I love Larry King's show, but I can't watch it now because of
the constant writing at the bottom, it is going way to fast. ( I don;t mean the ticker tape on the battom I mean the larger writing. It makes me
cringe, I can't watch and I mss it.

Let the government taxation begin. Tax, Tax and tax somemore anything the government deems unhealthy.................taxes for your own good ofcourse.

thank you Larry for getting this info out. A healthy life style supports a healthy life. And eating factory farmed meat is very unhealthy. DUH?

Can't wait to watch this show. Should be very informative.

I do believe that diets can kill people if your not watching what you eat and the quanitys your eating. Stay healthy this holiday season 2009 and watch how much your eating. I love you Larry and the show so much

Scott Stodden (Freeport,Illinois)

I am slowly getting away from eating meat. Our food is just not safe anymore. Even vegetables are becoming less & less safe to eat. What on God's green earth have we humans done?

My mother is a huge fan of T. Colin Cambell, a guest on tonight's show, and she has done some work for him as well.
My father had a heart attack this summer, and was not in good shape at all. After 5-6 months of eating a complete vegan diet, he has dropped 36 pounds, has cut his meds in half, his heart is back to pumping like a normal adult, and his cholesterol is back to a good level. Having grown up in Chicago, my family always loved beef. I still love a good steak, or burger, fries and a shake. The more I learn about factory farming, the disgusting treatment of animals as they are prepped to be our food, and the true and proven health issues these foods cause, the more I wonder if I need to change my diet now as well – before it's too late. The dairy and meat industries are not going to be happy about this – but....change is on the horizon. Guess what – Milk does not do a body good. Pass it on.

Yes, meat is a healthy part of the diet. I admit i'd like my son to eat healthier, but when is the last time you heard a 9 year old say, "more halibut and broccoli, please"?

YES! And we need to support the American rancher and cattlemen (and women) now more than ever.

I absolutely think that a healthy diet includes meat. Lean protien is very important. The key to a successful healthy lifestyle is portion control and exercise. There are 29 lean cuts of beef and they are full of nutrients like iron, zinc, and vitamin B6 and B12. Beef is one of the most nutricious options for a healthy diet. You just have to make sure you stay within your portion of 3 ozs during a meal. It will give you a satisfied feeling. You also need to eat a balanced meal which includes servings from veggies, grain, and fruit.

I eat red meat on a daily basis and have for most of my life. I think that the measures that are being put in place for traceability back to the point of production make beef one of the safest products in North America to eat.

We eat red meat twice a week; salmon, chicken, and turkey are the other meats. We love fish.

I have always cooked from scratch, seldom do we have prepared foods. Eating as fresh as possible is key to health.

The old saying, "you are what you eat" is true.

Unfortunately, in our inner cities, our ghettos, there are no supermarkets, just fast food, 7-11's, etc. Fresh food is not available to the poor.

Everyone should see the documentary FoodInc., and watch Capitalism: a love story....... wake up America......... our children are obese and getting sick.

Absolutely meat is part of a healthy diet. In fact a lean cut of beef is the most nutrient dense source of protein available. The level of zinc, iron, protein and other vitamins, minerals and amino acids in a lean cut of an appropriate portion size of beef can not be equaled in any other source of protein or vegetarian based diet. The high incidence of obesity and health problems attributed to diet in our society have more to do with portion size and the reliance on heavily processed "convenience" foods than on animal proteins. The facts regarding our modern production methods in agriculture are rarely told. Rather the public is spoon fed a "conspiracy theory" approach of big business agriculture out to poison the populace in the pursuit of making big money. It's just not true. Talk to a rancher, a dairyman, a farmer and you will find the real truth. Take a tour of a large scale dairy and you will realize that your milk comes from the safest, most sanitary and humane methods for the cows, the producer and the consumer imaginable. Ranchers and farmers used science based evidence and approaches coupled with common sense in raising our food. America enjoys the safest, most nutritious and abundant food supply available anywhere in the world; and yet there is a growing number of people who would vilify the American Rancher or Farmer and the product they produce. Don't bite the hand that feeds you or you may find yourself relying on your food supply to come from unmonitored and unregulated third world countries.

