Dangerous greens
After E. coli infected bean sprouts claimed the lives of 40 people, many are questioning the safety of our vegetables. JOEP DERKSEN investigates the outbreak and what it means for a veg eater’s future.
For years, the meat industry companies have been defending themselves for breeding and slaughtering animals for human consumption. Past outbreaks of mad cow disease and bird flu were grist to the mill for vegetarians, who blamed the meat industry’s extensive production of animals. But now it seems the veggies are under attack. After almost 40 people died since May from eating bean sprouts contaminated with the E. coli bacteria, we may be seeing the rise of the meatarians – people who eat meat and shun veggies.
Indeed, some meat eaters gave up the consumption of meat, for a shorter or longer period of time, after the outbreak of mad cow disease. Can Floris de Graad, director of the Nederlandse Vegetariers Bond (Dutch Vegetarian Society, NVB) imagine that this outbreak would cause people to stop being vegetarians or vegans? “Considering the media hype it is logical, but completely unjustified that people are afraid of eating vegetables,” he says. “Tons of vegetables have been checked for E. coli bacteria and nothing was found.” Furthermore, vegetarians and vegans have made distinctive choices to change their eating lifestyles. “They will not change this attitude overnight and will, for instance, rather choose to eat bread.”
For De Graad, the more interesting aspect of the E. coli outbreak has been the media attention. “I was excited to find out the first question from the press regarding the EHEC crisis. Currently the lead is not filled by a paedophile or a member of ethnic minority, but by cucumbers and sprouts.” But in all the coverage, De Graad was disappointed. “The most important question is not being asked: How can these bacteria have become immune from antibiotics and how can we act accordingly?”
The E. coli bacteria, or Escherichia coli, is a normal inhabitant of the intestinal tract. The bacteria forms a barrier for other types of bacteria which can cause illnesses. However, there are many different strains of the E. coli, some of which produce a toxin that can cause serious illness, such as strains STEC and the recent culprit, EHEC. Until mid- June, only eight cases of infection were reported by Dutch hospitals. All of these patients had been in Germany a few weeks before falling ill. After investigation, the EHEC bacteria outbreak was linked to vegetables grown on a biological sprout farm in Germany.
De Graad, himself a vegetarian, has his own theory on the bacteria’s source. “The bacteria normally live in animal intestines and it is obvious that they have become resistant because of the abundant use of antibiotics in the cattle breeding industry. Ninety percent of antibiotics used in the Netherlands are destined for this industry.” These startling statistics may be true, but Wychgel does not agree that antibiotic use is to blame. “EHEC is a certain type of bacteria that normally flourishes in the intestines of cows,” says Harald Wychgel from the Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu (National Institute for Health and Environment, RIVM). “In what way these bacteria ended up on the sprouts is not yet known. Therefore, we cannot confirm that the outbreak of the EHEC bacteria is related to a biological way of growing sprouts.”
“EHEC stands for E-coli, which is a normal bacteria and therefore EHEC has nothing to do with immunity. It is not caused by the use of antibiotics,” he says. Furthermore, the treatment of the bacteria’s most serious side-effect, Haemolytic-uremic syndrome, or HUS is also unrelated to antibiotic use. “This body failure cannot be treated with antibiotics, it can be treated by dialysis. What’s more, certain antibiotics can increase the chance of complications,” he says.
Wychgel, however, acknowledges that the EHEC bacteria does come from cattle, as well as milk cows. “In nature, E-coli is a common bacteria,” he says. “Since 1999 the Voedsel en Warenautoriteit (Food and Goods Authority, VWA) has checked children’s farms and camp sites for the presence of EHEC. A positive result came from no less than 15 percent of all manure samples. Most of these contaminations came from sheep and goats.”
All of this evidence serves to further complicate the mystery of the EHEC bacteria’s origin. Wychgel admits researchers have yet to determine a definitive cause and says it is too early to speculate. In the meantime, he offers simple safety advice. “Raw vegetables should be washed before consumption. Other vegetables should be heated before being eaten. This is not new, the RIVM has given these warnings for many years already.”
For De Graad, the matter cannot wash away so easily. “It is absolutely necessary that the true source of contamination is found,” he says. “In that way, all other types of fruits and vegetables will not be a suspect anymore.”
