Jupille Ranch

But recent research at Kansas State University has found that cattle fed distiller's grain have an increased prevalence of E. coli 0157 in their hindgut. This particular type of E. coli is present in healthy cattle but poses a health risk to humans, who can acquire it through undercooked meat, raw dairy products and produce contaminated with cattle manure.

The growth in ethanol plants means more cattle are likely to be fed distiller's grain, therefore harboring 0157 and potentially a source of health risks to humans, Nagaraja said. That's why he and Jim Drouillard, K-State professor of animal sciences, have been collaborating on testing distiller's grain-fed cattle for 0157. Nagaraja and Drouillard, who studied the carcass quality of cattle fed distiller's grain, are joined by Megan Jacob, a K-State doctoral student in pathobiology. Through three rounds of testing, Nagaraja said the prevalence of 0157 was about twice as high in cattle fed distiller's grain compared with those cattle that were on a diet lacking the ethanol byproduct

The deadliest form of E. Coli is more common than originally thought. Fortunately, grassfed animals are much less likely to transmit the disease.

A study in the March 28th, 2000 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports that as many as one out of every three cattle may play host to the deadliest strain of E. coli bacteria ( 0157:H) This is ten times higher than earlier estimates.

As explained in more detail in Why Grassfed Is Best!, feeding cattle their natural diet of grass instead of grain greatly reduces the risk of disease transmission. Why? First, it keeps the overall bacteria count low. Second, it prevents the bacteria from becoming acid resistant. Acid-resistant bacteria are far more likely to survive the acidity of our normal digestive juices and cause disease. The first graph below illustrates the absolute numbers of E. coli bacteria found in grassfed versus grainfed animals. The second graph shows how many of the bacteria are likely to withstand our gastric juices. (Note: Grassfed animals have so few acid-resistant bacteria that the number fails to register on the scale of the graph.)

One of the lead researchers on the project, USDA microbiologist James Russell, told a reporter for Science Magazine, "We were absolutely shocked by the difference. WE never found an animal that didn't agree with the trend."

You should still take the normal precautions when handling and cooking grassfed meat, however. As few as ten E. coli bacteria can cause disease in people with weakened immune systems.

(Diez-Gonzalez, F., et al. (1998). "Grain-feeding and the dissemination of acid-resistant Escherichia coli from Cattle." Science 281, 1666-8.)

Now that there is a confirmed case of mad cow disease or bovine spongiform encephalopathy in the United States, people who eat beef from grain-fed cattle raised in feedlots have been advised to take more precautions. The following cautionary remarks appeared in a recent article in The New York Times.. (Page A5 "Safety Advice for Eating Meat," December 25th) Comments in italics are ours.

Avoid eating pizza toppings, taco fillings, prepackaged meatballs, sausages, hot dogs, salami and bologna. According to the article, "The meat is not required to be labeled
and often contains small bits of spinal column." Note: In 2002, the USDA's own Food Safety
and Inspection Service found that 35% of the products made from meat scraps recovered from
beef bones contained spinal cord and other nervous tissue that can convey the disease. This "recovered" meat goes into the products listed above.
Avoid brains, beef cheeks, and neck bones, "all of which are considered high risk." Note: Since beef cheeks are routinely ground up with other parts of the animal, it is difficult to act on
this advice.
Avoid bone marrow and cuts of beef sold on the bone. Note: this includes all bone-in roasts
and steaks, spare ribs, short ribs, soup bones, and oxtails.
Choose beef that is ground on site in the store. "Whenever possible, grind your own meat at home from a boneless cut." Note: it is doubtful that hurried cooks and people who frequent
fast food restaurants will heed this advice.
You should be aware that "cooking will not kill mad cow disease." Note: Few people are
going to follow all of this advice. Unfortunately, standard safe handling techniques have no effect
on BSE.



