Report: Nearly Half of America's Meat Contains Staph Bacteria

Just in time for the beginning of the Northeast's barbecue season, a very unsettling article on America's meat supply appeared in the LA Times. In essence, the story notes that nearly one-half of meat available in retail outlets may have staph bacteria. The culprit for the spread of this most unwelcome biological agent is alleged to be the promiscuous use of antibiotics in the agriculture industry.

This allegation, if proven true, adds another blow to the nation's psyche. For years, Americans took pride in sanitary food processing conditions. One had relationships with a local butcher, who handled clean critters or soon left the profession. The larger supermarkets, and subsequent superstores, had fewer personal relationships with customers. The "take a number" atmosphere did not lend itself to the same care and concern one would have experienced from a small shopkeeper with a stake in his or her customers' well being.

Some places still maintain a personal hand in meat selection and care. An example of this came to mind at an Italian restaurant my wife and I enjoy. We happen to know the owner/chef and had a chance to talk with him after we completed our meal. I mentioned that I had liked the pork dish I ordered. The owner/chef told us that "the animal" had looked good, with the inference that he had purchased the slaughtered creature and butchered it himself. How many TV chefs would do that? Damn few. Yet, this owner/chef, a proponent of "old school" culinary and personal values, wouldn't have done it any other way.

When I taught recently arrived immigrants in New York City, one constant that spanned all nationalities was their consistent surprise at the packaging of meat in the United States. It was nearly inconceivable that one would purchase beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, or pork without seeing the animal of its origin. Let's just say there wasn't a lot of trust toward cellophane wrapped mystery meat. That sense of suspicion was most pronounced among those students who came from rural backgrounds.

Notably, the research report on which the LA Times story was based came out on a Friday. Bad news often is released on Friday, so that it gets lost on Saturday and forgotten by Monday. Similar to the consternation incidents of Mad Cow Disease generated among consumers, this story has the potential to cause great alarm among those who don't want to imagine that their prime cuts include biological time bombs.

The meat industry has taken the tactic of insisting its products be "thoroughly cooked" as a preventive measure. If the product were sound to begin with, such a warning would be unnecessary. Meat should be properly cooked, not burnt to a tasteless crisp. It should also be properly slaughtered, butchered, and prepared for public sale. That should not be a complicated formula to fulfill.

The photograph shows a cattle herd crossing a road in Montana.