September 29, 2013 by Jonathan Benson
The USDA is currently trying to push through a new regulation on poultry production that will eliminate most USDA inspectors and speed up the poultry production process. And current safeguards for the safety of poultry meat, while minimally effective, will be eliminated by allowing ingredients such as feces, pus, bacteria and chemical contaminants to be present in chicken and turkey meat.
Even though salmonella is found in poultry meat less and less every year in the United States, the number of people who become infected with this pathogen is steadily increasing at about the same rate.
The main reason for this statistical anomaly is that the current USDA testing methods are completely inadequate and outdated and actually cover up the presence of dangerous microorganisms and substances in farms and processing plants. However, a range of new guidelines proposed by the USDA would make the situation much worse by giving companies the ability to self-test their products as well as use an even more aggressive barrage of chemicals to treat tainted meat before selling it to consumers.
This is good news for the poultry industry, of course, which is expected to be able to cut its costs by about $250 million a year thanks to USDA well-wishers, but it’s bad news for consumers, who will be exposed to a massive toxic attack and its consequences.
Due to the terrible conditions that farm animals live in, often their bodies are teeming with harmful microorganisms, so the meat is chemically treated before being packaged and appearing on the dinner table – this is really disgusting.
After the birds are killed, it is documented that they are usually hung from long conveyor lines and bathed in all sorts of chemical solutions, including chlorine bleach. These chemical solutions are, of course, carefully designed to kill bacteria and make meat “safe” to eat, but in fact, all these chemicals are harmful to human health as well.
The USDA intends to allow the use of more chemicals. But chemical processing of food is ultimately not able to kill pathogens in the same way as it used to be. A series of new scientific studies recently presented to the USDA show that the chemical treatment procedure is not intimidating to an entirely new generation of superbugs that resist these chemicals.
The USDA’s proposed solutions only exacerbate this problem by adding even more chemicals. If the new rule goes into effect, all chickens will be contaminated with feces, pus, scabs, bile and chlorine solution.
Consumers will be eating chicken with even more chemicals and contaminants. Due to the higher speed of production, the number of worker injuries will increase. They will also be at risk of developing skin and respiratory diseases from constant exposure to chlorine. It will take about three years to study the impact of fast processing lines on workers, but the USDA wants to approve the innovation immediately.