by Eric Ture Muhammad

WASHINGTON (FinalCall.com)�The recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Europe and Argentina, coupled with the earlier revelations of mad cow disease, has America closing ports and borders in an effort to keep the dreadful diseases from reaching her shores.

Europe, France and Argentina have been forced to incinerate over 300,000 animals to contain the viruses.

America�s primary concern has proven to be financial, with nearly 2,000 agents dispatched to all points of entry to confiscate any contraband coming from the identified infected areas. They have the power to levy fines of up to $1,000.

Domestically, meat exporters stand to make substantial profit through the crisis, which has now spread as far as Saudi Arabia.

With the controversies swirling around biotech grain, genetically engineered food and produce, chemically treated soils and what critics call a lack of regulations to ensure food safety and quality, just how safe is food in America?

"The only safe food, possibly, is that you grow yourself. Anything else�especially if it comes with a label�is considered dangerous until proven otherwise," warned Nation of Islam Minister of Health Dr. Abdul Alim Muhammad.

"The public as well as the regulatory agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration and the USDA should be very concerned. The agencies themselves do not have all that is necessary to enforce food safety rules and in some cases, you have former executives of the big food cartels who have become agency workers, creating a situation where the industry is basically policing itself.

"All that they are really concerned with is, of course, profit and they don�t much care how it is obtained," he said.

"If this (foot-and-mouth) were to spread to the United States, the losses would reach into the billions of dollars quickly," said Dr. Alfonso Torres of the United States Department of Agriculture. "It�s one of the livestock diseases that we dread the most," he said.

First identified in 1897, the last known outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the United States was recorded in 1929. It was stopped by slaughtering and incinerating live animals.

Its symptoms in animals are fever, loss of appetite and weight, and blisters on the mucous membranes, especially those of the mouth, feet and udder.

USDA says the disease is readily spread by contact, through the contamination of food, water, soil, or other materials and air. Humans, who seldom contract the disease, may be carriers, as may rats, dogs, birds, wild animals and frozen meats. Quarantine, slaughter and complete disposal of infected animals, and disinfection of contaminated material, are the only sure remedies to contain spread.

Vaccines only handle one of the seven strains of the virus and last only six months.

Canada and the United States previously banned the import of Britain�s beef in 1989, due to the outbreak of mad cow disease (also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy), a brain disease found in cattle that has led to the deaths of more than 90 people.
The combination of both mad cow and the foot-and-mouth scare has threatened the financial security of hundreds of U.S.-based corporations ranging from hamburger chains to tourism companies.

McDonald�s hamburger chain is the world�s largest restaurant chain with nearly 29,000 stores in 120 countries. On March 14, the company announced that its stock in the Standard & Poor�s 500 Index had fallen more than 18 percent this year, its lowest drop in almost three years.

"Mad cow has affected their (McDonald�s) European operations but it�s really beyond that," said Brian Slater at Condor Capital Management, whose firm owns McDonald�s shares. The fast food giant has also hurt from the decline in the value of the euro, the EU�s currency.

With the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, McDonald�s exec Michael Conley suspects additional sales "may be hampered" due to the spread of the virus. Burger King and other rivals worldwide could face similar headaches, he warned.
IBP, America�s biggest beef producer, warned of an earnings shortfall, due in part to the soaring cattle prices and consumer panic.

Is America�s food safe?

The Centers for Disease Control believe the average American is more likely to contract food poisoning today than they were 50 years ago.

According to CDC figures, incidents of serious gastrointestinal illnesses have increased by 34 percent since 1948. According to U.S. officials, food poisoning is responsible for 5,000 deaths, 325,000 hospitalizations and 76 million illnesses every year.

Experts suggest that the reasons for such figures vary from the improper handling of food, to what the public consumes.

Many believe that the consumption of meat and poultry to be the only culprits, however, the USDA estimates that 85 percent of the cases come from the popular dietary staples of fruits, vegetables, seafood and cheeses. Precooked foods also harbor more bacteria than traditional home cooking, experts said.

"The consumer must educate themselves, so they understand how the food system works," said Dr. Ridgely Muhammad, manager of Muhammad�s Farms in Bronwood, Ga.

"We don�t grow our own food. We don�t cook our own food and with the food we cook, we don�t even know what is in it," he said, alluding to controversial genetically modified foods.

"Genetically modified foods are extremely dangerous and hazardous," said Dr. Alim Muhammad.. People with allergies know to avoid certain products, but how do you do that when labeling genetically altered is voluntary? critics ask.

"There are genes that are being placed in food products from the animal and insect kingdoms in the fruits, vegetables, meats and eggs we buy," Dr. Alim Muhammad noted. He spoke of a practice discovered in the Philippines some years ago, where genetically engineered potatoes, bananas and other staples had received contraceptive vaccines "genetically engineered into that process."

Dr. Ridgely argued educating consumers, forming food cooperatives and buying directly from farms would help ensure food safety. The Muhammad�s Farms website (http://www.muhammadsfarms.com) offers consumer information.

"Buy farms; grow your own food. Buy a cow," the minister of health said. "These are just some of the things the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us years ago. We are obviously not paying much attention to it today and it places us at increasing risk of eating foods that will kill us."