Meat fraud is taking place all around us. Most people probably can’t tell the difference between similar looking meats sold in stores, were it not for the labeling.
Fish fraud is apparently common in the USA.
Safeway recalled big and juicy E.coli burgers. “Must be cooked” is right on the box, and they weren’t kidding, were they?
I’m not above eating horse meat. I’ve never done it, however. At least, I don’t think I have. Many French and Italians didn’t have a choice if they bought from a mega-meat distributor who decided for them.
What all this brings to our attention, is how vital it is to cut down on overall meat consumption. You don’t have to eliminate meat from your diet to make a huge difference. Have it at half as many meals as you typically do today if you’ve not made a previous effort to cut back.
“Unless action is taken, increases in pollution and per capita consumption of energy and animal products will exacerbate nutrient losses, pollution levels and land degradation, further threatening the quality of our water, air and soils, affecting climate and biodiversity.”
Over consumption of meat, leading to higher than optimal demand in the food supply chain, leads to suffering in even rich countries:
Suzanne Salami, a single mother of three, subsists on just £30 a week and is angered by the way the horsemeat scandal is hitting the poorest hardest. “When you can’t afford to buy anything to eat, [or] ask where meat comes from and if it’s sustainable, it is not fair,” she said. “I am being made to eat stuff I don’t know about and I am being let down. It’s like we’re being told to eat and shut up.” She was particularly worried about the potential health impacts of traces of equine painkillers found in horsemeat in the food chain by the Food Standards Agency this week.
When I buy meat, I prefer it come from a source I know, such as a farmer near Wood Mountain or Ormiston; if I’m in the city, then a local meat shop like Fellinger’s. I’ll still take chances and buy meat from elsewhere, but I don’t feel comfortable with doing that.
Saskboy's Abandoned Stuff 
Small wonder we should be vexed about the cuts at CFIA here at home.
Salads have also been recalled because of ecoli. Guess we have to cut down on greens as well?
A frightening thought. Diets of nothing but Monsanto-fied corn syrup?
Reducing E.coli exposure risk isn’t the primary reason, it’s simply a side benefit of switching to local food production like a garden for most of the year’s food supply.
Can you wash your meat? You can wash veggies. You can also boil them.
Then there’s the E.coli Walkerton water too! We should cut our water intake by at least half… water does an awful lot of environmental degradation also. It’s a greenhouse gas too you know.
Are you brain damaged? I’m asking for a friend.