Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

October 13, 2008 4:15:49 AM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

Picky Eater Decodes the Beef Scare

Posted Feb 20, 08 5:53 PM CST in US,  Science & Health 

(Newser) – Don't fault slaughterhouse workers for this week's enormous beef recall, author and foodie Michael Pollan tells Newsweek—it's the system. Blinding-fast production lines that expect workers to slaughter up to seven cows per minute do not a safe or ethical steak make. "It's one of those episodes that peels back the curtain on how our food is prepared," Pollan says.

"What it takes to get a 99-cent double cheeseburger are these kinds of shortcuts: downer cattle and 400 head slaughtered an hour," Pollan says. The alternative for the consumer is simple: Buy more expensive beef from farmers' markets and independent producers. "Ultimately, that's the only real assurance: talk to the person who has raised the meat," Pollan says.

Source Newsweek

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • Meat Company Chief Admits Sick Cows Were Slaughtered

    Mar 12, 08 3:51 PM CDT
    Meat Company Chief Admits Sick Cows Were Slaughtered The president of the California slaughterhouse caught up in a scandal over the abuse of cattle admitted to Congress today that sick cows from his plant entered the food supply, the Los Angeles Times reports. He backtracked from an earlier denial after a House panel made him watch a second undercover video. "Obviously my system broke down," said Steve Mendell of Westland/Hallmark Meat. More »

  • Disgraced Meatpacker to Close Doors

    Feb 23, 08 12:34 PM CST
    Disgraced Meatpacker to Close Doors The biggest meat recall in history will put a fork in Hallmark/Westland, the meatpacker’s general manager told the Wall Street Journal. “I don’t see any way we could reopen,” he said. The USDA has said the California company could reopen under the right conditions, but demands that it pay for the meat’s destruction and replacement. “If the USDA wants payment back, we’re dead meat. We’re done.” More »

A worker throws a piece of meat among the cattle carcases scraps dropped into a parked truck at the Hallmark Meat Packing slaughterhouse in Chino, Calif. Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2008. Video footage showed...   (Associated Press)
A private security guard patrols the parking lot at the Hallmark Meat Packing slaughterhouse in Chino, Calif. Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2008. The Hallmark Meat Packing logo is seen on a truck in the background....   (Associated Press)
Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y. eats a beef taco, along with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and her daughter, Chelsea Clinton, during lunch at King Taco in...   (Associated Press)
American author Michael Pollan gestures while speaking during a working session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Friday Jan. 25, 2008. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)   (Associated Press)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Threads (
1
 of 3)

Tags

meat  • cows  • Humane Society  • slaughterhouses  • Department of Agriculture  • Westland/Hallmark Meat Co.  • farmers markets


Loading...

Premium Articles from HighBeam

Find more articles like this

Today's Most Popular

Loading...

Other Science & Health Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Newser gives you more news in less time. We search for the best and most important stories all over the web, read them for you, and deliver concise and sharp summaries—along with links to the full text. Newser provides a way to stay on top of an ever-expanding horizon of news and opinion—politics, sports, business, trends, technology, personalities, crimes, and controversies. Newser keeps you not just better informed, but, with our signature graphic interface and smart condensed format, more enjoyably informed.

Learn more »