Listeriosis Alert
August 26, 2008, Matthew Good This listeriosis thing is somewhat troublesome being that I consume a great deal of deli meat - actually, I just eat a lot of Prosciutto, all of which is imported from Italy, so. But it’s troubling for the public nonetheless. If you haven’t heard about what’s transpiring, the CBC has details.
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I find that the most troubling thing is that it can take up to 70 days for symptoms to appear. So even though everyone’s being really careful about what they’re eating right now, we could still have cases popping up for the next 2 months or so (I’m not sure when the first case was reported). I know I ate some Maple Leaf products before the recall was issued. It’s pretty alarming.
Every day it gets worse… the scariest thing is that since it can take up to 90 days to incubate, this could be going on a long, long time. I wonder how (and if) Maple Leaf will rebound.
When you’re pregnant, you’re constantly told not to eat deli meats or soft cheeses like brie on the very miniscule chance of listeria contamination, which is extremely dangerous to the fetus. I suspect most women comply without really thinking it could ever happen… I’m a veg, luckily, but have been avoiding brie and feta like a good little pregnant chick, all the while inwardly sighing about the whole thing… after all, what are the odds of contracting listeriosis from those foods? Actually, according to my book, 1 in 5,000,000. But I guess you really never know. I hope every pregnant woman out there was listening to her doctor and her What to Expect….
I’m such an idiot. Up until a couple of weeks ago I’ve had a solid diet of nothing but Maple Leafs Food Products. Breakfast, Lunch, Supper and late night snacks all consisted of various processed meats. Now I have a wicked bad fever, muscle aches, nausea, diarrhea, and it feels like the infection has spread to my nervous system as I have a headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and some covulsions.
What do I do? Am I a goner? Should I stop calling in sick for work and just give them a heads up that I’m dying?
I don’t eat a ton of deli meat but have nonetheless been blogging about this bit of disaster…… The part that gets me is the leaked cabinet document by a Canadian Food Inspection Agency biologist (who was later fired.) The document detailed the Harper camp’s plan to take the power of meat inspection from the government and place it in the hands of the industry itself. These are the same people who are responsible for company PR, cost saving and quality control. The document also details the plan to cut millions in dollars in funding to monitor & test for BSE in Canada (Mad Cow)
Then Listeria hit, right after the document hit the press. The speed at which they are backtracking now is a sight to behold. The families that have lost love ones will clearly never be the same, but if you had to look at SOMETHING positive in this whole debacle, it’s stopping that power shift in Canadian meat inspection. Not much, I know, but better than a kick in the teeth when you’re already down.
http://repliderium.com/uncategorized/listeria-maple-leaf-meat-recalls-end-government-inspections/
The cover of today’s Vancouver Sun had the entire list (so far) printed out on the front page. Pretty scary stuff.
Unfortunately I don’t watch TV and didn’t know about this before yesterday when it was discussed at work…after eating my lunch meat sandwich or course. It scares the be-jeesus out of me to know that it can take weeks for symptoms.
What IS safe to eat now-a-days? Really.
It’s extremely alarming.
I, myself, don’t eat much deli meat and try and sway my kids away from it…mostly because of all the nitrates. But both of my kids had just discovered Safeway’s smokestack sandwich (which is loaded with meat) and have each consumed a few of them in the recent past. And my Dad’s staple (now that he’s on his own) is deli meat…most nights he has sandwiches for dinner! So I’m on pins and needles, anxiously awaiting doctor’s appointments.
I was talking with my friend who manages the local Safeway here….they’re getting rid of all the products (even the ones that weren’t on the recall list). But he questions Maple Leaf’s decision to clean the plant (which apparently may not be enough)….he thinks they should take full measures to ensure they get rid of the problem by tearing it down and starting anew. I tend to agree.
