Just Say NO!
SAY NO
TO GENETICALLY ENGINEERED (GE) GAINS
CORN AND SOY
Each year, an estimated one in six Americans become ill from consuming contaminated food. Sometimes this results in a 24-hour bout of diarrhea and vomiting that clears up on its own, but in other cases foodborne pathogens can lead to organ failure, paralysis, neurological impairment, blindness, stillbirths and even death.
While the majority of food contaminations are linked to imported foods, the mere fact that a food is manufactured on U.S. soil does not guarantee its safety. Most of the meat sold in U.S. grocery stores and restaurants comes from confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs), which can house tens of thousands of animals (and in the case of chickens, 100,000) under one roof, in nightmarish, unsanitary, disease-ridden conditions. It's under these conditions that foodborne pathogens flourish, and indeed studies have shown that the larger the farm, the greater the chances of contamination.
How CAFO Chicken Farms May Contaminate Other Foods
In one study, more than 23 percent of CAFOs with caged hens tested positive for Salmonella, while just over 4 percent of organic flocks tested positive. The highest prevalence of Salmonella occurred in the largest flocks (30,000 birds or more), which contained over four times the average level of salmonella found in smaller flocks. Organic flocks are typically much smaller than the massive commercial flocks where bacteria flourish, which is part of the reason why eggs (and other products, like meat) from truly organic, free-range sources are FAR less likely to contain dangerous bacteria such as Salmonella.
What many don't realize is that not only are you at greater risk of getting sickened from CAFO chicken meat, contaminated chicken litter from these farms can also spread disease throughout the food chain...
Study Shows Roundup Creates Botulism Breeding Ground in Poultry
CAFO chickens can also be heavily exposed to glyphosate when fed genetically engineered feed, and according to recent research,7 glyphosate residues will preferentially kill beneficial species of microorganisms in the GI tract, leaving pathogenic species that can cause harm.
What does this mean for you and me?
The essential implication is that poultry fed GE corn or soy would fall victim to dysbiosis, meaning unhealthy changes in their gut flora that threaten the health of the birds, as well as anyone consuming them. The beneficial bacteria in the poultry gut, such as Enterococcus, Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus, are killed off, allowing the pathogenic or disease causing bacteria to flourish. Varieties such as Salmonella and Clostridium are very dangerous pathogens for humans. Clostridia bacteria are some of the deadliest, with strains including C. tetani (tetanus) and C. botulinum (botulism).
Chickens bred in CAFOs are already routinely fed antibiotics, arsenic, and even antidepressants, all of which have serious adverse health consequences. But this German study8 suggests CAFO chickens exposed to glyphosate may become breeding grounds for Botulism, Salmonella and other major pathogenic organisms.
Dr. Mercola, D.O., www.mercola.com
