Pork ‘N Pigs

by Catherine J. Frompovich

Pigs, aka swine, have played a prominent part in many philosophies, including literature [This little piggy went to market…]; in religion [Kashrut/Kosher (Jewish) and Halal (Muslim) dietary laws]; in health-medicine-vaccines [the infamous Swine flu (2009), trichinosis (a disease from eating undercooked infected pork), and vaccines (the pig virus, porcine circovirus type 1 PCV-1, found in GSK’s rotavirus vaccine Rotarix® [1]); and the commodities markets, specifically pork bellies, that traded until July 15, 2011 [2].

However, something probably unexpected is affecting pigs, those four-legged creatures, whose meats are butchered into bacon, pork chops, pork loin roasts, hams, barbequed ribs, Canadian bacon, and ham hocks, plus cooked products like scrapple, wieners, and sausages. According to Wall St Daily, there’s been a mass die off of pigs in the USA, totaling close to 2.7 million animals! [3]

The supposed culprit is “porcine epidemic diarrhea” that has been responsible for a reduction of 7 percent in pork production. That means higher food prices.

Interestingly, and perhaps, pig diarrhea may be a result of all the genetically modified corn and soy that are being fed to cattle and food-producing animals. According to the University of Florida,

Boars that are used either for a natural or artificial mating program can be fed a grain-soybean meal diet similar to a gestation diet. The diet should be limit-fed but feed level should be changed to reflect differences in season, condition and workload of the boar. Normal feeding amounts are 4 to 5 pounds per head per day but boars worked heavily or in thinner condition should be fed 6 to 7 pounds per head per day. [4] [CJF emphasis added]

According to the University of Florida’s charts on swine diets, Tables 1, 2, and 3 indicate that ground corn, soybean meal, and dried whey [milk product] make up the major portion of the feed recipe.

Nevertheless, it must be noted that in the USA 90% of corn is genetically modified [5]; 94% of soybeans are genetically modified [6]; and dried whey [7], which comes from cows’ milk that is produced from cows that have been injected with the genetically modified milk-producing hormone, bST [8], which has the proclivity for inducing mastitis in cow udders thereby requiring cows to take more antibiotics and also produce pus in the milk they produce. Some think the pus is due to the disinfectant used to clean cow teats of staph-infected udders that produces the pus. Whatever, there’s pus in cows’ milk.

Doesn’t the above sound like a perfect prescription for intestinal problems in any living being that eats genetically modified ‘food? Well, genetically modified crops are sprayed with inordinate amounts of glyphosate in addition to the genetic tinkering procedures that introduce other factors, including foreign DNA, into heretofore (before the late 1990s) unadulterated food stocks. An example is genetically modified corn known at Bt-corn, which has the ability to grow the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). No studies, as far as I’ve been able to ascertain, have been done to find out if Bt will grow in the gut after eating corn-on-the-cob. According to University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, “The Bt endotoxin is considered safe for humans, other mammals, fish, birds, and the environment because of its selectivity.” [9] [CJF emphasis added]

Readers will note that the Bt endotoxin is considered, not proven, to be safe. There’s a huge difference with wiggle room words like “considered” versus proven! Considered is NOT scientific, whereas proven is. Show me the science! Apparently, the Precautionary Principle has not been employed with regard to genetically modified organisms and food crops.

So, what can hog farmers expect when they rely upon feeding up to 7 pounds of genetically modified rations a day to their animals? Shouldn’t they expect some negative feedback, especially since independent scientific studies indicate that GM food crops damage laboratory animals’ health?

According to the Institute for Responsible Technology, there are “65 Health Risks of GM Foods.” [10] Here are some of the test animal studies findings:

• Twice as many chickens died when fed GM corn after 42 days.
• Most offspring of rats fed Roundup Ready soy died within 3 weeks.
• Rabbits fed GM soy for about 40 days had significant differences in the amounts of certain enzymes in their kidneys, hearts and livers.
• Mice fed Roundup Ready soy had unexplained changes in testicular cells. Also there were problems with the mice pancreases.
• Twelve dairy cows in Germany died after being fed a significant amount of the GM corn, Bt176.
• U.S. farmers reported various health problems with pigs and cows becoming sterile after eating GM corn.

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So, the questions I would imagine everyone who eats pork has to be asking about now are:

1. If swine are experiencing ‘die-off diarrhea’, what happens inside my body when I eat pork products raised on GM feed?
2. How do I know that I have not eaten pork that was from a very sick pig slaughtered shortly before it was going to die?
3. How does all that glyphosate sprayed onto GM crops fed to food animals, especially pigs, affect my body, liver, and immune system as a result of my eating pork products?
4. Shouldn’t I be asking GM-seed and feed producers to supply valid scientific documentation that GM-grain-fed animals are safe for humans to eat – not considered safe – since laboratory studies indicate that laboratory test animals’ health is damaged?
5. Shouldn’t Congress require the U.S. FDA to mandate GM/GMO labeling of all foods (plant and animal) that are grown via the GM/GMO process?
6. Should I reconsider pork, beef, chicken, and turkey in my diet because I really don’t know how eating products from animals fed GMO feed can or will affect my health? 

Bon appétit!

Notes:

[1] http://www.webmd.com/children/vaccines/news/20100322/pig-virus-found-in-gsk-rotavirus-vaccin
[2] http://www.minyanville.com/businessmarkets/articles/pork-bellies-pork-belly-futures-pork/7/18/2011/id/35803
[3] http://www.wallstreetdaily.com/2014/04/21/pork-prices/
[4] http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/AN/AN03600.pdf
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_food
[6] http://phys.org/news/2013-06-gmo-corn-soybeans-dominate.html
[7] http://www.uky.edu/Ag/AnimalSciences/pubs/driedwheyavaluableingredientforpigstarters.pdf
[8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovine_somatotropin
[9] http://www2.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef130.asp
[10] http://www.responsibletechnology.org/gmo-dangers/65-health-risks/1notes

Catherine J Frompovich (website) is a retired natural nutritionist who earned advanced degrees in Nutrition and Holistic Health Sciences, Certification in Orthomolecular Theory and Practice plus Paralegal Studies. Her work has been published in national and airline magazines since the early 1980s. Catherine authored numerous books on health issues along with co-authoring papers and monographs with physicians, nurses, and holistic healthcare professionals. She has been a consumer healthcare researcher 35 years and counting.

Two of Catherine’s more recent books on Amazon.com are Our Chemical Lives And The Hijacking Of Our DNA, A Probe Into What’s Probably Making Us Sick (2009) and Lord, How Can I Make It Through Grieving My Loss, An Inspirational Guide Through the Grieving Process (2008).