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Beef
Consumer Reports Testing Finds All Beef Shows Signs Of Fecal Contamination
Bon appétit!
– Consumer Reports Testing Finds All Beef Shows Signs of Fecal Contamination (AllGov, Aug 27, 2015):
Eating a hamburger in the U.S. comes with the risk that it might contain fecal matter, based on research performed for Consumer Reports.
“There’s no way to tell by looking at a package of meat or smelling it whether it has harmful bacteria or not,” said Urvashi Rangan, executive director of the Center for Food Safety and Sustainability at Consumer Reports. “You have to be on guard every time.”
Read moreConsumer Reports Testing Finds All Beef Shows Signs Of Fecal Contamination
The Price Of Ground Beef Has DOUBLED Since The Last Financial Crisis
– The Price Of Ground Beef Has DOUBLED Since The Last Financial Crisis (Economic Collapse, March 25, 2015):
Since the depths of the last recession, the price of ground beef in the United States has doubled. Has your paycheck doubled since then? Even though the Federal Reserve insists that we are in a “low inflation” environment, the government’s own numbers show that the price of ground beef has been on an unprecedented run over the past six years. In early 2009, the average price of a pound of ground beef was hovering near 2 dollars. In February, it hit a brand new all-time record high of $4.238 per pound. Even just 12 months ago, the price of ground beef was sitting at $3.555 per pound. So we are talking about a huge increase. And this hits American families where they really live. Each year, the average American consumes approximately 270 pounds of meat. The only nation in the world that eats more meat than we do is Luxembourg. If the paychecks of American workers were going up fast enough to deal with this increase, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. But of course that is not happening. In an article just last week, I showed that real median household income is a couple thousand dollars lower now than it was during the depths of the last recession. The middle class is being squeezed, and we are rapidly getting to the point where burgers are going to be considered a “luxury” item.
Read moreThe Price Of Ground Beef Has DOUBLED Since The Last Financial Crisis
Beef Prices Climb To Highest In 25 Years
H/t reader M.G.:
“Here is another story, the cost of beef is admitted to be at a 25 year high……by my figures using 2010 and 2014 prices, a 400% increase……”
Related info:
– Why Meat Prices Are Going To Continue Soaring For The Foreseeable Future
– Beef prices climb to highest in 25 years (CNBC/AP, April 12, 2014):
The highest beef prices in almost three decades have arrived just before the start of grilling season, causing sticker shock for both consumers and restaurant owners — and relief isn’t likely anytime soon.
A dwindling number of cattle and growing export demand from countries such as China and Japan have caused the average retail cost of fresh beef to climb to $5.28 a pound in February, up almost a quarter from January and the highest price since 1987.
Everything that’s produced is being consumed, said Kevin Good, an analyst at CattleFax, a Colorado-based information group. And prices likely will stay high for a couple of years as cattle producers start to rebuild their herds amid big questions about whether the Southwest and parts of the Midwest will get enough rain to replenish pastures.
Google’s Sergey Brin Is The Money Behind First Lab-Grown Synthetic Beef Hamburger
– Google’s Sergey Brin is the Money Behind Test-Tube Synthetic Burgers (Liberty Blitzkrieg, Aug 6, 2013):
While I share Sergey Brin’s concerns about meat production and the completely cruel way in which we treat our animals, I can’t say I’m looking forward to biting into a test tube hamburger any time soon. This story has received a lot of press in the past few days following the synthetic meat’s taste testing in London yesterday. I have to admit, I’d take the entire thing a lot more seriously if Sergey wasn’t wearing those creepy and idiotic Google Glasses while discussing it (watch video):
From The Guardian:
The man who has bankrolled the production of the world’s first lab-grown hamburger has been revealed as Google co-founder Sergey Brin. The internet entrepreneur has backed the project to the tune of €250,000 (£215,000), allowing scientists to grow enough meat in the lab to create a burger – as a proof of concept – that will be cooked and eaten in London on Monday.
“It’s really just proof of concept right now, we’re trying to create the first cultured beef hamburger,” said Brin in a film to mark the tasting event in London. “From there I’m optimistic that we can really scale by leaps and bounds.”
Read moreGoogle’s Sergey Brin Is The Money Behind First Lab-Grown Synthetic Beef Hamburger
U.S. Beef Supply At 21-Year Low: Get Ready To Pay Up
– Beef Supply at 21-Year Low: Get Ready to Pay Up (Liberty Blitzkrieg, Aug 2, 2013):
I don’t follow the commodity markets as closely as I used to, but the following article related to beef prices really caught my eye. Last year’s drought and consequent spike in grain prices led to negative margins for cattle producers, who subsequently culled their herds. As expected, this has resulted in tighter supply today. We see this evidenced in the fact that retail ground beef prices were up 13% year-over-year in June, and the CEO of Ruth’s Chris mentioned during a recent presentation that they were forced to raise prices in February. While grain prices are much lower today, which should encourage expansion in cattle supply, this process will actually cause even more tightness in the near-term as more animals are set aside for breeding rather than slaughtered.
