In a message dated 12/3/01 7:34:48 AM, Sheryl Canter <[log in to unmask]> writes:

*But doesn't it seem that humans sicken and die of bacterial problems at a
much higher rate than other animals?  . . .Other animals seem to deal with
bacterial and viral infections much better than humans, and cooking is an
excellent way to sterilize things.*

Yes, this is true. But some additional points must be considered.

[log in to unmask] wrote:

*Actually all the sterilizing is what makes us so vulnerable to disease. Not
being
used to exposure of bacteria left us without defense. It is perfectly normal
and
healthy to eat aged meat, full of bacteria.*

This is also true. In addition, as a result of the misuse of antibiotics, our
society has now created a race of "super germs" that are resistant to
antibiotics, and far more dangerous and often lethal than the bacteria humans
would ever have come into contact with before the advent of antibiotics.

Furthermore, to compare the meat that comes from a supermarket shelf (feedlot
animals raised on grains, soybeans, hormones, antibiotics; slaughtered,
packaged, stored and shipped under questionable sanitary conditions) to the
meat of a freshly killed wild animal makes about as much sense as comparing
apples to oranges. Even among fruits and vegetables, there have been
outbreaks of serious e-coli and other infections from salads and other
produce. I doubt this would ever occur with lettuce plucked fresh from one's
own organic garden.

And how can we ignore the results of contamination of the environment (and
hence, the food chain) by pesticides, fungicides, chemical and industrial
pollutants. Witness the debate about the role of insecticides in the cause of
Mad Cow Disease.

Lastly, cultural bias is always an issue. Personally, I myself have had a
lifelong revulsion to foods of a slimy or gelatinous texture. Even as a
child, I never could eat foods like Jello or marshmallows, never mind raw
meat! Nevertheless, I do agree that raw flesh foods that come from reliably
clean sources would be a healthy addition to the diet. So would eating grubs,
slugs, and various bugs, but I know I'd have to be on the brink of starvation
before I could do that. We all have to arrive at our own level of just how
much dietary revolution we can tolerate.

Maddy Mason ======> working on personal cultural bias
Hudson Valley, NY