Egg

I don't want to be rude but like other Europeans who read this forum, I am getting a bit impatient about Americans warning about the dangerous food in Europe. <BR> <BR>Have you read Fast Food Nation , by American journalist Eric Schlosser. <BR>I've just seen a review and it would put you off burgers for life. Heaven knows, I wouldn't wish it on anybody, but I imagine that there must be Americans incubating vCJD. <BR> <BR>! quote from the review. <BR> <BR>"Schlosser describes in horrific detail how the ever more mechanised cattle and meat-packing industry is exposed to risk of infection by virulent pathogens including listeria, salmonella and a real nasty called E. coli 0157:H7 that can lead to kidney failure, anaemia, internal bleeding and the destruction of vital organs. Some of his findings will be familiar from recent exposés in Europe. <BR>Cattle are fed the processed waste of dead animals, including pigs, horses and poultry, as well as myriad animal plant by-products such as sawdust and old newspapers. (They were also fed dead cattle, dogs and cats until the British BSE scare prompted a modest change in regulations in 1997.) Fecal material regularly spills into the meat, either because it falls off improperly cleaned hides as they are pulled off or because the minimum-wage workers who pull out the intestines accidentally dribble some of their contents" <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

chris

I couldn't agree with you more. And the problem with the American food supply goes much deeper. High levels of hormones in all types of meat and dairy products. Chickens that are pumped full of hormones to mature within a few weeks in crowded coups. Too much processed and chemical laden food (American "cheese"-margarine-which by the way many people erroneously believe is better for them). American's desire for the perfect LOOKING fruits and vegetables has even turned those staples into unnatural looking and tasting disasters. Sure those HUGE bright red apples look good, but they are tasteless, waxy things. The cell development has been engineered right out of them to last longer on the shelf. <BR> <BR>Thank goodness Europeans have for the most part resisted engineered food. And the popularity of organic foods is pretty much mainstream. Too bad most Americans have fallen for the Corporate Interests lies. People the food they put out TASTES horrible, it’s not just the health effects! That is probably why so many Americans regularly overeat fatty foods-trying to satisfy their wanting taste buds. <BR>

Onyour

Sorry, but you were rude.

Egg

"Sorry, but you were rude" <BR> <BR>It's a pity that you think so. After reading postings about people taking their own food, not letting meat pass their children's lips etc. I thought I was rather restrained.

Florence

Egg, <BR> <BR>Why don't you accept the fact that we Europeans are a bunch of inefficient unhygienic morons who deserve being told by people like inyourf@ce what's good and proper for us ?

frank

This is a case of the pot calling the kettle black. <BR>Both Europe & the US are victims of agribusiness, often it's the same conglomerates screwing up the food quality of both places, it just comes out in different ways. <BR> They already cause starvation in the 3rd world by cash cropping & now they want to take over using genetically modified seed-and-pesticide combos which put farmers permanently into debt.Already suicide rates among Indian farmers are soaring. <BR> Stop tearing each other apart & realise who GAINS here.Look at your shares porfolio - it might be you! <BR>

Johnson

You hit the bullseye, Frank! But you let American food processing off too easily. Over the years (and thanks to certain Administrations in Washington), regulation and inspection has dwindled to near-joke levels. At the same time, the level of hormones introduced into the food chain almost makes post-menopausal estrogen-replacement unnecessary. <BR> <BR>If European food is "dangerous," it's probably more often because of casualness in the restaurants about storage at proper temperatures (the one thing Americans seem to obsess about). But I'd much rather try to deal with bacterial problems that can be prevented or minimized than biochemical alteration that affects physiology and even DNA. <BR> <BR>My spouse's theory is that Europeans have more resistance to mild food-poisoning because they drink wine with meals and the alcohol counter-acts the contamination.

James

Why do Europeans smuggly insist that they don't have engineered foods? Nectarines are a perfect example of an engineered food. Nectarines were concocted by humans, not nature. <BR> <BR>And why do you think the French have so many heavy sauces? It's because the meat they use under the sauce is tough and tasteless.