Don’t worry, you can always just eat the S&P 500.
From Bloomberg:
U.S. beef production is plunging to a 21-year low after surging feed costs spurred ranchers to cut herds, signaling record prices for consumers and higher costs for buyers from McDonald’s Corp. to Ruth’s Chris Steak House.
Production in the U.S. will decline 4.9 percent to 10.93 million metric tons in 2014, retreating for a fourth year, the government says. The herd on July 1 was the smallest for that date since at least 1973, according to the average of four analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Retail ground-beef prices in June were up 13 percent from a year earlier and near a record set in January.
Read moreU.S. Beef Supply At 21-Year Low: Get Ready To Pay Up
Reality Check: The Dow Jones Industrial Average vs. Bananas
– Reality Check: The Dow Jones Industrial Average vs. Bananas (Sovereign Man, March 8, 2013):
Reporting from Santiago, Chile
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, one of the key benchmarks of the US stock market, has soundly surpassed its all-time high. And most of the investing world is toasting their collective success and celebrating the recovery.
It’s a funny thing, really. Most investors only think in terms of ‘nominal’ numbers, i.e. Dow 14,000+ is 40% higher than Dow 10,000 (back in November 2009). But few think in terms of ‘real’ numbers… inflation-adjusted averages.
Everyone knows that inflation exists. We can all look back on prices from the past and realize instantly how much more expensive things have become. Conversely, though, most people don’t think about the stock market like this.
The reality is, though, that when you adjust for inflation, the Dow is well below its highs from over a decade ago.
Read moreReality Check: The Dow Jones Industrial Average vs. Bananas
Horse Meat Scandal
– Irish plant shuts over new horsemeat in burgers (Businessweek, Jan 18, 2013)
– Tesco withdraws over 10 million beef burgers in UK, Ireland after horsemeat discovery (allvoices, Jan 18, 2013)
– Horse meat supplier still operating in the Netherlands with authorities refusing to name and shame the Dutch company (Daily Mail, Jan 18, 2013)
?– Horse meat in supermarket burgers linked to Dutch suppliers (Telegraph, Jan 18, 2013)
– Horse Meat Found in Irish Beef Burgers (TIME, Jan 17, 2013?)
Tesco’s Beef Burgers Contain Up To 29% Horse Meat
– ?Asda, Co-op and Sainsbury’s withdraw burger ranges over horse meat fears as it’s revealed tests found equine DNA in other supermarket products LAST NOVEMBER (DailyMail, Jan 15, 2013)
Scientific tests on some beef products found low levels of horse DNA But one offering from Tesco’s Value range had 29% horse meat Company has lost £300m off its market value today
Equine DNA also found in Dunnes Stores, Lidl, Aldi beef products Asda and Co-op remove frozen products as ‘precaution’ Today, fast food giant Burger King revealed it uses same supplier However, Burger King said its meat has not been affected
Irish scientists discovered contaminated burgers in late November But carried out three rounds of tests to ensure data was correct
UK Food Standards Agency launching investigation into the findings PM calls scandal ‘a completely unacceptable state of affairs’ Suppliers in Holland and Spain blamed for contaminated ingredients
Three more supermarkets have started clearing shelves of frozen beefburgers after it emerged they use the same supplier that sold Tesco products containing up to 29 per cent horse meat.
Asda, the Co-op and Sainsbury’s were not among the four retailers found to be selling contaminated food but say they have pulled some of their ranges as a ‘precautionary measure’.
It came as it was revealed horse-tainted beefburgers could have been on the shelves for almost two months after it was first discovered they contained equine meat.
Radioactive Fukushima Beef Labeled As From ‘Hokkaido’
– “Beef labelled as from Hokkaido, but the tracking code tells it’s grown in Fukushima” (Fukushima Diary, Nov 30, 2012):
Introducing important tweets as [Express] for simultaneous updates.
????????? ????????????????????????????RT?????????????????????????????????????????? ????H22.12.25??23.10.30??????????????????????????????????
— cyclechabumaro?? (@cyclochabumaro) 11? 30, 2012<Translate>
You can’t be reassured by the label of origin. and it’s not only the origin, but also where the feed is from..
bought beef at a supermarket in Yaita city, Tochigi. The label of origin says it’s from Hokkaido, but the tracking ID says it was in Minamisoma city from 12/25/2010 to 10/30/2011. Shouldn’t they label it as from Fukushima ?
<End>
Introducing important tweets as [Express] for simultaneous updates.
