Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
“nearly every food consumers buy in supermarkets and order in restaurants
can be eaten with certainty for its safety—except for meat and poultry
products.”
— meat processing
executive editor
salmonella
“bacterium that is
widespread in the
intestines of birds,
reptiles and mammals”
“can spread to humans
via a variety of different
foods of animal origin”
“fever, diarrhea and
abdominal cramps”
“can invade the
bloodstream and cause
life-threatening
infections”
campylobacter
“these bacteria live in
the intestines of
healthy birds”
“most raw poultry
meat has campylo-
bacter on it”
“causes fever, diarrhea,
and abdominal
cramps”
“the most commonly
identified bacterial
cause of diarrheal
illness in the world”
“guillain-barre
syndrome can be
caused by campylo-
bacter infection”
e. coli 0157:h7
“pathogen that has a
reservoir in cattle and
other similar animals”
“illness typically follows
consumption of food or
water...contaminated
with...cow feces”
“severe and bloody
diarrhea...temporary
anemia, profuse
bleeding, and kidney
failure”
“most common cause
of acute kidney failure
in children...is caused
by infection with
e. coli
0157:h7 and related
bacteria”
the unholy
trinity of
pathogens
diseases. Number one on their list? “Increasing demand for animal
protein.” Animals were domesticated 10,000 years ago, but never
before like this.
Now, with billions of feathered and curly-tailed test tubes for vi-
ruses to incubate and mutate within, a WHO official described the
last few decades as “the most ambitious short-term experiment in
evolution in the history of the world.” The dozens of emerging ani-
mal disease threats that have characterized this “age of emerging
plagues” must be put into perspective. SARS infected thousands
and killed hundreds; AIDS has infected millions and kills five peo-