Enviro

I don't know if it makes sense to spend extra for organic food anymore. After all, George Bush has just decided to resist limits on arsenic (arsenic, for cryin' out loud!) in drinking water; he has come out in favor of carbon dioxide emissions; he's trying to pass a watered down patient's bill of rights (so you can't get competent care for the many health problems you'll have from his environmental policies). And that's just in the first 3 months of his administration. <BR> <BR>Maybe we should all just munch antibiotic infused, hormone laced, mad cow cheeseburgers and die with smiles on our faces. <BR> <BR>Are you people who voted for Nader ready to admit that there really was a BIG difference between Al and George on the environment?

Get your facts

James could you tell me which engineering techniques and/or chemicals they were using in the 17th century? <BR> <BR> See the following two extracts: <BR> <BR>The catalog of the British royal gardens in 1708 shows 14 varieties of cherry, 14 apricots, 58 kinds of peach and nectarine, 33 plums, eight figs, 23 vines, 29 pears, and numerous varieties of apple <BR> <BR>The following list of period or <BR>near period fruit varieties is from an article in The Miscellany <BR> Nectarine <BR>Early Violet (1659) <BR> <BR>

Concerned

How about the safety of: <BR> Cheese/Milk/Dairy <BR> Sausage <BR> Gummi Bears (gelatin products)??? <BR> <BR>Actually, this is a serious quesion. I share your concern of foods...on both continents. You'd think this would be the time I could drop those 20 pounds!

wanderer

johnson your wifes theory is a little off. better explanation is the constant low level of exposure does confer some immunity that protectes against a mild to moderate bacterial or viral insult. otherwise 1/2 the population of asia would craok. also alcohol must (ethyl) must be 70% to disinfect the usual 12 to 13% in wine just does not hack it. not trying to be snotty but if one is going to state theory to others is may be better to use a more scientifically sound one

michele

Egg, <BR>I am American and I'm getting tired of it.I have to say that ever time I hear another report on hoof and mouth disease all I think of is Paul Newman in HUD. <BR> <BR>Frank and Chris: I agree. FAST FOOD NATION is causing quite a stir. The author is getting a lot of press, but I doubt it will change too many eating habits. Too bad. All you have to do to know he is right is eat a piece of fruit or a vegetable from a Farmer's Market and compare it to one in the supermarket.

It

... monsieur get-your-facts... <BR> <BR>...and grafting produced new "technological" species well before 1659. <BR>

xxx

Senor It <BR> <BR>Hardly engineering - ho does that harm anything - it occurs naturally too

Ann

I think you'll find nectarines were developed through cross-breeding which does occur naturally but can be given a helping hand and has been done for centuries. Grafting is a completely different technique and you could never produce a new species by grafting. Genetic engineering is in a different league.

genetic

The whole concept of genetic engineering has been around a while. <BR>1761-66 Joseph Gottlieb Kölreuter(Koelreuter) published reports describing 136 experiments in artificial <BR>hybridization. His discovery of quantitative inheritance foreshadowed the work of Mendel. <BR> <BR>1866 Gregor Mendel published his investigations of plant hybrids and their subsequent behavior. His fundamental discoveries lay forgotten for 34 years.

Johnson

Wanderer: For pete's sake, put away the shaking finger and take the comment in the spirit it was offered -- not scientific fact, just speculation, half in jest. Good grief, there are such a lot of experts here. <BR> <BR>In some ways, though, the remarkable thing isn't how badly we've polluted and corrupted food, it's that we don't keel over and our remains glow in the dark. My own opinion is that the most dangerous thing we do is have too many birthdays, and that's common to both sides of the Atlantic. <BR> <BR>

Johnson

Woops, it just dawned on me that there are some very literal-minded people here. By "having too many birthdays" I mean "growing old."

me

If you ever get the chance to go to Japan, they have the most perfect looking, beautiful and huge fruit you could ever imagine, AND it tastes wonderful. The theory of engineering perfect but tasteless fruit doesn't fly there.