The question should read……….. Is our current processing of meat healthy!

Our species is classified under omnivores, whereby, we can eat both meat and plants. The problem lies in how the meat industry is handling everything from the animal to placing dies in the meat. Just like every capitol driven industry, quicker & bigger is always better due to monetary gain.

1. Our animals live in absolute inhospitable conditions (standing or lying in their own urine and feces) creating stress within the animal.

2. They are given growth hormones, steroids and other injections to make them grow bigger and fatter faster; which could be one of the major causes of obesity in the USA.

3. They are killed in mass; therefore, they are aware of their fate and are pumping huge amounts of adrenaline into their system.

4. The herbivore animals have been feed meat and other substances that makes them very sick.

5. Who know how much genetic engineering is involved and how will that affect us.

6. The meat packaging is not always sanitary.

This is just to name a few issues I have with the meat packaging corporations.

First of all, most all beef animals live in the great outdoors consuming a strictly vegetarian diet, hays, grasses and the like. When they reach an age and weight that causes them to be unefficient, they are then placed into feeding pens designed for the utmost of animal comfort and feeding efficiency. Care is taken not to over populate the pen. Their diet is designed by PhD's in Ruminant Nutrition to make sure the diet is more than adequate for maintenance and gain. A PhD in Veterinary Science takes care of the animal's medical well being and trained professional cattle handlers monitor each animal on a daily basis to make sure their every need is tended to. Most beef animals are only in feeding pens for 150 days in comparison to nearly a year on the open range. Without these feeding pens, there would be no way we could produce the amount of red meat the American public desires. Since we eat the same product we send to the market place, we take great care in making sure it is safe for our families before it reaches yours. The beef itself is not the problem.....it is the way uneducated people handle and prepare the product........if any food item is not handled and processed correctly......anything can happen........don't cuse the problem and not offer a solution!!

Instead of asking "Do you eat meat?", ask "Do you eat animals?". Most people do not want to know how "Meat" is made. I challenge any one to find out how animals are treated and how they are killed before they end up on our dinner tables and still be able to eat. Very few of my friends and family will watch videos showing the cruel slaugther of animals and don't even want to hear any information about it. Could you eat your pets? Why is a cat or dog any different than a cow, chicken or fish?

Ghandi said: "The greatness of a nation is determined by how it treats its' animals"

On animal protein(meat ect)

I'm a physician(othhopedic surgeon for 30 yrs) and know the health care crisis (holocast) from the streets.With 100% certianty the diabetes and obesity" DIAOBESTY" is a direct effect of what goes into the piehole.
Through an educated shearch for the truth it obvious that are diet is very flawed.The heck with an occasional food poisening the animal protein is killing everybody wilingly.We are conditioned to beleive that the meat products are healthy by the media.
Cancer, osteoporsis,heart diease and arthritis are caused by are poor diet.I know it sounds harsh but after pinning and plating 7000 fractures I'm streetwise.Diaobesity is not only crippeling but it is killing and bankrupting this country.
Don't eat the meat or suckel the teat if you want less pain in your life.

Pass it on

John P Herzog D.O FAOAO

Did that mother just say she couldn't conclusively link her son's death to eating ground beef? Why is she appearing on TV with something she can't prove?

How did they determine that the infection wasn't caused by not washing hands after handling meat? Isn't "properly" cooked meat kill any infected germs? Perhaps, they need to have a RedyTemp installed in their home to prevent infections from not washing hands with "hot" water.

Food inc, just watch it. read fast food nation. you'll never eat meat of any kind again. I can't believe this mom still eats meat... why? And yes i'm a vegan. 33 yrs

I'm 48 all my life I've eaten raw hamburger and never been sick from it, maybe I have some weird immunity.

