Dave wrote:
<<I also believe that the environment is even more important as
"germs"
require a very specific environment in which to flourish. Cooked meat
and
raw meat provide very different environments.>>

Yes.  Generally raw meat "inspects itself" because spoilage bacteria
outcompete pathogenic bacteria.  Because spoilage bacteria are mostly
killed
during cooking, subsequent contamination of cooked meat from
pathogenic
bacteria will rapidly grow to an infective dose.

Raw meat today is not the same as raw meat in the paleolithic period.
Stresses associated with "factory" farming has lead to the development
of
more invasive and pathogenic strains of bacteria and viruses and
faster
dissemination of the pathogens throughout the herd/flock.  In
addition,
large scale slaughtering operations can also lead to large scale
contamination problems because of cross contamination with equipment
and
utensils.

About 1/3 of all supermarket poultry is contaminated with salmonella
or
camplylobacter bacteria.  Ground beef is frequently contaminated with
E.
coli.  Shellfish - otherwise know as "filter feeders" - concentrate
pathogenic bacteria and viruses, and heavy metals in contaminated
water.
Wild boar, pork, or bear is a known host for the parasite trichonella
spiralis.

With the exception of trichonella, the contamination of all of these
raw
meats may be a function of the environment in which the animal/fish
was
raised.  "Factory" farming has created unhealthy living conditions.

As an exception, Sweden restricts salmonella and camplylobacter
contamination of poultry on the farm.  If one bird is found infected,
the
whole flock is destroyed.  As a result, supermarket poultry is
virtually
free of pathogens.

In North America, however, we place the onus or responsibility on the
consumer.  We employ the consumer to cook raw meat to a minimum of
170-180 F
in order to kill pathogenic microorganisms.  Meanwhile, everything
that
comes in contact with the infected meat also becomes contaminated,
except
that these surfaces (ex. cutting boards, hands, utensils...) are not
necessarily subject to heating or cleaning/sanitizing to kill the
pathogens.

Irradiation is an attempt to kill pathogens in raw meat products with
minimal changes to the nutritional quality of the product (according
to
irradiation proponents).  Irradiating ground beef, for example, will
save
many children's lives every year who otherwise die of E. coli 0157:H7
food
poisoning.  This invasive, toxigenic organism also causes many cases
of
hemolytic uremic syndrome and the subsequent loss of kidney function
and
lifelong dialysis use.  Try telling the parent of a child who died of
an E.
coli 0157:H7 infection that raw meat (ex. undercooked hamburger) is
safe to
eat!

Never-the-less, in my opinion, a better approach is to upgrade living
conditions for farm animals to the point where widespread infections
with
pathogens is virtually eliminated.

Food poisoning from plants can normally only occur if the plant was
cross-contaminated with hands, utensils, or equipment in contact with
infected raw meat, unless one eats a know poisonous plant such as a
poisonous mushroom.

Incidentally, infection with parasites may not be all bad.  The Eades
suggest that before the turn of this century, most humans were
infected with
parasites, that, among other things, caused a slow intestinal
bleeding.
This bleeding helped keep iron levels in check, especially in men, who
otherwise have only a modest sloughing in the intestine to prevent
iron
stores from going too high.  Excess iron stores - as evaluated by
ferritin
levels - is associated with insulin resistance and the "diseases of
civilization".

Rob