E' coli 0157:H7

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E. coli 0157H7
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What is it?

• E. coli O157H7 is one of hundreds of strains of
  the bacterium Escherichia coli. Although most
  strains are harmless and live in the intestines
  of healthy humans and animals, this strain
  produces a powerful toxin and can cause severe
  illness.

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What does it do?

• causes severe bloody diarrhea and abdominal
  cramps
• About 2-7 of infected people contract hemolytic
  uremic syndrome

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How Does it spread?

• Cattle and other livestock eating infected
  remains of other livestock
• Eating undercooked meat
• Inadequate hygiene

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Mad Cow Disease

• Literally destroys victims brain
• Spread like E. coli O157H7
• First confirmed human case was in 1996

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History of Human Contact

• March 20, 1996 First acknowledgement that Mad
  Cow Disease can be spread to humans.
• March 29, 1996 The Food and Drug Administration
  announced new rules to prevent the spread of Mad
  Cow Disease to the U.S.
• August 4, 1997 FDA new restrictions took effect.

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Outline of New Regulations

• Dead sheep, goats, cattle, deer, mink, elk, dogs,
  and cats can no longer be fed to cattle.
• Rendering plants and feed mills would have to
  prevent these banned ingredients from mingling
  with feedstuffs that cattle were still allowed to
  eat.

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Success for new regulations?

• Industries and associations opposed new
  regulations
• Pet food companies incompliant
• Basically seen as a joke to the whole food
  industry

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McDonalds Power

• Held meeting with FDA officials, leaders of
  meatpacking, and rendering companies
• On march 13, the McDonalds corp. announced that
  its ground beef suppliers must submit
  documentation that FDA rules were followed or
  McDonalds would refuse to buy their beef.

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McDonalds Power Cont.

• IBP, Excel, and ConAgra immediately agreed to
  follow McDonalds directive.
• McDonalds accomplished in a matter of weeks what
  the FDA couldnt do at all.

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What to do?

• You know the problems, how do we solve them?

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Mediums To use

• Congress and other political powers
• Economic Power
• Consumer Rights

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Political Power

• Congress should ban advertising that preys upon
  children,
• It should stop subsidizing dead-end jobs,
• It should pass tougher food safety laws,
• It should protect American Workers from serious
  harm,
• It should fight against dangerous concentrations
  of economic power.

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• But they wont
• Unless they are pushed a little

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Economic Power

• Fast Food companies have power to change what
  they serve
• As the largest purchaser of beef, the McDonalds
  corporation must be held accountable for the
  behavior of its suppliers.
• And as the second-largest purchaser of chicken,
  McDonalds could demand changes in the way
  poultry growers are compensated by their
  processors.

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Again, but they wont

• Unless they are given a little shove in that
  direction

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Who can give such a mighty push for change?

• We Can!

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Consumer Power
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• If we all just pushed a little, we could knock
  over all of these horrible things!

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Two Simple Steps

• Step 1 Stop buying it.
• Nobody in the United States is forced to buy
  Fast Food.
• Step 2 Demand Change

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Its not too late. Even in this fast food
nation, you can still have it your way.