I’m also freaked out about the recall because we just learned yesterday to avoid anything marked EST 97B (from their new alert which made the recall list grow so exponentially), and earlier in the day I fed my daughter pre-packaged deli meat that was supposed to be Superstore’s. Later, I discovered EST 97B on meat products in my fridge that have recently been consumed (including that pre-packed meat). I’ve visited the Health Canada website and watched all of the news stories, but still haven’t come across what people should do if they know they’ve consumed some of the contaminated products. I will be seeing the doctor as well…
Ket, I fell upon that while reading What to expect when prego. I couldn’t believe I’d never heard that before, FETA CHEESE???????? MY GOD…. That just threw me for a loop, man. So glad I read it before chowing down at our annual Danish Lunch on Christmas Day. jaysus.
side note: last week I got carried away and mowed down while making my husband’s lunches one night and thought to myself ‘hmmm, ham’s almost gone and it’s only Tuesday, I’ll just grab some processed stuff from Stuperstore when I’m there anyways tomorrow’… I totally forgot to buy some and I always get the Maple Leave stuff. GASP!!!
Ashleigh, on the news last night they’d said to go to the doctor if you have uncontrolable throwing up, the big D word, fever, etc.. and on the grounds that these symptom’s do not disappear. Also, you live in BC, you most likely bought items from the plant in Surrey which was not affected. Fingers crossed for you, I know how scarey it is.. I still haven’t figured out if we ate stuff, yet… Oddly enough, both my husband and I have been getting headaches last couple days. we NEVER get headaches… wiiiiiiiiierd.
“A secret cabinet document leaked last month suggested the Conservatives wanted to hand over inspection duties to industry.”
Good lord, that’s disquieting. Even here, the USDA rules of inspection are just plain… odd.
I just finished The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan, and it sheds a lot uncomfortable truths on how most of our meat is produced. Part of the problem with the infection is that cows, as ruminants are not meant to eat corn and some of the other stuff that is fed to them in CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations {yuck}). In fact, a great deal of the BCE epidemics among cows are actually attributed to the fact that up until about 7 or 8 years ago, they were fed the ground up remainder of cows, including their brains, which is where the BCE epidemic was coming from.
The industry itself inspecting our food supply?! I suspect the result would be similar to what happened when the Chinese were inspecting their own manufactured goods that were coming here. No thanks.
thank god I’m a vegetarian. saves me from all this kinda shit.
Thank god I get all my meats from Bosa or Ortona. There’s so much salt packed in to Italian cured meats, it’s like the surface of moon in my sammiches.
Lifeless.
Times like this I’m glad to be a vegetarian. But thanks for reminding me to call my mom about it.
[quote comment="63072"]thank god I’m a vegetarian. saves me from all this kinda shit.[/quote]
But do you eat cheese? Unless you are a vegan than you’re still in the danger zone. Unpasteurised dairy products are the biggest sources of listeria.
I have the sweetest picture in my head of Matt and deb’s Dad having supper together together to celebrate once the deli meat scare is over. ;)
Last year the word “Gammelfleisch” was one of the words running for the title “word of the year” in Germany. “Gammelfleisch” sort of means “scruffy meat”. That derived from the fact that our country too had been shaken by various cases of decomposed meat being reconditioned and thrown back out on the market as frozen products or hamburger and kebap meat. That’s something that will never stop as long as people can make money out of it.
I wouldn’t be overly anxious about the whole thing. Stop consuming products of concern until everything cleared up. I remember that sort of panic going through the masses when the media came up with that BSE desease back in 1995 when every regular consumer of beef thought he was about to die within the next 6 months.
[quote comment="63072"]thank god I’m a vegetarian. saves me from all this kinda shit.[/quote]
Yeah, me too, but remember the tomato scare recently? Packaged spinach? Um… can’t remember what else, but it seems there’s always something causing problems. Though, it’s true, I’ve never seen something of this magnitude before.
First the air, then the water… now the friggin’ lunchmeat. There’s no place to hide.
Okay for the BEST PROSCIUTTO on the entire planet, you must go directly to the source… Ai Bintars in San Daniele del Friuli in northern Italy. They serve you with big plates of prosciutto, cheeses, pickled veggies, bread, and yummy pastries for dessert. They slice it on demand with a hand crank so the blade doesn’t scald the meat making it tough (like what we get here). This heavenly meat actually melts on your tongue.
Put lunch at Ai Bintars on your Bucket List. http://www.aibintars.com/
I’m currently on a vegetarian kick (one of several of varying lengths in the past six years). I’m very thankful that I don’t have to worry about this outbreak, but the contaminated vegetable issues in recent years is certainly frightening.
