The Daily Mail reports how meat and dairy farms are now harbouring ESBLE coli - a superbug. The usual speciesist rant could be shoehorned in here as reporters get the public worked up by human death and neglect to mention that the farmed animals in question are bred only to die at human hands, but the article works as a reminder of what the vegan movement has been saying for a long time now, that the intensive farming of animals is detrimental to human health as well as the suffering of the animals.

Health fears grow over deadly superbug infecting 32 farms

A superbug which kills hundreds of patients a year has been found on 32 farms, it emerged yesterday.

The discovery raises fears that the infection is spreading to the human population through meat and milk.

The bug - ESBL E coli - causes around 30,000 cases of blood poisoning and urinary tract infection each year.

It is known to have killed hundreds of people over the past five years, although some experts put the annual death toll as high as 4,000.

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Bovine transmittors: Cows can carry E.Coli to humans through milk

Experts from the Government’s Veterinary Laboratories Agency are due to reveal details today of the extent of the infection on farms.

The “super E coli” is thought to have developed a high degree of resistance to antibiotics through their use in intensive livestock operations.

Its spread from farm to farm has mirrored the rise in the number of infections and deaths in the human population.

Experts at the Health Protection Agency are investigating a possible link between the bugs found in livestock and the sale of meat and milk.

Dr Georgina Duckworth, who compiled a report for the agency on the emergence of the E coli, concluded: ‘The findings show evidence of people carrying these bacteria in their gut.

“If this is found to be commonplace in the general population this may point towards the food chain being a potential source.”

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Deadly bug: E Coli kills hundreds of humans every year

During slaughter, the bug, which lives in the gut, can be spread through meat, making it a risk to abattoir workers.

Similarly, bugs from cow dung can get into milk during milking. E coli should be killed during pasteurisation but tests show that some forms of TB bacteria can survive heat treatment.

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City fears over donkey meat ad

A MANGY donkey tied to a post all day in a Beijing street and wearing a coat sporting an advert for a donkey meat shop has sparked controversy in the Chinese capital.

There are fears the animal may affect the city’s image.

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Raw Milk sales are soaring…

IT might sound udderly unbelievable, but the latest food fad to hit Wales is… RAW milk. Straight-from-the-cow, unpasteurised milk is regularly drunk by more than 100,000 Californians and is equally popular in New York.

Now the craze is hitting our shores with farm shops in Wales are reporting a sharp increases in sales. Advocates of raw milk, which is sold in green- topped bottles, claim that it is high in immune-boosting nutrients and disease-fighting antibodies. Steve Oultram, who owns Newbridge Farm Shop in Ewloe, said that his family had been selling raw milk for more than 50 years, but had noticed that it had become more popular recently. He said: “There’s no doubt that the demand for raw milk is increasing all the time as more people are made aware of it. We have people coming here from considerable distances, not just from Wales, but from as far as Aberdeen and Brighton. We’ve even started sending it out through mail order because of the demand.” And Mr Oultram said some of his customers had used the milk to help them combat illnesses. “One person who used to come to us had quite an advanced cancer. She said that the milk was helping so much that she wasn’t having to take as much medicine,” he said. “And another guy has been buying it for his son who has bad eczema, and he’s said that it’s made a tremendous difference.” But it’s not just raw milk that is becoming ever more popular – raw cheeses are on the up too. Jill Pateman, who owns Merlin Cheeses in Ceredigion, said: “20 years ago it just wasn’t accepted. But now society is more affluent and as people have more of a choice, they are opting for raw dairy more often.” But raw dairy is not without its critics. There have been reports it could be banned in Wales and England – as it has been in Scotland for more than 20 years. Legislation introduced in January this year means that Welsh retailers of raw milk must now have a licence, as well as carry a warning on the bottle that the milk is not pasteurised. They are also forced by the Food Standards Agency to have a sample of the milk tested every three months to check that it contains no harmful bacteria.

Wales’ Food Standards Agency warns: “This milk has not been heat treated and may therefore contain organisms harmful to health. The Food Standards Agency strongly advises that it should not be consumed by children, pregnant women, older people or those who are unwell or have a chronic illness.”

See the ‘White Lies‘ campaign for an explanation of the health detriment caused by drinking dairy.

White Lies is the first review of its kind.

The evidence is overwhelming – cow’s milk and dairy products are neither natural nor healthy, in fact they are harmful to health and have been linked to a wide range of illnesses and diseases. Many of the key findings were discussed at the public talk on May 24 2006. Hot topics that the campaign and report cover include:
 
Heart disease – What it is in milk and dairy products that can cause heart disease and how following a plant-based diet can reduce cholesterol and even reverse heart disease.