No, a healthy diet does not include meat. Honestly, a dead animal is a dead animal, would you feel safe eating the rat out of the trap behind your fridge? It is exactly the same as eating a hamburger or a chicken, except that someone else does the dirty work of killing and "cleaning" the dead animal.
Secondly, if you cannot catch it, kill it, clean it, prepare it with the tools you were born with, you probably were not evolved to do so, unlike large carnivores.
Meat will never be safe for human consumption.

Meat kills. the industry is a death machine.

I sympathize with these people but I do not understand the lack of reasoning. People die from contaminated spinach, tomatoes, fruites, etc. Eliminating meat does NOTHING to elimate the causes. Until all food is synthetic and not in the open or subject the cooking of individuals, it will never change. How about salmonella and chicken? It is anywhere food is produced outside.

Beef is healthy.
GRASSFED beef, that is. No e coli in their cow's systems. That's a problem that is introduced when you force a ruminent animal to eat corn.
It is industrialized "farming" that is the problem, and the USDA and the FDA are watching out for themselves, not for the public.

People have more healthy food choices other than meat now than our ancestors who lived in ice cold places or deserts where no vegetation grows and had no choice but to eat meat to survive.

Is it not the time to introduce our kids other healthy foods in addition to meat or in place of meat?

Meat kills kids. Their precious little systems can’t handle the toxins in meat. Antibiotics, growth hormones, and other poisons.

I have been a VEGAN vegetarian for 38 years.

I have not been sick with any flu, or other illness expect twice in 38 years.
I look great for my age, no plastic surgery.
I would love to donate my body to study for science.

Food borne illnesses are not strictly limited to beef and other meats. Vegtables and fruit have also caused illness and death as well. Meat, vegtables and fruit all contribute to a healthy diet. As unfortunate as the deaths and illness caused by e-coli are, they are neglibible compared to deaths and injuries caused by accidents, illnesses of countless types.
Properly stored, prepared, beef provides so many benefits! In our family we have eaten meat, especially beef, thru generations with no ill effects. We daily eat meat and never give it a second thought. We consider it a major source of protein and vitamins and minerals.
I do agree that the processing of meat products should be a top concern of the processors as well as the USDA.

Why are you talking about ecoli in just beef? What about the tomato and spinich thing not so long ago? Or any of the other foods you can get it from? The Mother cannot conclusively link it to beef or the hamberger because it is present in most food! Proper preparation is the ONLY way to be sure your food is safe! This is such a biased story! Come on Larry, be fair and honest! You know better!

I am 10 years old. This is my opinion.
I don't think meat is good for anyone, because I believe that it is wrong to eat living things. I think it is disgusting. I do not eat ANY animal products. I think it would be a good desicion for everyone to stop eating meat.
If they did, they would be healthier than they ever were before.

>**<
Vegan Princess

Moderation is the key!

A little bit of everything and a whole lot of nothing!

Northport, NY

I stopped eating meat and became vegan 5 years ago when I was diagnosed with arthritis and fibromyalgia. 5 years later, I no longer take any medicine and no longer have either diseases. adopting a vegan diet changed my life.

I am in the hospital watching this show tonight! My six-month old son is recovering from almost dying from Salmonella Meningitis. I have discovered that the American Academy of Pediatrics and Centers for Veterinary Medicine have warned the FDA to stop the over-use of antimicrobial and antibiotics in factory farmed animals! These diseases are becoming resistant (like the salmonella that attacked my son's body) and are more and more dangerous to our children every day that this continues. I almost lost my baby, and there are already thousands of parents whose children have died! PAY ATTENTION AMERICA!

I gave up eating animal based protein more than 15 years ago, and have found no harmful effects of my plant based diet. In fact, at 59 years old my blood stats are equivalent to those of 20 year olds. In my case leaving meat has improved my health significantly.

