Solution Paper
Death and Disease From Dining
Contrary to what most people think, problems with American food are a large cause of disease and death in the United States. Most people underestimate the strength of diseases such as E. Coli that are spread through food and affect many Americans every year from the lack of a genuine solution to prevent it. Although many problems can be found with the safety of food in America today, especially regarding cattle, much can be done to improve the situation.
General food safety problems affect many people. In fact, eighty million Americans will get sick because of what they eat per year. Of those eighty million, 325,000 will be hospitalized, and 9,500 will die. One of the common diseases found in American food is salmonella, which occurs in poultry. Four million Americans will get sick from it, and five hundred will die from it each year. In addition to salmonella, Escherichia coli O157:H7, also known as E. Coli, is a bad disease that is found in meat, comes from cow feces and can infect people with only a few organisms. More outbreaks have been traced to ground beef with E. Coli than with any other food. To illustrate, an estimated twenty thousand Americans will get sick from it, and five hundred will die from it each year. Also, five percent of cattle have E. Coli, and ten percent of hamburgers have it in some form. E. Coli will cause bloody diarrhea, severe abdominal cramps and vomiting in less serious cases. However, it will also often cause kidney failure, bowel disorders, anemia, hypertension and diabetes.
Of course, these general food safety problems come from several sources. For one, many farmers have problems with their system. Cattle will often go to the restroom in the pond from which they drink, and the disease will spread to other cattle that drink from that pond. Also, eating grain, which helps fatten the cow, has been shown to make E. Coli spread very rapidly throughout the cow....