Audiences cringe watching participants of reality TV ingest insects and other creatures that are typically considered inedible. But when making their own meal choices, many people don’t give a second thought to the food they consume. Beef, in particular, can present serious health problems and pose a threat to global sustainability within the current framework of production.
Whether you eat in the dining hall or shop for your own beef, it is important to understand where the dead cow is coming from. Since the sources of beef prepared in the dining halls are not publicly available, caution should be taken when considering what to eat. The United States Department of Agriculture does have a grading system in place for labels on beef marketed to the public and can be utilized in making better decisions regarding beef consumption. But unfortunately the current grading system is only on a voluntary basis and is implemented by meat companies to better market their products. The system stops short of actually telling consumers about the health risks related with certain types of meat and the way in which the cattle were raised.
Without getting into the exciting scientific research about beef health risks, I’ll cut to the chase: Cattle raised on grass-based diets are more nutritional than cattle raised on corn- or grain-based diets. Despite these pressing health recommendations, cattle and other animals raised in concentrated animal feeding operations are still the majority of what the average American dishes up for dinner.
There are many potential health risks associated with beef raised in factories, where there is little room for the animals to exercise and a high risk of disease spreading among closely caged cattle. A far cry from the idealistic farm we know and love in “Charlotte’s Web,” these animals are administered antibiotics to prevent this spread of disease. This can result in built-up immunities to these drugs in the humans that consume the beef. Hormones that hasten maturation are also given to the animals to speed up the time it takes to get them market-ready. These hormones have a negative impact on human health and on the environment when they are excreted in animal waste. Does a hamburger sound appetizing now?
It isn’t shocking that South Koreans are protesting the reintroduction of U.S. beef into their market because of a fear of mad cow disease.
With the price of foodstuffs skyrocketing to the highest levels in 30 years, the social justice-loving consumer begins to doubt the sustainability of meat consumption. Eight hundred million people could be fed with the grain used to raise livestock. Clearly meat is not a sustainable solution to the global hunger crisis. Caring for our own health and those of people around the world is imperative to being a responsible consumer and global citizen.
Though, culturally, Americans love their good juicy steaks and hamburgers, the shift in animal raising from small farms to large-scale factories should send up a red flag to meat lovers and vegetarians alike. Heading to the Bay Area on Highway 5 and munching on In-N-Out can be a bit unsettling when passing the sights and smells of cattle producer Harris Ranch.
I am not a vegetarian and am not arguing that eliminating meat completely from your diet is the answer. While it would be a big step in the right direction, many of our favorites from mom’s home cooking involve meat. One thing we can easily do is think twice about our late Thursday night trips to Fatburger. So all in all, becoming a careful consumer of what we eat is key to keeping dangerous types of meat out of our bellies. Though organic is more expensive, it eliminates the risk of immunity to antibiotics and of ingesting unnatural hormones.
Thinking twice about your Big Mac? E-mail smier@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.