550 billion eggs have been recalled because of Salmonella Enteritidis. Close to 2,000 people in 17 states have been sickened by this recent outbreak. Experts are saying that the outbreak is caused by rodents or tainted feed.
This recall of over half a billion eggs contains the most common strain of salmonella. Salmonella is a rod-shaped bacilli that is passed through feces, from humans to animals and then back again.

The symptoms of the disease are stomach cramps, diarrhea, and fever; they usually happen between 8 and 72 hours after eating contaminated foods. This can be extremely painful and intense. Salmonella can be life threatening for those with weak immune systems like kids, pregnant women, infants, unborn babies, and the elderly.

The culprit here is all from one farm, Wright County Egg, a factory farming operation in Iowa. Close to 70 percent of the antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs used in the U.S. are fed to farm animals not only to promote growth but to prevent rampant disease from striking animals that are kept in filthy, stressful environments. The fact is that many common bacteria including salmonella and a l Campylobacter, and E. coli have even developed a resistance to these drugs.

If you’re going to eat foods that can spread these sicknesses like meat, poultry, and egg products, I highly recommend that you educate yourself. You should know that America’s food is raised in factory environments. These environments promote disease and are cruel to animals. I recommend eating locally from small, sustainable farms; then you can depend on the harshest critic out there to inspect the food you eat: yourself.

Article first published as 550 Billion Reasons Why… on Blogcritics.

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