I’m of the opinion that the possibility for such contamination could be reduced exponentially if current farming practices were scaled down. Far smaller operations and more of them to serve local communities could make monitoring them a lot easier, both by the government and by internal inspectors. Massive factory farms and processing plants are contributing to a horrible national diet. Stronger regulations are also needed on what animals should eat in order to avoid masses of sick animals simply for the sake of saving a few bucks on their food.
[quote comment="63070"]Ashleigh, on the news last night they’d said to go to the doctor if you have uncontrolable throwing up, the big D word, fever, etc.. and on the grounds that these symptom’s do not disappear. Also, you live in BC, you most likely bought items from the plant in Surrey which was not affected. Fingers crossed for you, I know how scarey it is.. I still haven’t figured out if we ate stuff, yet… Oddly enough, both my husband and I have been getting headaches last couple days. we NEVER get headaches… wiiiiiiiiierd.[/quote]
OMG ME TOO!! For the past week my head has been excruatating at times, and if its not, their is still a constant headache.
My daughter has consumed the deli meat, which is making me very very nervous. She too complained of a headache the other day. We are headed to the doctors at 10:30 today!!
I believe this problem is going to to be a huge epidemic considering it can take up to 70 days to incubate and symptoms to appear. Scary shit for sure!
[quote comment="63043"]I’m such an idiot. Up until a couple of weeks ago I’ve had a solid diet of nothing but Maple Leafs Food Products. Breakfast, Lunch, Supper and late night snacks all consisted of various processed meats. Now I have a wicked bad fever, muscle aches, nausea, diarrhea, and it feels like the infection has spread to my nervous system as I have a headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and some covulsions.
What do I do? Am I a goner? Should I stop calling in sick for work and just give them a heads up that I’m dying?[/quote]
Um lesson the first - get your ass to a hospital or at least a doctor.. whether you ate the meat or not those aren’t good symptoms to have
It’s times like this I thank the good people at the local farms. I try as much as possible to buy local and never anything pre packaged –ew.
What a sad day it is when we can not trust the food we eat..
There’s a guy selling caribou meat out of the back of a pick-up truck in front of the Old ‘98 Saloon this morning in Whitehorse - maybe I’ll take my chances over there.
I’m more careful these days, having kids and also after a friend’s daughter ate a hamburger at a fast food joint and nearly died. I recall my university days and living with 4 friends - spent all our money on beer and little on food:
“Man…you’re not going to eat that are you?”
“Yeah. Why not?”
“Ummm…that’s mould”
“So?”
“It’s bad dude”
“Listen…what do they make penicillin out of?”
“Mould I think”
“Penicillin is good for you right?”
“Welll…yeah”
“So this piece of pizza is like…medicine”
“Right on. Give me a piece”
[quote comment="63087"][quote comment="63072"]thank god I’m a vegetarian. saves me from all this kinda shit.[/quote]
Yeah, me too, but remember the tomato scare recently? Packaged spinach? Um… can’t remember what else, but it seems there’s always something causing problems. Though, it’s true, I’ve never seen something of this magnitude before.[/quote]
I don’t eat tomatoes and I wash all my veggies with a veggie wash.
[quote comment="63078"][quote comment="63072"]thank god I’m a vegetarian. saves me from all this kinda shit.[/quote]
But do you eat cheese? Unless you are a vegan than you’re still in the danger zone. Unpasteurised dairy products are the biggest sources of listeria.[/quote
I very rarely eat cheese. Like once a month at most.
[quote comment="63100"]There’s a guy selling caribou meat out of the back of a pick-up truck in front of the Old ‘98 Saloon this morning in Whitehorse - maybe I’ll take my chances over there.
I’m more careful these days, having kids and also after a friend’s daughter ate a hamburger at a fast food joint and nearly died. I recall my university days and living with 4 friends - spent all our money on beer and little on food:
“Man…you’re not going to eat that are you?”
“Yeah. Why not?”
“Ummm…that’s mould”
“So?”
“It’s bad dude”
“Listen…what do they make penicillin out of?”
“Mould I think”
“Penicillin is good for you right?”
“Welll…yeah”
“So this piece of pizza is like…medicine”
“Right on. Give me a piece”[/quote]
This made me laugh.
Two days ago I bought a container of raspberries that was marked down from $4.00 to 3. When I got home, I opened them to find that the entire contents were stuck together with a layer of mold!! I took them back (only because I had to go back near the market anyhow - normally I wouldn’t waste the 5 bucks worth of gas to get a $3.00 refund).