	You Are Reading > The Health News Page

	BEEF SPECIAL RESERVE BEEF PORK LAMB		Updated: January 5, 2008

	Health News Feeding cattle byproduct of ethanol production causes E. coli 0157 to spike... MANHATTAN, KAN. -- Ethanol plants and livestock producers have created a symbiotic relationship. Cattle producers feed their livestock distiller's grains, a byproduct of the ethanol distilling process, giving ethanol producers have an added source of income. But recent research at Kansas State University has found that cattle fed distiller's grain have an increased prevalence of E. coli 0157 in their hindgut. This particular type of E. coli is present in healthy cattle but poses a health risk to humans, who can acquire it through undercooked meat, raw dairy products and produce contaminated with cattle manure. The growth in ethanol plants means more cattle are likely to be fed distiller's grain, therefore harboring 0157 and potentially a source of health risks to humans, Nagaraja said. That's why he and Jim Drouillard, K-State professor of animal sciences, have been collaborating on testing distiller's grain-fed cattle for 0157. Nagaraja and Drouillard, who studied the carcass quality of cattle fed distiller's grain, are joined by Megan Jacob, a K-State doctoral student in pathobiology. Through three rounds of testing, Nagaraja said the prevalence of 0157 was about twice as high in cattle fed distiller's grain compared with those cattle that were on a diet lacking the ethanol byproduct excerpted by permission from Jo Robinson's www.eatwild.com) The deadliest form of E. Coli is more common than originally thought. Fortunately, grassfed animals are much less likely to transmit the disease. A study in the March 28th, 2000 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports that as many as one out of every three cattle may play host to the deadliest strain of E. coli bacteria ( 0157:H) This is ten times higher than earlier estimates. As explained in more detail in Why Grassfed Is Best!, feeding cattle their natural diet of grass instead of grain greatly reduces the risk of disease transmission. Why? First, it keeps the overall bacteria count low. Second, it prevents the bacteria from becoming acid resistant. Acid-resistant bacteria are far more likely to survive the acidity of our normal digestive juices and cause disease. The first graph below illustrates the absolute numbers of E. coli bacteria found in grassfed versus grainfed animals. The second graph shows how many of the bacteria are likely to withstand our gastric juices. (Note: Grassfed animals have so few acid-resistant bacteria that the number fails to register on the scale of the graph.) One of the lead researchers on the project, USDA microbiologist James Russell, told a reporter for Science Magazine, "We were absolutely shocked by the difference. WE never found an animal that didn't agree with the trend." You should still take the normal precautions when handling and cooking grassfed meat, however. As few as ten E. coli bacteria can cause disease in people with weakened immune systems. (Diez-Gonzalez, F., et al. (1998). "Grain-feeding and the dissemination of acid-resistant Escherichia coli from Cattle." Science 281, 1666-8.) Health and safety advice for people who eat grain-fed beef Now that there is a confirmed case of mad cow disease or bovine spongiform encephalopathy in the United States, people who eat beef from grain-fed cattle raised in feedlots have been advised to take more precautions. The following cautionary remarks appeared in a recent article in The New York Times.. (Page A5 "Safety Advice for Eating Meat," December 25th) Comments in italics are ours. Avoid eating pizza toppings, taco fillings, prepackaged meatballs, sausages, hot dogs, salami and bologna. According to the article, "The meat is not required to be labeled and often contains small bits of spinal column." Note: In 2002, the USDA's own Food Safety and Inspection Service found that 35% of the products made from meat scraps recovered from beef bones contained spinal cord and other nervous tissue that can convey the disease. This "recovered" meat goes into the products listed above. Avoid brains, beef cheeks, and neck bones, "all of which are considered high risk." Note: Since beef cheeks are routinely ground up with other parts of the animal, it is difficult to act on this advice. Avoid bone marrow and cuts of beef sold on the bone. Note: this includes all bone-in roasts and steaks, spare ribs, short ribs, soup bones, and oxtails. Choose beef that is ground on site in the store. "Whenever possible, grind your own meat at home from a boneless cut." Note: it is doubtful that hurried cooks and people who frequent fast food restaurants will heed this advice. You should be aware that "cooking will not kill mad cow disease." Note: Few people are going to follow all of this advice. Unfortunately, standard safe handling techniques have no effect on BSE.		There is a simpler way to protect yourself from meat from "mad cows." ... buy your beef from a 100-percent grass-fed animal. Animals that are fed greens alone from birth until market have no exposure to animal by-products or any other type of unnatural feed. Their diet consists of fresh pasture and stored grasses. Feel free to eat every part of a grass-fed animal, including the hamburger, sausages, oxtails, soup bones, and standing rib roast. Enjoy! The Way We Live Now Our Decrepit Food Factories By MICHAEL POLLAN Published: December 16, 2007 ...For years now, critics have been speaking of modern industrial agriculture as “unsustainable” in precisely these terms, though what form the “breakdown” might take or when it might happen has never been certain. Would the aquifers run dry? The pesticides stop working? The soil lose its fertility? All these breakdowns have been predicted and they may yet come to pass. But if a system is unsustainable — if its workings offend the rules of nature — the cracks and signs of breakdown may show up in the most unexpected times and places. Two stories in the news this year, stories that on their faces would seem to have nothing to do with each other let alone with agriculture, may point to an imminent breakdown in the way we’re growing food today... (for more information or to read the entire article, please follow the link above)