From the early days of humankind to today, steady technological advances have greatly changed the landscape of farming. In the United States in particular, these changes have in turn impacted the scope of food production-and often not in a positive way. In The Poisoning of Americans, author Jacob Silver presents an in-depth, investigative exposé into the production of Americans' food and how it is responsible for the failing health of US citizens. The Poisoning of Americans gives an overview of the fundamentals of humans and the food they consume, as well as the essential nutrients they need and how those relate to health. It discusses the production of beef, poultry, and pork and the effects of the use of antibiotics and hormones. It addresses the consequences of the ubiquitous presence of corn in many areas of food and food production and the harmful results of this practice. Though the essays address the flaws in the food production system, they also provide recommendations and ideas to help restore the natural state of American agriculture and help to produce healthier citizens.

The Poisoning of Americans

A Tale of Congress, the FDA, the Agricultural Department, and Chemical and Pharmaceutical Companies and How They Work Together to Reduce the Health and Life Span of AmericansBy Jacob Silver

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2012 Jacob Silver, PhD
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4759-4196-8

Contents

Introduction..................................................................................vii1 - Fundamentals..............................................................................1Humans and Human Food.........................................................................1Cattle........................................................................................2Bacteria......................................................................................4The Great Plains of the United States.........................................................62 - Essential Fatty Acids and Health..........................................................93 - The Production of Beef....................................................................25Cattle Feedlots...............................................................................25The Corn Diet.................................................................................25The Use of Antibiotics........................................................................29The Use of Hormones...........................................................................31Other Items...................................................................................33The Cost to Humans of Feedlot Beef............................................................344 - The Production of Poultry.................................................................37The Origin of the Domesticated Chicken, and Their Traditional Use.............................37Chicken Factory Farms.........................................................................39The Corn Diet.................................................................................40The Use of Antibiotics........................................................................41The Use of Hormones...........................................................................42Other Items...................................................................................425 - The Production of Pork....................................................................45The Origin of the Domesticated Pig............................................................45Pig Factory Farms.............................................................................46The Pig Diet..................................................................................47The Use of Antibiotics........................................................................48The Use of Hormones...........................................................................52Other Items...................................................................................536 - The Ubiquity of Corn in the American Diet.................................................557 - The Healthy Diet..........................................................................63The Vitamins..................................................................................64Dietary Minerals..............................................................................738 – The Proper Health Practitioner......................................................939 – Agriculture and Water Conservation for the Twenty First Century.....................11710 - The Restoration of National Health.......................................................121Glossary......................................................................................133Index.........................................................................................147

Chapter One

Fundamentals

Humans and Human Food

Humans share about 98.5% of our genes with the Bonobo, otherwise known as the Pigmy Chimpanzee. That is closer than the genetic relationship we have with any other species. Minimally that implies that we share a common ancestor with the Bonobo. Our main differences are our brain and our neotenic body shape. But our organs, including our digestive system, are practically identical, implying that the joint evolution that brought us here equipped us for similar diets.

What does the Bonobo eat?

This primate is mainly frugivorous, but supplements its diet with leaves and sometimes small vertebrates (such as flying squirrels and infant duikers) and invertebrates.

So, our nearest evolutionary relative eats mainly a vegetarian diet, with an admixture of some meat. Our mutual digestive system is quite suited to such a diet. We have a slightly acidic stomach which can break down meat, provided it is surrounded with vegetable matter. Our digestive system is twelve times the length of our body, a long digestive tract suited to break down fruits, vegetables, grains, and nuts. We no longer have a functioning appendix, which Bonobos still do have. Thus, the only safe way for us to digest meat, particularly a substantial clump of meat, is to first break it down by heating, broiling, grilling, baking, or frying. But our long digestive system tells us that our body does not expect to have to digest a large quantity of meat; it is designed for fruits, nuts, grains, and vegetables.

Persons who enjoy eating meat have occasionally compared humans with carnivores. This, of course, is biological nonsense. But it may be instructive to make a brief comparison of the diets and digestive systems of carnivores, as compared to humans. First of all, using the Grey Wolf as an example, carnivores have a very acidic stomach, containing hydrochloric acid, as does the stomach of human, but wolves' stomach contains 20 times the acidity of human stomachs. And the digestive tract of carnivores is much shorter than that of humans, about three times the length of their bodies. This is well suited to the normal diet of carnivores, which is almost the exclusive consumption of raw meat. The only exception is their consumption of the vegetable contents of the digestive tracts of their prey. So, with a diet which is 98% or 99% raw meat, it is essential that it be processed quickly, and expelled quickly, before the meat spoils. Thus, the digestive system and diet of carnivores is very unlike that of humans. And to the degree that humans may try to eat in the manner of carnivores, making the single concession of having their largely meat diet cooked, the consequences are the consumption of saturated fat, higher cholesterol, and heart disease. Heart disease, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol are not natural or unavoidable. They are largely attributable to diet.

Cattle

Cattle were domesticated about seven thousand years ago, during the early neolithic period, probably in what is now northern Greece. Cattle are bovine animals, and the word `cattle' derives from the Latin caput, meaning head, and from the middle English chattel, meaning a unit of personal property. The people originally domesticating cattle undoubtedly noticed that these animals subsist on grasses, and could be maintained on land too poor to grow other crops. So, while the best land produced legumes, grains, and vegetables, the sparse grasslands could now produce milk and/or meat and leather. But right from the beginning, cattle were valuable possessions, and the slaughter of cattle for meat and leather was not a frequent thing. People did not eat meat frequently. They subsisted mostly on...