I checked out all the other packages, which also were covered in mold. I then went and told the clerk and asked for a refund. So what did she do then?….she went over and reduced the moldy packages $.99/each!
In reference to the caribou meat - my Dad always hunted, fished and gardened….in looking back, I really had the best of the “organic” world, but never made proper use of it. I opted to grab stuff from the store instead, as it was “easier”. I now regret turning down all the good food that he made available to me…in hindsight, you don’t know what you’ve got ’till it’s gone.
[quote comment="63100"]There’s a guy selling caribou meat out of the back of a pick-up truck in front of the Old ‘98 Saloon this morning in Whitehorse - maybe I’ll take my chances over there.
I’m more careful these days, having kids and also after a friend’s daughter ate a hamburger at a fast food joint and nearly died. I recall my university days and living with 4 friends - spent all our money on beer and little on food:
“Man…you’re not going to eat that are you?”
“Yeah. Why not?”
“Ummm…that’s mould”
“So?”
“It’s bad dude”
“Listen…what do they make penicillin out of?”
“Mould I think”
“Penicillin is good for you right?”
“Welll…yeah”
“So this piece of pizza is like…medicine”
“Right on. Give me a piece”[/quote]
LMAO!!!! Think we’ve all been there a time or two………
I think being veg saved my ass because in June my whole family had horrible diarrhea, rotten gut, fever at the same time and my bro had to go to the hospital since it was so bad - but i was the only one not to get sick and they definitely ate maple leaf products.
The whole thing that pisses me off is that the government HAS NOT LEARNED FROM HISTORY.
Did everyone forget about the E.coli outbreak?? The government puts testing into the hands of the people running the plant and 7 people end up dead.
My bologna has a first name. It’s O S C A R.
My bologna has a second hame it’s M A Y E R
mmmm Bologna sammiches
When we go out and eat somewhere (restaurant or other), we don’t know where are food comes from… I guess it’s a little scary. Especially when symptoms from this Listeriosis thing might not show for 70 days… and who really remembers what they ate over 2 months ago? Maybe this is a good reason to not eat meat…. (I wish it wasn’t so good so I could just stop eating it!) I can only imaging what people could do if they wanted to harm a large section of the population…. Scary stuff!
“Oh, I get hysterical, Listeria
Oh can you feel it? (oh can you feel it? )
Do you believe it? (do you believe it? )
Its such a magical mysteria
When you get that feelin (when you get that feelin)
Better start believin’ (better start believin’)
Cuz its a miracle, oh say you will
Ooh babe
Listeria when you’re near…”
Sorry, couldn’t resist :)
[quote comment="63074"]Thank god I get all my meats from Bosa or Ortona. There’s so much salt packed in to Italian cured meats, it’s like the surface of moon in my sammiches.
Lifeless.[/quote]
I got bad news for you then, Listeria is the only food born bacteria that not only can survive a high salt environment - they love it. A few years back there was a good scare of Listeriosis in hot dogs.
But the good news - most immuno-competent human beings will not become ill as their immune system will remove the pathogens from their system before they can become established - it is however a problem for neonates, AIDS patients, pregnant women, the elderly and anyone whose immune system’s compromised.
http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/dfbmd/disease_listing/listeriosis_gi.html
[quote comment="63120"][quote comment="63074"]Thank god I get all my meats from Bosa or Ortona. There’s so much salt packed in to Italian cured meats, it’s like the surface of moon in my sammiches.
Lifeless.[/quote]
I got bad news for you then, Listeria is the only food born bacteria that not only can survive a high salt environment - they love it. A few years back there was a good scare of Listeriosis in hot dogs.
But the good news - most immuno-competent human beings will not become ill as their immune system will remove the pathogens from their system before they can become established - it is however a problem for neonates, AIDS patients, pregnant women, the elderly and anyone whose immune system’s compromised.
http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/dfbmd/disease_listing/listeriosis_gi.html/quote
What!
That’s crap.
Do these little pathogen sons of bitches like scotch too? If so, I may have found my ancestors…
Oh, and there’s nothing I love more than the vegetarians that come out of the woodwork during times like these. They always have a refreshing take. Paraphrasing: “Meat eaters are idiots.”
