so“ SSBB = sé

>

So &

a ea ts A EE Ne er se Deer aS alin Sh So ioe DRS POE

Author of the following article is a U.S.
Veterinarian who became a meat inspector
after more than 20 years in farm animal
Practice. The concerns he expresses about
Slaughterhouse procedures in the U.S.,
which he believes may be causing cancer in
man and animal, may also be practiced in
Canada and require serious investigation.

By P. F. McGargle DVM

Tiere are a number of major human dis-
€ases, namely, cancer, heart disease. and

Gallstones, that I believe originate in the
‘Meat packing plants of this country because
Ot improper processing procedures.

. Cancerous disease in man and animals in
the United States is constantly on the in-
Crease. The medical approach to the disease
has primarily been early detection, diag-
nosis and treatment, with the objective of

_4rresting or curing the problem through

Surgery, chemical therapy or radiation
treatments. 3

Yet; in spite of an intensive research ef-
fort, the reason a cell develops an abnormal-
ity and begins uncontrollable and lethal
&rowth is still undetermined.

What has been deterrained, however, is
that many previously unsuspected sub-
Stances have been found to have cancer in-

Ucing properties. Several such substances
Currently in the news are polyvinyl! chloride,
ted dye number two and cyclamates, pro-
ducts used to package or prepare foods.

My observations as a large animal vet-
€rinarian for 20 years and as a federal meat
Mspector for the last six years lead me to

lieve that the processing and practice of
feeding slaughterhouse waste to farm ani-
Mals may also be a contributing factor in the

igh incidence of cancer, heart disease and
human gallstones in the United States popu-
lation.

‘The idea of feeding the waste to farm
animals originated at the turn of the century
When a Purdue University professor pub-
lished a paper recommending the. use of

_ animal waste products as a way of improv-

ing hog feed. Prior to this time, all
slaughterhouse waste in the U.S. was used as
fertilizer.

_ The material destined to become fer-
ilizer was cooked in an upright tank with a
lid that screwed on tightly. Water was added
to the pot, and hot steam was injected di-
Tectly into the:bottom of the tank. The mate-

‘Tial cooked at 300°F with 50 to 60 psi (Ibs. per

Square inch) of pressure for six hours, de-
Pending on the type of material being
Cooked.

__ 1n1915, arepresentative of the Waste Sav-
ing Machine Company based in Philadelphia
acquired a machine called a dry melter, still

_Used today by the meat packing industry for

Processing both human and animal food. The
machine consists of an open tank with rotat-
Ig paddles to stir the material as steam is
applied in a jacket. There is no dilution of the
animal waste, and the highest temperature
Teached at the end of the cooking is 240 to 260

grees F. The waste prepared for use as
animal feed is reduced in the process to a

» Powdered blood residue.

With the advent of the dry melter, the
Waste material was no longer diluted, and
Sex hormones, previously destroyed at the

mperature and pressure generated in the
Steamed tank remain pysiologically active
4nd become concentrated.

This powdered blood mixture is utilized
after processing as chicken and hog feed,

for some dairy calves as a protein sup-
Plement. But protein is not all these animals

-8©e getting. In addition, they are receiving

added concentrations of active hormones,
Cholesterol (which is not broken down in the
Melting process), and sodium nitrite,

added to processed meat to preserve a fresh
Color Jook.

An additional complication of the process
is that the waste products are not boned. As a

Shee sharp splinters of bone are passed on _

the animal feed.

What has been the effect of the dry melt-
ing meat processing method?

I believe that the concentrations of hor-

Mones, cholesterol and sodium nitrite in -

PON

combination with the practice of using
synthetic hormones in animal feed to pro-
mote growth are a contributing cause of the
high incidence of cancer inman and animals,
and gallstones and heart disease in man. The
problem is compounded by the fact that

- every year the American public consumes

some 35,000,000 pounds of U.S. Government
Inspected meat and meat. products that
originate from animals that were affected
with cancer. es

What happens to.the 15 million pounds of
animal tissues which are too severely af-
fected with cancer to be used? They are pro-
cessed into hog and chicken feed. The result
is a recycling of potential cancer substances
repeatedly through the human and animal
food chain.

If, then, these substances are responsible
for causing some cancerous disease, why
don’t all people and animals eating foods
prepared the same way develop the same

i 2.
ee answer, to my mind, is that the de-
gree of cancentrated hormone or chlores-
terol or sodium nitrite depends on the pro-
duct placed in the dry melter. Wastes from
pregnant dairy cows such as the fetus and
fetal membrane will necessarily have a
higher hormone content than wastes from
beef cattle because of a higher feed intake.

The degree of sodium nitrite in the melter
will partially depend on the source of the
waste. It will be higher if the waste used was
part of some 25 million pounds of processed
meat that become moldy, rancid, or spoiled
before packaging. This meat is processed in
the dry melter to use in animal feed.

The amount of we — pea tei in

residues of the melter will vary ac-
tie to the content of the material used in

the first place. So the content of meat pro-
ducts in terms of cholesterol and hormones
will also vary.

