Consumer Reports – December 2018

Our October cover story, “What’s Really in Your Meat?”

investigated the presence of trace amounts of banned drugs

in meat and the potential health implications. To join the

conversation, go to CR.org/meat1218.

THANK YOU for the fascinating

article. I number among the

thousands of individual or

family beef producers in

the U.S. who care deeply

about their land, animals,

and consumer products. The

conclusion of the article rightly

states that the USDA Organic

label is not a guarantee of the

quality of your food. Getting

to know and supporting

your local farmer through

CSAs [community-supported

agriculture farms], farmers

markets, or buying directly

from a producer is a fantastic

way to ensure that you are

consuming an animal that was

raised with conscience and

food item was kosher. She told

me that if you have to ask, then

it isn’t. That apparently is your

attitude about questionable

substances in meat, and I could

not agree more.

—Eli Kaminsky, via email

THE ARTICLES TITLED “What’s

Really in Your Meat?” and

“Hidden Health Risks From

Heavy Metals” exhibit the

same lawed reasoning. Fact A:

Certain drugs and heavy metals

have been detected in foods at

trace concentrations. Fact B:

These drugs and heavy metals

can be hazardous to humans

at higher concentrations.

Implied conclusion C: These

drugs and heavy metals pose

threats to human health at the

observed trace concentrations.

Many substances that are

normally present in food,

water, or air would be harmful

at high concentrations but are

harmless to human health

in trace concentrations. The

meat article doesn’t present

evidence of any risk of cancer

or fetal harm from the low-level

drug contaminations observed.

Likewise, the heavy metal

article never provides evidence

for risks from heavy metals at

the concentrations measured.

For example, rice, despite

its arsenic content, has been

consumed daily by millions

of people from infancy to

old age without apparent

adverse consequences.

—Edwin P. Ewing Jr., M.D.,

Atlanta

EDITOR’S NOTE The government

says none of the drugs CR

focused on in our article are

allowed in meat at any level.

In some cases, that’s because

even trace amounts are linked

to human harm. For example,

chloramphenicol is banned

in food animals because any

exposure can cause aplastic

anemia in 1 in 10,000 people.

And in cases where the risk of

exposure is not yet clear, that’s

partly because little research

has been done to investigate.

That’s why CR has called on the

Department of Agriculture to

pride in high standards. After

all, it is what we serve our

own families.

—Rita Gysin, Mountain View, MO

THANKS SO MUCH for the

article about drugs detected

in animals ending up on

consumers’ plates. I appreciate

CR looking out for its readers’

health! Our regulatory

agencies are failing us and

endangering public safety

when they don’t enforce the

laws and regulations governing

the agricultural industry. We

need to demand change and

expect it. But it will likely

be a long time before we

see any reform. The other

solution is to avoid or reduce

our consumption of animal-

based foods, and consider

alternatives, such as a plant-

based diet, which is easy to

transition toward with all of

today’s varied products and

the information available.

—Annoula Wylderich, Las Vegas

IN YOUR REPORT, “What’s

Really in Your Meat?” I

was intrigued but sorely

disappointed. You mentioned

something in the way of

insuicient data that prevented

naming the products with

a higher content of drugs,

and I can understand your

discomfort. But you have made

your discomfort ours. What

I buy your magazine for is to

determine what products by

brand name are good, safe,

and useful. You’ve provided

a tantalizing glimpse into

bad practice in the meat

industry but left your readers

with woefully insuicient

information about what

brands are good or bad, as

you customarily do.

—J. Potter, Slate Hill, NY

YOUR VERY INSIGHTFUL article

reminds me of an incident

when I was a child. I asked my

beloved (and very religious)

grandmother whether a certain

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8 CR.ORG DECEMBER 2018