For years, the meat industry companies have been defending themselves for breeding and slaughtering animals for human consumption. Past outbreaks of mad cow disease and bird flu were grist to the mill for vegetarians, who blamed the meat industry’s extensive production of animals. But now it seems the veggies are under attack. After almost 40 people died since May from eating bean sprouts contaminated with the E. coli bacteria, we may be seeing the rise of the meatarians – people who eat meat and shun veggies.
Indeed, some meat eaters gave up the consumption of meat, for a shorter or longer period of time, after the outbreak of mad cow disease. Can Floris de Graad, director of the Nederlandse Vegetariers Bond (Dutch Vegetarian Society, NVB) imagine that this outbreak would cause people to stop being vegetarians or vegans? “Considering the media hype it is logical, but completely unjustified that people are afraid of eating vegetables,” he says. “Tons of vegetables have been checked for E. coli bacteria and nothing was found.” Furthermore, vegetarians and vegans have made distinctive choices to change their eating lifestyles. “They will not change this attitude overnight and will, for instance, rather choose to eat bread.”
For De Graad, the more interesting aspect of the E. coli outbreak has been the media attention. “I was excited to find out the first question from the press regarding the EHEC crisis. Currently the lead is not filled by a paedophile or a member of ethnic minority, but by cucumbers and sprouts.” But in all the coverage, De Graad was disappointed. “The most important question is not being asked: How can these bacteria have become immune from antibiotics and how can we act accordingly?”
The E. coli bacteria, or Escherichia coli, is a normal inhabitant of the intestinal tract. The bacteria forms a barrier for other types of bacteria which can cause illnesses. However, there are many different strains of the E. coli, some of which produce a toxin that can cause serious illness, such as strains STEC and the recent culprit, EHEC. Until mid- June, only eight cases of infection were reported by Dutch hospitals. All of these patients had been in Germany a few weeks before falling ill. After investigation, the EHEC bacteria outbreak was linked to vegetables grown on a biological sprout farm in Germany.
De Graad, himself a vegetarian, has his own theory on the bacteria’s source. “The bacteria normally live in animal intestines and it is obvious that they have become resistant because of the abundant use of antibiotics in the cattle breeding industry. Ninety percent of antibiotics used in the Netherlands are destined for this industry.” These startling statistics may be true, but Wychgel does not agree that antibiotic use is to blame. “EHEC is a certain type of bacteria that normally flourishes in the intestines of cows,” says Harald Wychgel from the Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu (National Institute for Health and Environment, RIVM). “In what way these bacteria ended up on the sprouts is not yet known. Therefore, we cannot confirm that the outbreak of the EHEC bacteria is related to a biological way of growing sprouts.”
“EHEC stands for E-coli, which is a normal bacteria and therefore EHEC has nothing to do with immunity. It is not caused by the use of antibiotics,” he says. Furthermore, the treatment of the bacteria’s most serious side-effect, Haemolytic-uremic syndrome, or HUS is also unrelated to antibiotic use. “This body failure cannot be treated with antibiotics, it can be treated by dialysis. What’s more, certain antibiotics can increase the chance of complications,” he says.
Wychgel, however, acknowledges that the EHEC bacteria does come from cattle, as well as milk cows. “In nature, E-coli is a common bacteria,” he says. “Since 1999 the Voedsel en Warenautoriteit (Food and Goods Authority, VWA) has checked children’s farms and camp sites for the presence of EHEC. A positive result came from no less than 15 percent of all manure samples. Most of these contaminations came from sheep and goats.”
All of this evidence serves to further complicate the mystery of the EHEC bacteria’s origin. Wychgel admits researchers have yet to determine a definitive cause and says it is too early to speculate. In the meantime, he offers simple safety advice. “Raw vegetables should be washed before consumption. Other vegetables should be heated before being eaten. This is not new, the RIVM has given these warnings for many years already.”
For De Graad, the matter cannot wash away so easily. “It is absolutely necessary that the true source of contamination is found,” he says. “In that way, all other types of fruits and vegetables will not be a suspect anymore.”
posted by Joep J.B. Derksen @ 9:23 a.m.
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