A healthy diet definitely does NOT include meat.

Larry, I have been vegetarian for several months and I feel better than ever. I try my best to eat a balanced diet with enough nutrients I would otherwise have gotten from meat. Instead, my diet is high in legumes, beans, nuts, and other high-nutrients foods. I have more energy and am more alert without meat in my diet. I encourage all people to try being vegetarian even for just three months and eat well for a change to see the real difference eating well makes in your life.

Dear Mr. King,

Each individual is different; therefore, each diet is different. In my case, I was told to eat more meat. I am of Swedish descent and lack the interim factor which would allow me to store vitiamin B. My doctor prescribed vitamins and more meat in my diet.

NO, we shouldn't eat meat! Not only is it dangerous to eat meat because of e.coli, but there are numerous other reasons to not eat meat. Healthwise, what about all the antiobiotics, growth hormones, saturated fats and cholesterol in the meat that causes heart disease (the number 1 cause of death in America) and all kinds of cancers (the #2 cause of death in America)? Listen to what Dr. T. Colin Campbell says and read his book "The China Study" to become educated on the subject. Of course, other than health reasons, there are numerous other reasons why we shouldn't eat meat – the extreme cruelty that is factory farming and how 99% of America's meat is raised is a good reason (and again, it's because of factory farming that we have avian flu, mad cow disease and swine flu). And there are the environmental reasons too, of course. All of that hamburger with e.coli is also contributing greatly to global warming – the methane produced from the 1.3 billion cows on the planet make up the greatest percentage of gas emissions that are causing global warming.

Here's what I KNOW.

I found myself 45 pounds overweight, riddled with acne, allergies and constant sinus infections. Keep in mind I was eating what is perceived by animal protein enthusiasts as a healthy balanced diet. When I adopted a whole foods plant based diet, I dropped weight quickly and immediately felt better. My body fat is very low, and I exercise regularly. I actually grow muscle more quickly than my omnivorous friends who commit similarly to their exercise regimes. I have also not been ill in over a year.

Let the standard american diet continue to make people stupid, fat, diabetic, cancerous and lazy. I will enjoy my optimum health.

Millions of people world wide live and practice a vegetarian life style and live healthy productive lives… this lady is a fool. She’s a nut.

Meat is not healthy – how can we still consider eating a dead carcass is good to put into our bodies – a plant based diet has all the nutrients necessary without the risks. I have three healthy children to prove it.

Larry,

My wife and I have 2 thriving, healthy 7 and 3 year old daughters and they have NECER eaten meat products of any kind. Children and adults alike can enjoy healthy lives with whole foods and vegetables.

I feel that with massed produced meat, safety can be overlooked. I prefer to consume Kosher or Halal meats. It works better when you make this purchase at an organic farm.

After I read the China Study by T. Colin Campbell, I agree 100% that we should eat a Whole Food Plant Based Diet. As he said, that animal protein causes a whole host of diseases from osteoperosis, heart disease, etc.

Larry-
I am afraid like many of eColi and other contaminants in our food source. In 2005 I started eating grass fed/finished beef that is hormone, antibiotic, chemical and grain free. Beef from Tallgrass Beef Company (founded by journalist Bill Kurtis) is humanely raised in open pastures and because they are not confined to feed lots ever they produce safer, healthier beef that is lower in saturated fat, calories and cholesterol and is also higher in omega-3, CLA, vaccenic acid and other essential nutrients. This is an amazing source of protein that is lean and healthy. It is the alternative if you are afraid of eating commodity beef.

Hi Larry, my husband hunts deer and moose so we feed our family natural home-butchered game meat and when that is not available we get naturally raised chickens and pig from a family farm about 2 hours away. All these meat recalls have not affected my family because I dont buy that stuff. It is so important to know the origin of your meat, where it's been and how it was treated throughout its life and death. Buy local!!!

