December 7th, 2007

By John DeFore and Barbara Kessler

Kansas State University researchers have discovered a downside in what previously was considered a fringe benefit of ethanol production: Distiller’s grains, a byproduct of ethanol distilling that is widely used as livestock feed, causes “an increased prevalence of E. coli 0157″ in the hindgut of cattle. The prevalence is twice as high as in cattle not fed the byproduct. As ethanol manufacturing increases, cattle producers will have to consider what effect the feed has on their meat’s safety.

The KSU report was released Tuesday, followed by a feature in today’s New York Times detailing the intense efforts meat processors have taken to keep harmful E. coli strains out of their products. One step they haven’t employed is irradiation, which the government says is safe but would be a controversial and expensive effort, not to mention the possible changes in meat’s color and taste.

Even the most rigorous protocols can’t ensure a processor’s output is 100% E. coli-free, 100% of the time. But carnivores can look out for themselves by favoring steaks over ground beef: When E. coli is present, the grinding process can distribute it throughout the meat instead of leaving it on the surface to be killed in cooking. Translation for meat-eaters: Even if you like your steaks rare, order burgers well-done.

Another option: Buy grass-fed beef. There is ample evidence now that feeding cattle corn changes their digestive system. It makes them fatter, quicker, yes, but less healthy….and more apt to carry E. coli.

For sources of grass-fed beef in your area or available online, check out Local Harvest.

For more information on this developing story, read Tom Philpott’s excellent article in Grist. Philpott points out that there have been “20 E. coli 0157 cases this year, a significant rise over recent years.”

Grist points to an even more in-depth piece with Michael Pollan, author of The Botany of Desire, on PBS’ Frontline. In the interview, Pollan explains how beef cattle are highly evolved grass-grazing animals that are now fed corn from six months of age onward (which sickens them so they’re injected with antibiotics) to plump them and speed their way to the slaughterhouse.

“It makes absolutely no sense from an ecological standpoint. From a financial standpoint, it does. It makes them grow much more quickly,” Pollan told Frontline. “It makes them get fat, and we like our meat really fat and marbled. And it allows us to speed up the lifespan. In capitalism, time is money.”

Now go have a bean burger.

Copyright © 2007 | Distributed by Noofangle Media