Thanks, T:)
Unfortunately, the EST number is indicative of the facility in which the product was manufactured (so they said on TV), and thus, I have consumed suspect meat (yikes!)…In fact, the most recent death related to the outbreak occurred a half hour away from here. Creepy and tragic.
wow.
you know… i just cannot help but think that, beyond the unfortunate deaths (one in my local hospital), illnesses and those to come, this is the best example of the advantages of food security/sovereignty and moving away from corporate control over our food.
i know that sounds way off in the deep end, but really, if people were eating actual FOOD, and not something that was food that has been stripped, molded, folded and packaged into a food-like substance, we could have not avoided this whole mess?
Greater inspections in processing facilities? LAUGHABLE. instead of trying to save these businesses that are in the business of selling food-like substance, how about we start growing our own, buying from our local farmers, and taking control over something that was once in our control in the first place.
revolutionary? counter-revolutionary? i dunno. i just know that i enjoy having a greater say in what i eat instead of supporting a business that strips its food of any nutritional content and then try to fool me into believing that buying their foods fortified with omega 3 fatty acids because the processing of the ‘food’ STRIPPED it of it’s original nutritional value in the first place, makes me a better, healthier consumer. buy buy buy! i mean…
wow.
tangent, i know. i always do it, but it is very much related. and i very much enjoyed the reference to micheal pollan. i am reading ‘in defence of food’ right now. it is extremely informative. now i gotta go now
Ciao!
*ahem*
oops. i still enjoy my processed food goodness, not to pretend i am militant about food or anything (although strive to be moreso). but honestly, this does not surprise me at all. centralize food production only spells t.r.o.u.b.l.e. for anything from processed deli meats, abbitoires, produce operations etc.
To Amy ~ you are bang on!
Being a “Mom on a Mission for Good Nutrition” [yes, I realize it's corny, but it's catchy :-)] I’m thinking this whole listeriosis scare is actually a great thing! People need to start paying attention to what they are putting into their mouths instead of just stuffing it to get to the next “thing” we so badly need to do. We eat to fill the gap without paying any mind to the CHEMICALS that we are putting into our bodies: MSG, aspartame, nitrates, pesticides, sugar and food colours ~ these all have an effect on our health. People wonder why they can’t sleep, why they’re overweight, why they suffer panic attacks, why they’re always sick, why their bodies ache ~ this is not normal? Why do people accept it as…oh, that’s just the way it is. Give me a f@cking break! You want to be healthy? Look at what you are eating FIRST and FOLLOW THROUGH with the changes you need to make. Is it easy? Nothing worth having ever is….
As for our Government and us TRUSTING what they authorize? HA! Cha ching is what I will say to that! We as consumers need to start demanding higher quality and nutrient dense foods! Just because you can buy it at your grocery store, doesn’t mean that it’s good for you. [cigarettes are still sold and cigarettes still kill, very efficiently too ~ here, let me slowly suffocate myself to death by damaging my body; my lungs specifically, so that they slowly but surely restrict oxygen to my brain] Look at our kids for goodness sakes ~ they’re being diagnosised with adult diseases at 6 and 10! Dr. Katz says that today’s children is the first generation to die before their parents…. WAKE UP PEOPLE!
Taken from a Seinfeld episode: “You’re not a patient, you’re a customer.” $$$
Health is my business. I work with people and teach them how easy it is to become active and how to make simple but good nutritional choices: if you’re not washing it, then you need to wonder if you should eat it.
If I had eaten or fed any kind of processed meats to my family; I would be seriously concerned.
This story is still unfolding….I hope when it finally settles, people will be motivated to eat healthier.
…macaroni baloney….it doesn’t even sound good.
Good points Jenn.
But the scary thing is that many of the so called “healthy” alternatives that you find in the produce department are actually some of the worst when it comes to carcinogens in the form of pesticides. Many of our fruits and vegetables are some major contributors to cancer related illness. Along with the pesticides, some is genetically modified, etc., etc. My rule of thumb is that the pretty, shiny, flawless stuff is usually the stuff to steer clear of. It’s the imperfect produce that I search for (with bug holes - if the bugs’ll eat it, it’s not so bad).
I just learned a little more about the PLU codes on fruits and veggies - it can help identify what’s been done to the produce before it’s picked.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_Look-Up_codes
Good to know… *spits out sandwich*
29 confirmed cases, 15 deaths to date.