Problems seem to be with ground meat, not meat in general. Because of the way ground meat is made, from many animals and sources, with little or no record keeping, we just don't know what's in it. There doesn't seem to be enough effort to keep e coli from getting into this kind of meat. Telling people they have to overcook it to keep from getting or sick or dying seems ridiculous to me.

Dr. Campbell is an anti-meat activist. The evidence shows clearly that meat is part of a healthy diet. Eat in moderation.

He is ignoring the facts.

No! I have been a healthy vegan for 25 years. What about the claim that because we feed cows a diet high in corn instead of letting them graze grass, this has created e. Coli in their intestines?

People have to know how to prepare their meat, it must be prepared properly RIGHT temperature being key to eliminate any pathogen risk. Nobody cooks their ground chicken or pork rare, so why would one cook their ground beef rare. Continuous consumer education is vital. There is no need to eliminate meat as a protein from ones diet.

I believe meat is part of a delicious diet....and the Nutritionist does not understand the meaning of the word Aberration. Who vetted her for the show anyway ?

The meat we eat now has alot of additives that causes illiness,
i.e. Hormones which has caused a rise in breast cancer etc.
It is not a pure food anymore.

I grew up eating mainly a plant based diet and my family and I had rarely any kinds of sicknesses. My husband and I are now vegetarians and feel energetic and healthy. We have friends that have chose the same diet that we follow and they do seem way healthier than our meat-eating friends.

The problem with meat is how it is raised in this country.
Cows should graze on grass. When they are fed grains and other substances not meant for their digestive systems, they develop diseases and other problems including the composition of their meat and fat which is unhealthy for human consumption. Factory farming is also a huge problem. Animals are given antibiotics, growth hormones and other chemicals which get into the food supply, not to mention inhumane treatment. The movie, Food Inc will show all this, I'm sure.

My 5 y.r. old grandson was in the hospital for one day lacking a month from e-coli. He lost function of his kidneys, had 3 mini strokes and the e-coli attacked his red blood cells. He was on dialysis, had blood transfusions. He was very, very sick. The surgeon, nephrologist and neurologist said it was due to uncooked hamburger meat.

His little body is almost back to normal, we are working on getting his hemoglobin up now. The doctors do not think he will be affected by the mini strokes.

The surgeon said he had 10 cases last year from uncooked hamburger meat from Jack N The Box.

My question is does the health department follow up on this?

Is the female guest (nutritionist) a lobbyist or spokesperson for a meat company?

Larry,
Seems like everyone is missing the important point.
e coli is common in everyone. But the mutation 0157H7 is a mutation of that organism caused by the feeding of antibiotics to cattle to increase the "grain to gain" ratio. The bottom line is that we must stop the use of feeding antibiotics to animals.
This particular organism e coli 0157H7 is both resistant to antibiotics and it secretes the toxins that killed these people.
Dr. Frank J. Trapani
509 525 7484

Human should not eat meat. What work we do will decide what we can eat and vice versa. In general people like you and me should not eat meat. Our jobs don't need that. I am a teacher and a computer person. 80% raw food – Veg and 20% Cooked Veg is the right diet.

I believe that a healthy diet does not necessarily include meat. I come from India where majority of people are pure vegetarian. The way our daily diet is includes protein, dairy, carbs, fat, veggies, fiber. We don't hear too mnay cases of cancer, alzhimers, and many more diseases which are seen in many more people here. I think we can get our full nutrition from a well balanced vegetarian diet. I do believe that dairy should be included.

Hello Larry,
I am very precarious about the food I eat. I cook my food in the night. For past 4 years I come back from school in the night and then cook my own food.
I work 8 to 5 job and lucky enough to stay 5 mins away from work. I come back home and eat healthy food cooked a night before.
I dislike American food becuase its genetically modified, I have never been to Mcdonals in 6 years. I do no trust the super markets. 99% of food is junk food except for produce.
We need to learn from India where people eat healthy food. They eat meat once a week. They cook and eat fresh produce so called organic produce in America.

