fine. It turns out that they processed their beef at Nebraska Beef Ltd. which had a recall of 5.3 billion pounds just over a month ago. The reality is that considering the amount of beef eaten, very few people were affected by the E. coli. But truth is, you don't want to be one of them. Either give up beef or buy it locally, from people you know.

I make this point repeatedly -- know where your food comes from, and know the people that grow it or raise it. Doing that will keep you much safer from the danger that exists in the world on a daily basis, especially with something as sensitive as food and your body.

Food safety is a serious matter, and you have the power to do something about it. Buy local, buy organic and make friends with your farmers.

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