Why Tye won't be eating non-organic meat anytime soon

Researchers from the Translational Genomics Research Institute reported today that 47% of  supermarket meat from five cities (including Chicago) tested positive for Staphylococcus aureus, and of that 47%, 52% of the strains were resistant to three different antibiotics.  Just think about that- when you go to the grocery store and pick up a package of meat, you have a 50/50 chance that it contains Staph, and a 1 in 4 chance that it contains an antibiotic resistant superbug.  

The researchers noted that these samples of meat were not contaminated due to handling but the meat itself contained the bacteria, and the Staph is resistant because of the antibiotics used in factory farmed feedlots.  According to the CDC,  about 11,000 Americans die every year from S. aureus, more than half of whom contracted the resistant form of S. aureus known as MRSA.  Those at highest risk are young children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems.  Guess who fits in that category?  Tye.  

I don't have an issue with Tye eating meat, but I have major issues surrounding exposing her to potentially lethal strains of bacteria.  That medium rare steak?  That chicken that's just barely done and dripping a little pink juice?  A 50/50 chance it contains Staph?  I'm just not willing to take that risk with my child, who is in the at-risk category because of her age.  

Re-read that statistic:  the same bacteria found in half the supermarket meat kills 11,000 people a year.  Is it worth the risk for yourself?  (If you do continue to eat factory farmed meat, please please please, practice safe food preparation to prevent cross-contamination and cook your meat thoroughly!)

We recently joined a farm share for meat, dairy, and eggs.  It's a local farm with organic grass-fed beef, raw dairy, and pastured chickens, eggs, lamb, turkey, and pork with a pickup location in Chicago.  These foods are available at a significantly reduced cost in comparison with similar goods at Whole Foods Market, and we know the exact farm where the meat was raised.  Because the animals are raised in pastures and fed natural diets (no corn for the cows, no soy for the chickens or pork, no same-species meat or mystery feed), the animals are naturally healthy and don't need copious amounts of antibiotics.  They also don't naturally contain dangerous S. aureus bacteria.  I feel comfortable with Tye eating meat from this local farm with healthy animals.  I even make our scrambled eggs a little runny and share with Tye my eggs over easy, with beautiful bright orange runny yolks because I trust they're from healthy hens.

I'm not, and never have been, against consuming animal products when they are raised humanely and truly healthfully.  Unfortunately, that can be really difficult to find in the US (and is why I was vegan for 3 years and am still mostly vegetarian).  Tye won't be vegetarian, but especially with terrifying statistics like these in my back pocket, she likely won't be eating non-organic meat anytime soon.  

Tye eating one of her favorite snacks, roasted seaweed (seriously!)

Pesticides in the womb cause obesity

An article in last week's Science News exposes a link between pesticides in the womb and rapid weight gain in the child's first year of life, which increases the risk of obesity later in life.  There has been controversy in the past over growth charts for breastfed babies versus formula-fed babies, since formula-fed babies gain more weight initially than breastfed babies, and some breastfed babies were thought to be gaining weight slowly in comparison to their formula-fed counterparts.  This article brings another factor into the weight gain equation, regardless of whether the babies are fed breastmilk or formula.  


Another reason to eat organic foods as often as possible.  

BP Spills Coffee

Is anyone really surprised that BP was publicly underestimating the amount of oil spilled into the Gulf?  New reports are claiming twice as much oil as originally estimated may have escaped.


This video is so true, I had trouble laughing...


(Rated L for Language... but if you can get past one bad word, it's worth watching the rest.)

On the Chicago River

Obama's administration and the EPA have called for Chicago to clean up the Chicago River, making it safe for recreational use.  In case you're not from Chicago, this is big news because the Chicago River has has long been more of a moving waste collection area than a body of water.  In 1900, engineers changed the direction of flow of the river to prevent sewage and waste from flowing into Lake Michigan, where drinking water is sourced.  Until the 1972 passage of the Clean Water Act, the river was treated as disposal by Chicago's industrial and shipping polluters.  The Chicago River has been largely exempt from all clean water standards, to the extent that sewage isn't even disinfected before being dumped into the river.  Of course, this call for clean up has received severely negative backlash from Chicago's industries and even Mayor Daley, who said the feds should "go swim in the Potomac."  

Chicago's movable bridges.  Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/spudart/452035169/

I, for one, am thrilled that someone is finally putting pressure on Illinois to clean up our act.  When our waste enters the Chicago River, it (much like our garbage) doesn't just go "away."  It goes into our river systems, diluted by Lake Michigan water, which lowers the Great Lakes water level.  For being such a "green" city, Chicago needs to make the Chicago River's health a higher priority.  We have a beautiful lakefront that attracts tourists, and our river could easily be an extension of the lakefront, drawing more sport and recreational users.  The eyesore, currently reputed as toxic and infamous for being dyed green each St.Patty's Day, could become another natural attraction in Illinois.  

The currently poor health of the river is no reason to ignore it.  Riverside industries have no right to destroy the river, even if their pollution has been overlooked for years.  I'm thrilled that the president's administration and EPA are forcing a long-overdue clean up of the river, because Daley obviously wouldn't initiate the change on his own.  My hope is that Tye and my grandchildren will be able to enjoy a beautiful Chicago River some day.