Diabetes – Research shows that drinking cow’s milk at an early age is strongly linked to an increased risk of type 1 diabetes in genetically susceptible people. Several different theories have been suggested that attempt to unravel the actual mechanism by which cow’s milk causes diabetes; they all share a common theme.

Cancer – Nutrition plays a major role in cancer; a poor diet is the second largest preventable risk factor for cancer (coming close behind smoking) and an increasing body of evidence now links the consumption of cow’s milk to certain cancers. What it is about modern dairy farming practices that concerns scientists studying certain cancers including cancers of the breast, ovaries, colon and prostate? And which types of food can protect against these, and other, diseases?

Obesity In 2004 the UK Foods Standards Agency reported that 25 per cent of men and 20 per cent of women were classified as obese. The British Medical Association warns that childhood obesity levels have soared in the UK. Part of the problem is the increasing lack of physical activity but diet plays a major role in the obesity epidemic. The World Health Organisation blames the rise in obesity on a shift away from diets high in complex carbohydrates towards diets high in saturated fats and sugars. How do dairy foods contribute to the rising levels of obesity and what is the difference between ‘good’ fats and ‘bad’ fats?

Osteoporosis and the calcium myth Osteoporosis is a growing problem in the UK; one in two women and one in five men will suffer a fracture after the age of 50! The science shows that shows that dairy is part of the problem rather than the solution, White Lies reveals why it is not the best source of calcium and describes how best to promote bone health in the young and old.

Pinta pus Milk containing up to 400 million pus cells per litre may be legally sold for human consumption! That means that one teaspoon of milk could contain 2 million pus cells! Find out why.

(article suggested by meatismurder reader)  Research papers are looking to the future and developing ‘Robot Rights’. Yes, before sentient machines are even invented we are going to start thinking about their rights before we grant rights to the sentient creatures we already share the planet with.

One of a collection of forward thinking research papers organised by Sir David King, the UK government’s chief scientist, has suggested that once sentient robots have been created they will have to be given the same rights as humans. The paper looked at Britain in 2056 and suggested that fully sentient robots would be commonplace by that time. It was written by UK management consultancy Outsights and pollsters Ipsos Mori.

It postulates that if true artificial intelligence is achieved the creation should be accorded the same rights and responsibilities as humans. These would include voting, paying tax and performing military duties. “If granted full rights, states will be obligated to provide full social benefits to them including income support, housing and possibly robo-healthcare to fix the machines over time,” the paper says. The effects would be largely beneficial in terms of productivity but could cause problems with energy and waste, according to the scientists.

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The news article below is another example of farmers neglecting animals and contradicting the idea of them as benign benefactors of the animals in their care. The harsh reality is that the animals are precisely what they are labelled - livestock - there for the sole purpose of making a farmer money.
The people of the developed world who have lost contact with the connection between living, breathing individuals, and the ingredients of a pasty really should see all aspects of what goes into their dinners.
Take a minute to look round meatismurder, mostly what can be learned is that what goes into a meat dinner is abuse, fear, horror, and pain.

These photographs show the shocking scenes of animal neglect that greeted Department of Agriculture inspectors at a Co Tyrone farm.

Officials were appalled to find decaying carcasses and emaciated livestock on the Caledon farm when they were tipped off in February 2005. Dead cattle and sheep were left decaying where they lay - conditions which prompted the USPCA to call for courts to reflect the public’s revulsion at every case of animal cruelty. Last month, father and son farmers Joseph and David Reid were fined at Dungannon Magistrates Court after being found guilty on nearly 50 breaches of animal welfare and farming laws. The pair face further penalties next year for other breaches found during follow-up inspections of their farm at Tannaghlane Road, Caledon.

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ASDA has to recall lamb because it is unfit for human consumption…aside from the morals of eating babies I would suggest that this is further evidence of modern meat processing harbouring problems and fears that are so easily avoided.

Customers of ASDA in Gloucester are being alerted to a product recall of lamb meat and offal that was not meant for human consumption.

The meat, supplied by Welsh Country Foods Ltd, may contain residue of veterinary medicine and is considered unsafe to eat.

The warning has been issued to city council environmental health officers by the Food Standards Agency.

The alert says that the products have removed from shelves by the store and any of the items that have been bought should be returned.

Detailed product information is available in store at ASDA.

Customers who may have eaten the products and who subsequently feel ill should consult their GP’s.

Further information is available to customers from the city council’s environmental health team on 01452 396303.