Chicken: The Unhealthy White Meat

Rachel Naba

Column: Earth Talk Volume 47: People are eating more chicken due to Mad Cow Disease and dieting...but how healthy is it?

Consumption of chicken has increased dramatically in the last two decades; the average North American eats over 50 pounds of chicken each year, which is twice the amount that was consumed twenty years ago. Most people see chicken as a healthy alternative to beef and as a low-fat and wholesome part of their diet. If you add the fact that chicken is cheap, versatile and fast, the unassuming bird seems to be the ideal entree. Meanwhile, the bird that is held in such high regard in our diets is responsible for over 1000 deaths and between 7 million to 80 million illnesses each year in the US alone!

From factory farms to sick birds, the chicken industry is far from wholesome. Time magazine has called chicken Òone of the most dangerous items in the American homeÓ. Recent reports tell us that over 30% of US chicken is contaminated with Salmonella, and 62% is contaminated with Camphylobacter; these two pathogens cause 80% of the illnesses and 75% of the deaths associate with meat consumption, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). The chickens we eat are overweight, overgrown, and unhealthy. Yet people happily throw buffalo wings, chicken breasts, drumsticks and frozen dinners into their shopping carts, blind to the realities of eating the popular bird.

Is Chicken A Healthy Meat Alternative?

Fears of cholesterol and high amounts of fat have turned more people on to chicken than ever before. Many people began eating more chicken and less red meat, believing that chicken is a healthier and smarter choice. Unknowing consumers will be surprised to learn that chicken is not a low-fat food, as even light, skinless chicken derives almost 18% of its calories from fat, while skinless roast dark chicken is 32% fat! Reports also show that the cholesterol content of chicken can be comparable to beef at 25 milligrams per ounce. A lower-fat alternative? Possibly, depending on which cut of beef one compares his chicken to, but chicken is definitely not a low-fat food!

Food poison-ing is also a major problem when dea-ling with chick-en. The US Centers for Dis-ease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the number of illnesses caused by chicken tripled between 1988 and 1992; according to Consumer Reports, fewer than 5% of cases of food poisoning are recognized and reported. In the UK, the Government Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food found one in three chilled, raw UK-produced chickens on retail sale was contaminated with Salmonella, while 41% of frozen chickens carried the pathogen.

Salmonella

In the last 20 years or so, Salmonella Enteritidis has become the single most common cause of food poisoning in the United States . Salmonella is particularly adept at infecting chicken flocks without causing visible disease, and it spreads from hen to hen very quickly. Many people have blamed the recent increase in the rise of Salmonella infections on the use of mass production chicken farms. When hundreds of thousands of chickens live together, die together, and are pro-cessed together, a Salmonella infection can rapidly spread through-out the whole food chain. A compounding factor is that chickens from a single farm may be distributed over many cities and states, so Salmonella infections can be rapidly spread through millions of people

After Salmonella is eaten, it passes through the stomach to the intestine, where it binds to the intestinal wall. The Salmonella bacteria produces proteins in response to intestinal conditions which allow it to break through the walls of the intestine, and soon it finds its way into the liver and spleen. Once the bacteria is in the liver, it reproduces and is again introduced back into the intestine. Of course, not all of the Salmonella pass through the intestinal wall, and many of them are expelled from the intestine through diarrhea. Salmonella can then survive in soil and rivers, enabling people or other animals to become infected.

Symptoms of Salmonella include diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps that develop 12 to 72 hours after infection. Other symptoms include vomiting, fever, chills, weakness, and dehydration. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days. If the bacteria enter the blood, blood poisoning, meningitis and death can occur. Some people who are infected with Salmonella will develop Reiter's syndrome, characterized by pains in their joints, irritation of the eyes, and painful urination. It can last for months or years and can lead to chronic arthritis that is difficult to treat.

Campylobacter

Campylobacter jejuni/coli is at the top of the list of pathogenic organisms found on broiler chickens. Studies have shown that this bacteria is very prevalent: in one study, 1144 of 1297 chickens (over 88%) collected from federally-inspected slaughter plants between 1994 and 1995 were infected with the bacteria! In Northern Ireland , 94% of fresh chickens were infested with the bacteria. Campylobacter is said to be the leading cause of food-borne illnesses in the USA and is the most common cause for Guillain-Barre syndrome, a paralytic disease that can cause fatal nerve damage.

Symptoms of campylobacteriosis include cramps, chills, pain, fever, nausea, headache, backache and diarrhea. Some cases can be extremely severe and prolonged, and can lead to arthritis and neurological complications.

Campylobacter is very resistant. It can survive on even frozen birds for three months. The bacteriaÕs resistance to normal antibiotic treatment is rising, and the illness is becoming more difficult to treat.

Listeria

Listeria is an illness that can be caused by chicken meat that is less commonly known. It has been found in up to 66% of fresh and frozen chicken products, and it has been found to be able to survive microwave cooking. Listeria can cause miscarriage, still birth, serious illness in newborns, and death.

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