And now, apparently unrelated, they say they’ve found listeria in two brands of soft cheeses from Quebec (9 cases there, 1 possible death).
I ask my self, what in the worled is going on?
and currently living off of eggsalad and PB&J sandwiches!
I went to bed last night, dreamt, and woke up convinced I was going to die from eating some contaminated meat last week. What a shitty possibility.
Girls scared to eat meat.
Story of my life.
The products that are being recalled which are suspected of being contaminated with Listeriosis are coming from meat packing plants which aside from having terrible practices ie. slaughter practices, primarily get their animals from factory farms. Diseases such as these would not exist if it were not for horrendous conditions on these factory farms. Animals are kept confined in small cages or pens living in their own fecal matter and are without proper medical treatment of wounds or other health problems. On top of all of that these animals are fed a variety of hormones and medications which are unnatural to their systems and they are denied their natural diets or any type of food which will allow them to build a natural immune system. We can only blame ourselves for allowing this to continue.
oh the media putting fear into everybody, they never seem to mention that listeria is fatal for infants and elderly, and yes that sucks for them. but the majority of people don’t have too really worry, if infected you may get a stomach ache
I have a couple of friends who work as meat inspectors in Quebec, and trust me that you dont wanna know some of the horror stories they have told me (cancer ridden animals being used in the meat supply for example) . About 10 years agp they significantly cut back on the number of meat inspectors. These are they guys who do things like make sure the carcases have had all the fecal matter removed or that the meat is not otherwise contaminated or unfit for consumption (ie the cow had cancer). The idea of conservative governments has generally been “why should the canadian taxpayer be quality control for a meat company?” PSAC has warned both the government and the public that this could happen for at least a decade. The reality is that the meat company will not do the kind of quality control nessessary to protect public health, and the result if a public health crisis and public lack of faith in the food supply. This outbreak, or one similar, was going to happen eventually.
The number of meat inspectors is down by about half of what it was a decade ago. A leaked memo shows that Harper was planning to reduce that number by about 1/4th right before this outbreak. Its a terrible thing to happen, but perhaps this will force the government to wake up. The other thing is the government doesn’t pay attention or both doing anything when mean companies dont follow the rules. I’ve been told about cancer cows being removed, then the inspectors go on break, and once they are back the cancer cows are back on the line. Who knows if eating a cow with cancer will give you cancer or something else….but do you really want to risk it ?
[quote comment="63187"]cancer ridden animals being used in the meat supply for example[/quote]
What you SHOULD be worried about is them missing carcasses not only contaminated with fecal matter, but those with encysted parasites in them. Then there are the carcasses where illegal antibiotics and drugs have been used in the animal (illegal = antibiotics not permitted in animals intended for food because these antibiotics are not safe for human consumption). Cancer is the least of your worries. Luckily you cannot “catch” cancer from eating it. Cancer cells in a dead cow are as dead as the cow. And your digestive system will render them into very small molecules no matter if the cell is cancer or normal. However, I will say eating a steak with a big tumor in it doesn’t really sound that appealing - it is however not dangerous. Well - unless the cancer was caused by some sort of toxic chemical or something - but most likely it wasn’t.
That said - I feed mice with huge mammary tumors to my snakes all the time :P, and they don’t seem to mind - protein is protein to them.
Hurrah for being a Vegetarian in Argentina!
[quote comment="63187"]The number of meat inspectors is down by about half of what it was a decade ago. A leaked memo shows that Harper was planning to reduce that number by about 1/4th right before this outbreak. Its a terrible thing to happen, but perhaps this will force the government to wake up.
The other thing is the government doesn’t pay attention or both doing anything when mean companies dont follow the rules. I’ve been told about cancer cows being removed, then the inspectors go on break, and once they are back the cancer cows are back on the line. Who knows if eating a cow with cancer will give you cancer or something else….but do you really want to risk it ?[/quote]
Maybe it’s just the fact that I’m a Vegetarian (and therefore biased) but I don’t believe taxpayers should be paying for meat inspectors AT ALL.. why aren’t the individual meat proccessing plants paying for their own meat inspectors?
Please tell me if I’m missing something here, because I really don’t understand why the government would be paying for that in the first place!