To the Editor:
It is time we started calling a spade, "a spade," instead of hiding the issue with distracting verbiage. The November 1 issue of the Review contains an article about three area cases of E.coli exposure. James Boddy, Director of Environmental Health, Lorain County Health District, is quoted as saying that people are exposed to E.coli by eating under-cooked ground beef and that raw beef carries many bacteria and germs which are killed through [adequate] cooking. He says, "The days of eating pink hamburger are over." Boddy then distracts us from the real issue by diverting our attention to apple cider made by apples which have "come into contact with fecal matter of cows." Just cook the bejesus out of the hamburger and enjoy; if you enjoy eating incinerated hamburgers, that is.
Now here's the straight skinny: 1) You don't get E.coli poisoning by eating under-cooked hamburger, you get it by eating E.coli bacteria. If not for the E.coli, it would probably be safe to eat a hamburger that was still wiggling. 2) The source of E.coli is fecal matter. For those readers who come from the lower east side of Manhattan (as do I) and for those others who do not know what fecal matter is, it's shit. 3) The bacteria enters the meat through improper and unsanitary slaughtering, processing and handling and through the fondling of the meat by someone with poor personal hygiene habits.
I ask you, do you have any burning yearning desire to eat shit, regardless how well cooked it might be? If not, why eat it? The next time you have money to waste, buy a hamburger and mail it to Mr. Boddy with a note telling him that you will no longer be a Boddy booby.
Copyright © 1996, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 125, Number 8; November 8, 1996
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