The Incredible Inedible Egg

The Truth Behind the Egg Recalls

Thousands of hens crammed into battery cages

Just months after a huge recall of eggs originating from an unsanitary factory farm in Iowa, Salmonella has been detected at an industrialized factory farm in Ohio sparking yet another massive egg recall. These huge entities are not farmers who care about their consumers, they are simply mass-producing corporations whose only goal is to maximize profits. Sadly, they are exploiting sentient creatures for their ova--their reproductive cells. The lack of concern for LIFE is appalling.

Mark Middleton, founder of AnimalVisuals.org, has created this 3-D interactive view of what life is like for the hens stuffed in battery cages. But the suffering, pain, and mutilation cannot be conveyed through your computer screen. Take a minute to click below, read the captions and imagine life tortured and crammed into battery cages then read on for information on Salmonella and the dangers you risk every time you choose to eat eggs.

What is Salmonella?


Salmonella is the genus for many different species (aka strains) of salmonelloses bacteria; they are gram-negative, rod-shaped, and flagellated bacilli. If you were able to zoom in on these bacteria, you would see the rod shape and the flagella make them motile and able to maneuver through intestinal mucosa and membranes, and the gram-negativity produces endotoxins. What does this mean pathophysiologically? Salmonella is easy to contract and cause damage. In particular, S. typhi, S. enteriditis, and S. cholerae-suis are the most damaging strains.

Salmonella is transmitted through the FECES of animals. Yes, if you or anyone you know contracts Salmonella, it originated from the fecal matter of some animal and traveled either by water supply, unwashed worker's hands, or unsanitary conditions at the facility or in the kitchen.


What are the symptoms of Salmonella poisoning?

There are a couple of thousand Salmonella strains out there, a dozen of which cause severe illness in humans. Most of these illnesses are classified as Gastroenteritis, and in developing countries, Typhoid fever is more common.
Incubation Period: several hours to 2 days.

Symptoms:

• Nausea


• Vomiting


• Severe Abdominal Cramps
  
• Fever


• Headache


• Chills


• Muscle Pain


• Blood in the Stool

SEXY!?

No. Eating eggs is disgusting! Eggs are slimy, disease-infested reproductive cells of a chicken, mass produced for our consumption. In our society, we've become nutritionally lazy. Protein, vitamins, and other nutrients can be and should be derived from natural plant sources which come from the earth. Our bodies naturally produce many of the nutrients we look for in animal flesh and by-products. Egg consumption has been linked to many long-term health disorders which most people do not realize until it is to late: such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, and atherosclerosis. At this moment, however, the major concern is our immediate safety and the risk of contracting a horrible strain of bacteria that causes extreme discomfort and even death.

What can you do to avoid contracting this deadly disease?

There is only ONE solution to avoiding this disease and also sends a message to factory farmers that their lack of concern for human as well as farm animal life will not be tolerated: Stop Buying Eggs!

Egg Alternatives:

• Tofu (e.g. tofu scramble)


• Applesauce (baking)


• Bananas (baking)


• Ener-G Egg Replacer


• Bob's Red Mill All Natural Egg Replacer


• Ground Flaxseed

"But Salmonella has been found in vegetables."

Sure, Salmonella and E.Coli has contaminated our water supply and found its way into Spinach farms and other vegetable crops, so it is up to us--the mighty consumer--to speak out against careless farmers and corporations. By making a conscious effort to be informed and not support companies like Tyson, Butterball, Farmer John, and others who historically have allowed unsanitary and inhumane conditions, we take a stand to ensure our health and well-being.

Looking toward a healthy future and increased longevity

Can you imagine four years of your life without the use of eggs? Four years ago, I had no idea what I would do without meat, eggs, milk, and other animal products. I was uneducated on the subject (or just indifferent) and eating eggs for breakfast, using eggs in baked goods, and consuming other products processed with eggs was tradition for me -- it's bred into our culture. One evening after watching "I am an Animal" the story of Ingrid Newkirk, I decided that I would never consume animal products again. Simple as that, I walked to my freezer and refrigerator and threw out all meat, eggs, milk, dressings, cereals, condiments and anything else with animal products. I went Vegan "cold turkey."

I strive to inspire all of my readers to question everything and be informed. Take nothing for granted, including your health, the safety of the water you're drinking, or the food you are being served. However eye-catching a package of food is, however great the photographer was who captured a steamy delicious picture, or however enticing the words they use to market it are, you must be inquisitive and not be gullible.

I'll leave you with this thought: The current state of our food industry (i.e. agriculture, food production, market, trade, regulations) is tearing down our earth's resources--to the point of making even plant-based foods unsanitary--in order to produce animal products. Kill the natural, to produce the unnatural. It doesn't make sense does it?


Thank you and please leave me your questions and comments below.
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Be Well!

-Karinna Z