????????? ????????????????????????????RT?????????????????????????????????????????? ????H22.12.25??23.10.30??????????????????????????????????
— cyclechabumaro?? (@cyclochabumaro) 11? 30, 2012
<Translate>
You can’t be reassured by the label of origin. and it’s not only the origin, but also where the feed is from..
bought beef at a supermarket in Yaita city, Tochigi. The label of origin says it’s from Hokkaido, but the tracking ID says it was in Minamisoma city from 12/25/2010 to 10/30/2011. Shouldn’t they label it as from Fukushima ?
<End>
Radioactive Beef Over Cesium Limit From Cow Raised Far Outside Fukushima … As Fukushima Beef Is Exported To The U.S.
See also:
– Fukushima Exports 1st Beef In 30 Months To The U.S. (NHK)
– America To Restart Importing Fukushima Beef
– Japan: 180,000 Students Were Eating Radioactive Beef
– Radioactive beef over cesium limit from cow raised far outside Fukushima… As Fukushima beef shipments to US resume this week (ENENews, Oct 18, 2012):
Title: Cesium above new limit in Miyagi beef
Source: Jiji
Date: Oct. 18, 2012Radioactive cesium levels above the government’s new limit have been found in beef from Miyagi Prefecture, the prefectural government said.
Meat from a cow shipped by a farmer in Tome was found to contain more than 150 becquerels of radioactive cesium per kilogram, the Miyagi Prefectural Government said Wednesday.
The stricter limit of 150 becquerels for beef and rice took effect Oct. 1. The previous limit was 500 becquerels per kilogram.
[…]
Miyagi Prefecture told the farmer not to ship any more cows until the investigation is completed, and asked nearby ranchers to suspend shipments voluntarily.
Fukushima Exports 1st Beef In 30 Months To The U.S. (NHK)
– Fukushima exports 1st beef in 30 months (NHK, Oct 14, 2012):
Cattle farmers in Fukushima Prefecture have resumed beef exports to the United States for the first time in 2 and a half years.
Farmers celebrated the shipment of 3 cattle with a ceremony on Sunday. The leader of a local agricultural cooperative said the resumption is a tailwind for Fukushima farmers who have been suffering from the effects of the nuclear accident.
Read moreFukushima Exports 1st Beef In 30 Months To The U.S. (NHK)
America To Restart Importing Fukushima Beef
– America to restart importing Fukushima beef (Fukushima Diary, Oct 14, 2012)
AND NOW: ‘New Happiness In Japan’ – ‘Let’s Eat Cesium Beef’ Event: Parents Bring Their Children Sit Down And Knowingly Eat Radioactive Beef From Iwate
– #Radioactive Japan: People Invited to Eat Cesium Beef from Iwate (EX-SKF, April 25, 2012):
This is the copy of the printed version of Fukushima Minpo on April 25, 2012, a local newspaper in Fukushima:
The reporter signs off as “Kyodo News”, but reading the postscript part of the article it is clear that this is the original Fukushima Minpo article. It was probably fed to Kyodo News, as Fukushima Minpo is a member of Kyodo News.
What does it say?
The series title in the upper right corner: “New Happiness in Japan – Measure”
The article title in the middle: “Think what “food safety” means”
The subtitle of the article: “Cesium beef offered at an event”
From this information, if you conjure up the image of the gist of the article as “OK, the happiness in Japan in post-Fukushima is to gladly eat beef known to contain radioactive cesium to help producers as long as it is measured and disclosed properly, and that’s food safety”, I’ll give you an A.
Quick translation (main article only, subject to revision later, maybe):
It was quiet in the office district on Sunday. It was March 11 afternoon, one year anniversary of the disaster. Couples with children, middle-aged men in jeans were entering a 12-story public building off the busy streets in Shinjuku, Tokyo.
On the tables in the kitchen that is used for cooking classes were the plates with hamburgers just cooked. Mitsuhiro Anada (age 40) told the people in the kitchen, “These contain 6 becquerels/kg [of radioactive cesium]. Please let me know if you don’t want to eat them. We have also prepared cesium-free ones.” About 30 people then sat at the table and started to eat.
Mr. Anada is the head of “Mo-ton Family”, a meat processing company located in the northern Iwate. The event, “Let’s eat cesium beef” came about after calling the customers who buy ham, hamburger meat and sausages from his company by mail order.
The main dishes are the hamburgers and beef stew made from the beef that had been detected with radioactive cesium. Both dishes tested far below the provisional safety limit (500 becquerels/kg [it was still the provisional safety limit in March this year]).
“I wanted the consumers to think about what “food safety” means, by showing the number [of radioactive cesium measurement] and having them eat [the meat]“, said Anada when asked why he held this event.