Consider some of the evidence that
suggests that the process and its products
may be detrimental to both humans and
animals.

e Excessive hormones are known to have
produced cancer in rats and other experi-
mental animals and the evidence suggests
that smail, intermittent exposure to added
hormones is much more apt to produce
cancer than larger, massive doses.

e Synthetic hormones will induce cancer
in both man and animals and they have a
stimulatory effect on the growth of certain
types of cancer. It is now known that some
daughters of women treated with diethylstil-
besterol during pregnancy, later on develop
cancer of the female organs. :

e Experiments in Germany have proven
that nitrite in the stomach will combine with
chemical compounds called amines to form
nitrosamines. Nitrosamines have caused
cancer in every species of animal on which
they have ever been tested.

e Coronary thrombosis which causes
heart attacks in human beings was an un-
known disease before 1912. Today it is the
number one killer because of the high choles-
terol diet in this country. Coronary throm-
bosis is an unknown disease in animals.

e The average cholesterol level in people
in the U.S. is 235 mgs. In Japan, where heart
disease is rare, the average cholesterol level
in the blood is 155 mgs. The Japanese diet
consists mainly of grains, vegetables and
seafood. The U.S. diet consists of hogs, chick-
ens and beef, all of which contain extra

_ cholesterol recycled through the food chain

through the dry melting process.

© The incidence of cancer in cattle is 1 in
275 and 1 in 50 for chickens, The incidence of
cancer in sheep, goats, turkeys and-ducks,
all fed primarily on plant protein, is negligi-
ble. Cancer in wild animals. is practically
nonexistent unless they are fed by man in
captivity. ‘a

e Cancer has never been found in fish
raised completely in the wild. It has been
found in hatchery-raised fish. Some hatch-
ery fish food is partly composed of slaughter
house waste.

e Gallstones in animals are practically
nonexistent but are common in humans be-
cause of our high cholesterol diet. They are
not common in animals because animals live
on a plant food diet. Cholesterol is the main
ingredient of human gallstones.

e Malignant lymphoma is an internal
type of cancer found in dairy cattle in the
U.S. I have never seen the disease in a beef
cow. The one major dietary difference be-
tween the two types of animals is that some
dairy calves are nursed on a milk replacer
partially composed of protein from the ‘dry
melter residue. In Australia and New Zea-
land, where young animals are raised with
milk instead of milk replacers, malignant
lymphoma is very rare.

These facts, and many more, have con-
vinced me that from the feeding of synthetic
hormones to cattle; and from the dry melting
process, some dietary-based disease may
result. Specifically, from sodium nitrite —
cancer; from cholesterol — heart disease
and gallstones; from the chips of bone—
abscesses and septicemia in hogs; and from
concentrated and synthetic hormones —
cancer.

Based on the statistics and extensive re-
ports, it is clear to me that cancerous dis-
eases in humans and animals have increased
since the adoption of the dry melter process
in the meat processing industry, and with the
addition of sodium nitrite to processed meat.

If the evidence is so bountiful, why hasn't
the USDA taken steps to correct the situa-
tion? Primarily, I believe, because it is in the
best financial interests of the meat -proces-
sors to continue to use the dry melting pro-
cess. It is aquick and economical method for
producing a concentrated product which is
more valuable as a feed than a fertilizer.

Since.the meat processors have a profound |
influence on the policies of the USDA, -no- —
. thing has been done by the federal govern-

ment.

Unfortunately, the medical community
has continued to uphold and applaud the use
of waste products in animal feed as a highly
productive and economical process. In light
of considerable evidence to the contrary,
perhaps the time has come for a reappraisal
of the method.

Everyone involved will have to examine
the evidence with an open mind before any
progress can be made. But even then, im-
provement will come slowly. The trouble will
not stop at noon tomorrow, because its
causes did not begin at noon yesterday.

As a starter, several positive steps must
be taken. First, the use of slaughterhousé
waste as fertilizer should be reinstated and
animals should be nourished on plant pro-
tein.

Second, the meat processors should be
compelled to return to the old, steam pres-
sure dilution method of rendering wastes. If
this is untenable, we should at least require
the temperature in the dry melter be raised
high enough to render all harmful sub-
stances inactive, and then the material used
only as fertilizer. Present government regu-
lations require only a temperature of 179°F
for 30 minutes. This is inadequate to kill even
anthrax spores which require a temperature
of 250°F at one hour to be destroyed.

Third, sodium nitrite should be removed
from processed meat and ascorbic acid (vit-
amin C) substituted as a color preservative.

Fourth, the use of synthetic hormones in
farm animal feed should be discontinued.

Since 1906 when our government passed
the meat inspection act, the USDA has regu-
lated meat processing. The situation I have
just described has been the result. So it is to
the government that we must look for a solu-
tion. Only through public pressure on the

USDA can the necessary reforms be in-°

itiated. If that pressure is ever to be gener-

rei a sage mcr sa pcs ta
acts.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JULY 29, 1977—Page 5