Time to go vegetarian

Every now and then I think that I really should make the effort to become a vegetarian. After all, isn't that what good progressives are supposed to do? The problem is that I like meat, I do far better in terms of keeping the noshies down if I have some animal protein with meals, and I hate tofu. Even my sister, who was a vegetarian for years, now eats chicken and fish.

I had already reluctantly resigned myself to the fact that pork was out of my life for the time being because pigs that had been fed melamine-tainted feed had entered the food supply, but now it seems chicken has been similarly tainted:

The U.S. government said on Monday 38 poultry farms in Indiana were given contaminated feed containing melamine in early February, with some of the animals likely to have entered the food supply.

The Agriculture Department and the Food and Drug Administration said in a joint statement that officials learned of the link between the chicken feed and tainted pet food as part of the investigation into imported rice protein concentrate and wheat gluten that have been found to contain the industrial chemical melamine and related compounds.

The affected poultry farms and breeder poultry farms fed the contaminated feed to poultry within days of receiving it, the agencies said. Other farms will probably be identified as having received tainted feed, they added.

All the broilers believed to have been fed contaminated products have been processed, while the breeders are under voluntary hold by flock owners, the agencies said.

Birds that were given the contaminated feed will not be allowed to enter the U.S. food supply. Farmers will be compensated if they destroy the birds that consume the feed.

The agencies also said there was a “low-risk” to humans and no food recalls were expected at this time. They are uncertain how many chickens were involved, how many entered the food supply or where they went.

So let's see. We have a substance that isn't allowed in feed in the U.S. that is causing kidney failure in mammals, but the FDA is saying that while there have been no studies on melamine's effects in humans, you're supposed to be reassured by this:

At this time, we have no evidence of harm to humans associated with the processed pork product, and therefore no recall of meat products processed from these animals is being issued. Testing and the joint investigation continue. If any evidence surfaces to indicate there is harm to humans, the appropriate action will be taken.

In other words, we haven't a clue, folks, so you and your kids are going to be the guinea pigs on this one, 'kay? Because it's better that we sacrifice a few kids to potential kidney failure than do anything that might impact the profits of giant meat processors like Perdue and Hormel.

Sheesh. At least in drug trials you have to go through a screening process and sign an informed consent form. Now you don't even get that much information.

What's scary is how few people are paying attention to this. People I've talked to are aware of the initial pet food recall and checked their pets' foods to make sure they weren't feeding one of the affected brands. But no one I know has paid much attention since. And most people aren't even aware that melamine has entered the human food supply. But when people ARE aware, such as readers of the MSNBC article cited above, they are concerned. In the quick poll associated with the article, 53% have said that they are cutting out consumption of chicken and pork for now and only 11% say that they are not worried because the government has said there is a "low risk" to humans.

UPDATE: More in the New York Times:

“The public thinks the food supply is much more protected than it is,” said William Hubbard, a former associate commissioner who left in 2005 after 27 years at the agency. “If people really knew how weak the F.D.A. program is, they would be shocked.”

Globalization and new manufacturing capabilities have changed the makeup of the food that Americans put on their table. Food processors in the United States are buying a greater number of ingredients from other countries, becoming more of an assembler in the nation’s food supply chain.

“With globalization, American food processors are turning to less-developed countries to get food ingredients because they can get them so much more cheaply,” Mr. Hubbard said.

And while Republican candidates like Rudy Giuliani run around telling you that if you don't vote for them you'll die in a terrorist attack, not one of them is talking about reining in corporations who will happily slowly kill your family in the name of profits.

You want to know what Republican policies do? Here you go.