Hamburger meat almost always contains poop
Consumer Reports unveiled a new report Monday that doesn't look so good for meat eaters. The magazine bought 458 pounds of ground beef from various sources across the country and tested all 300 packages for five common types of bacteria.
The verdict is in, and every last pound of the meat they tested was contaminated with fecal matter. And poop is far from the only widespread issue at hand. About 20 percent had C. perfringens, a bacteria that leads to 1 million cases of food poisoning each year, and 10 percent had S. aureus, a toxin-producing bacteria that can't be cooked out of meat.
Consumer Reports recommends avoiding the 97 percent of meat raised conventionally in feedlots. Instead, opt for grass-fed organic beef, which is less likely to contain the bacteria listed above, salmonella, and superbugs (but yes, it'll still probably contain poop). Plus, farmers who subscribe to sustainable methods not only produce healthier meat, but also treat animals more humanely and do less damage to the environment. Another way to lessen the odds you'll get sick is simply by cooking meat more thoroughly.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Put down that medium-rare burger and read the full report here.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published