Food-borne Illness: E. coli vs. Obesity

With the recent E. coli outbreak in Europe, there has been a lot of talk in the media and amongst people (my family and friends at least) about food contamination and food-borne illness. With a lot of the recent outbreaks being linked to produce such as spinach, leafy greens, strawberries, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc., people seem to be going on a tirade against these healthy foods.

I have been getting frustrated hearing people around me bash fruits and vegetables and make uneducated offhand comments to me ("being vegan puts you at higher risk of getting E. coli", or "see Amy, vegetables can get you sick too").

I guess I just don't understand all the hype about these outbreaks in the media. Yes, of course they are bad and it is awful that people are getting sick, but the number of people being hospitalized or dying from produce-borne illness is a drop in the bucket of the number of people getting sick from meat and dairy.

There is plenty of media coverage on obesity, heart disease, or diabetes, but why does it not get the same fear based reaction? Why isn't there more coverage of the deadly bacteria and diseases found in meat and dairy?

Obesity, diabetes, and heart disease are food-borne illnesses, and are much more common and more likely to result in death.

Are people looking for a reason to not eat fruits and veggies?

Are they so bombarded with information on health, nutrition, disease and obesity that they have become desenstitized and therefore no longer register the information?

I am (sadly) more inclined to believe that people choose pleasure over fact every time, and they only believe or listen to the bits of information that add to their pleasure and convenience, while ignoring the others.

I don't want to see people running away from the produce section in the supermarket and hitting up the frozen food aisle for fear of getting sick. That is just ridiculously ironic! Obesity, heart disease, diabetes, etc, are deadly food-borne illnesses that millions are infected with, so why all the hate for little old E. coli?

0 members like this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Fruitman on June 11, 2011 at 9:44am

Amy, the whole E. coli thing, the avian flu, mad cow's, terrorism threats, weapons of mass destruction, AIDS and other BS is the "reality" created by the media. And by spreading the news with posts like that you help those media in their cause.

My advise for you and those who want to get away from it is very simple: stop watching TV, stop reading newspapers, stop listening to the news on the radio and searching for news on the net.

All the above problems and much more will disappear from your life because they are not real. They cease existing the moment you turn your head away.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Amy Jakubeit on June 11, 2011 at 10:58am

I never said I want to get away from the media... actually part of my career is working with the media (in a positive constructive way)... I was just pointing out how ironic it is that people are terrified of eating vegetables and getting sick, yet they don't think eating Big Mac's make them even sicker.

All the above problems and much more will disappear from your life because they are not real. They cease existing the moment you turn your head away

Sorry Fruitman, but I gotta disagree with you on that one. I've seen the destruction HIV and AIDS causes first hand. Maybe it's not what you meant but people who choose to turn their heads and live in ignorance are probably the most disturbing to me.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Janne Schaffer on June 11, 2011 at 5:52pm

I've seen the destruction HIV and AIDS causes first hand.

No Amy, you've probably seen what you THINK is the destruction of HIV and AIDS, and no this is not ignorance, in fact accepting the HIV-AIDS correlation without questioning the more probable causative factors in autoimmune disorders is whats ignorant.

And I do not mean to sound harsh Amy, I really do not. I just think it's critical to not let the HIV-AIDS hypothesis stated as fact pass by unnoticed.

peace.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Janne Schaffer on June 11, 2011 at 6:31pm

yes people being labeled with this non-existing virus infection often have their lives smashed into pieces. that's why its certainly no joke!

and that's why people hopefully will inform themselves about the actual causes of autoimmune disorders like AIDS, so that we can throw the currently prevailing inaccurate/deeply flawed hypothesis in the trash bin once and for all.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Fruitman on June 12, 2011 at 12:28am

Exactly, Janne!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Amy Jakubeit on June 12, 2011 at 4:18am

Let me rephrase: I have seen the destruction AIDS causes firsthand, NOT HIV. My friend got AIDS from a bad blood transfusion in South America, but she never tested for HIV. I had never done the research and didn't realize HIV was not a cause in itself... I just got a little fired up because I have lost a dear friend to AIDS (well actually she died of the flu, which her body could not fight).... at least that is what we were all told :S

I did a little research just now and I do understand the lack of evidence for the HIV-AIDS hypothesis. I will definitely pass that information along when the topic comes up.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Lily on June 11, 2011 at 7:03pm

Hi Amy.

All food-borne illnesses which can kill us ONLY come from animals or from plants CONTAMINATED by animal waste... THAT's what they are not saying in the media. Plants cannot give us illnesses. We are a totally different species, we are animals. Only animals can pass illnesses to other animals. THe media are doing a great job at making people believe that regular edible vegetables can kill us through bacteria of their own. It's not true.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Fruitman on June 12, 2011 at 12:26am

Have you seen a fear campaign about BigMac's in the media?

Have you seen adverts of cucumbers or other vegetables in the media?

How many times a day do you see an ad of McDonald's, Wendy's, Chipotle, etc.?

Have you seen Barack Obama eating a hamburger with head of another country in a burger joint in the US?

Have you seen Barack Obama and David Cameron organizing a barbecue in London and frying meat for guests?

Have you seen any member of the government eating a salad or inviting people for a healthy veg meal?

Connect the lines between the dots and you will get the answer. For sure the answer will not pop out from your TV.

HIV=AIDS fact or fraud?
The other side of AIDS
Deconstructing the myth of aids
The house of numbers
AIDS Inc.

Have you seen those movies on TV? Probably not. So maybe watch at least one and then we talk.

Oh, great that at least you don't live in ignorance, Amy. Do you send money to help treat HIV/AIDS? Great. All the pharmaceutical companies are thanking you because your money are spent on drugs to "cure" something that does not exist. It's a pity the patients still don't get enough food to eat...

I choose the real world, real people and real problems to solve, that is why I turn my head away from the TV.