Japan: 180,000 Students Were Eating Radioactive Beef
Related info:
– Over 30% Of Tested Fukushima Children Have Thyroid Lumps
– Totally Insane Japan: 10 Tokyo Elementary Schools Send Children Skiing In Fukushima Prefecture
– Radiation in Japan: Saitama Forces School Children To Gargle With Sayama Tea to Prevent Flu
– Cesium beef has been eaten by 180,000 students (Fukushima Diary, Feb. 3, 2012):
A member of the House of Representatives from Communist Party, Miyamoto Takeshi commented on his blog that about 180,000 students have eaten cesium beef.
Read moreJapan: 180,000 Students Were Eating Radioactive Beef
Contaminated beef containing harmful pesticides, veterinary antibiotics and heavy metals sold to the public
Beef containing harmful pesticides, veterinary antibiotics and heavy metals is being sold to the public because federal agencies have failed to set limits for the contaminants or adequately test for them, a federal audit finds.
WASHINGTON – Beef containing harmful pesticides, veterinary antibiotics and heavy metals is being sold to the public because federal agencies have failed to set limits for the contaminants or adequately test for them, a federal audit finds.
A program set up to test beef for chemical residues “is not accomplishing its mission of monitoring the food supply for … dangerous substances, which has resulted in meat with these substances being distributed in commerce,” says the audit by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General.
The health effects on people who eat such meat are a “growing concern,” the audit adds.
The testing program for cattle is run by the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), which also tests meat for such pathogens as salmonella and certain dangerous strains of E. coli. But the residue program relies on assistance from the Environmental Protection Agency, which sets tolerance levels for human exposure to pesticides and other pollutants, and the Food and Drug Administration, which does the same for antibiotics and other medicines.
DOCUMENTS: Read the audit report
Injecting Beef With Ammonia; Safety of Beef Processing Method Is Questioned
Carl S. Custer, a former U.S.D.A. microbiologist, said he and other scientists were concerned that the department had approved the treated beef for sale without obtaining independent validation of the potential safety risk. Another department microbiologist, Gerald Zirnstein, called the processed beef “pink slime” in a 2002 e-mail message to colleagues and said, “I do not consider the stuff to be ground beef, and I consider allowing it in ground beef to be a form of fraudulent labeling.”
Toxic zombie food!
A Beef Products Inc. processing plant in South Sioux City, Neb. The company injects fatty beef trimmings with ammonia to remove E. coli and salmonella.
Both McDonald’s and Burger King use Beef Products’ processed beef as a component in ground beef.
Eight years ago, federal officials were struggling to remove potentially deadly E. coli from hamburgers when an entrepreneurial company from South Dakota came up with a novel idea: injecting beef with ammonia.
The company, Beef Products Inc., had been looking to expand into the hamburger business with a product made from beef that included fatty trimmings the industry once relegated to pet food and cooking oil. The trimmings were particularly susceptible to contamination, but a study commissioned by the company showed that the ammonia process would kill E. coli as well as salmonella.
Officials at the United States Department of Agriculture endorsed the company’s ammonia treatment, and have said it destroys E. coli “to an undetectable level.” They decided it was so effective that in 2007, when the department began routine testing of meat used in hamburger sold to the general public, they exempted Beef Products.
With the U.S.D.A.’s stamp of approval, the company’s processed beef has become a mainstay in America’s hamburgers. McDonald’s, Burger King and other fast-food giants use it as a component in ground beef, as do grocery chains. The federal school lunch program used an estimated 5.5 million pounds of the processed beef last year alone.
But government and industry records obtained by The New York Times show that in testing for the school lunch program, E. coli and salmonella pathogens have been found dozens of times in Beef Products meat, challenging claims by the company and the U.S.D.A. about the effectiveness of the treatment. Since 2005, E. coli has been found 3 times and salmonella 48 times, including back-to-back incidents in August in which two 27,000-pound batches were found to be contaminated. The meat was caught before reaching lunch-rooms trays.
Read moreInjecting Beef With Ammonia; Safety of Beef Processing Method Is Questioned
Cloned Beef Has Already Entered U.S. Food Supply, Even Before FDA Nod
(NaturalNews) The major cattle cloning companies in the United States have admitted that they have not bothered to try and keep meat from the offspring of clones out of the U.S. food supply, in spite of a request by the FDA several years ago.
“This is a fairy tale that this technology is not being used and is not already in the food chain,” said Donald Coover, who owns a specialty cattle semen business. “Anyone who tells you otherwise either doesn’t know what they’re talking about, or they’re not being honest.”
Coover admitted that for several years, he has been openly selling semen from cloned bulls. He is sure, he added, that others are doing the same.
Read moreCloned Beef Has Already Entered U.S. Food Supply, Even Before FDA Nod