I am a chef, and now know what kind of CRAP that is in the food supply..Monsanto who produces "Round Up" puts that poison in the soybeans. So we are eating the poison. And if you research the food industry-cancer and other diseases only started when we got away from a more plant based diet to an animal based diet. Also with all of the hormones that are shot into cows to produce more milk, produces little girls who mature faster than they did earlier in the century. Also when they shoot the cows full of antibiotics, that CRAP is now in the meat and that is why our own antibiotics that humans take when they are sick DOES NOT work against the illness and we have to end up taking more medicine to combat the sickness. NO I work really hard to make sure that we get our protein from nuts and plants. Thank you for your time.

I grew up on a cattle ranch, feeding, raising, and eating what we produced. I am now a mother of three who feeds their children lean beef, and prepared properly. My children are very healthy due to a balanced diet with meat included. I feel that we wouldn't be as healthy if it wasn't partly due to the food we eat! We will keep eating BEEF!

animal protein is killing us ... go veg

Meat is NOT a necessary part of a healthy diet. My wife and I started eating a vegetarian (and subsequently vegan) diet three years ago. Both of us saw significant improvements in our health, which continues today. Dr. Campbell's book, The China Study, was a real eye-opener in our journey, and validated the health reasons for which we turned away from meat.

I've been a vegetarian who eats dairy for 19 years and am very healthy. One mistake vegetarians can make is that a can of coke and potato chips are technically vegetarian but not something you want to build a diet around. I eat fresh, whole foods, including grains, legumes and beans. I also eat at portions that aren't bigger than I can fit in the palm of both hands together. Try this too and you are on your way to health and happiness!

I have lived a plant based only diet since 1978and have lived a very healthy and active life.

I am fifty years old and I have tested my diet with animal products and plant based foods. I have found and that when I keep a natural plant based diet, I feel better and my CBC blood test looks better. Instead of meat I get my protein from beans, lentils, black beans other grains. I do eat fish and turkey from time to time. Although I love beef I will not eat it.

Last year it was about Salmonilla, should we exclude Veggies from our diet for this reason too ...?

I beleive it all comes back to eating habits. We should watch what we eat and how we eat/process it.

Did you ever see the episode of Seinfeld where Kramer fishes Merv Griffin's set furniture out of the dumpster and brings it up to his apartment where he conducts interviews for an imaginary TV show? Whenever I watch Larry King's show I always think that the similarities between Kramers set and Larry's are palpable.

I have been a vegetarian since I was 15 (that's 6 years now), and I am healthier and happier for it. A meat less diet has been proven to be healthier in many contexts and vegetarians are even known to live longer.

I am surprised however that the issue of factory farms – the process by which meat is made has not been mentioned yet. Factory farms in themselves are inhumane forms of treating animals. It is not wonder that EColi and other meat dangerous are on the rise. When animals are confined and treated in the manners that they are today, disease is only probable.

I feel that meat well done in moderation can be beneficial to a persons diet. I nearly lost my life in a matter of an hour after consuming a fish sandwich from a fast food restaurant. My throat began closing up and as a result of my body going into shock I was told that whatever was wrong with that fish caused toxic pockets to form within my intestines. It frightened me so that I will never eat fish again.

Ecoli H0157 is specific to meat animals raised in a feedlot. The H0`57 bug has evolved in an acidic environment. Humans have ecoli in our guts which is healthy. But H0157 is a specific strain which can kill. Grass fed meat animals do not carry H0157. Feces on a carcas also come from mega-processors in a hurried, high volume plant.

Meat, depending on what it's fed and how it's treated, is part of a healthy diet. Like anything, moderation is a good watchword and knowing your producer.

I have heard that currently canned tuna, all leafy greens and some fruit and other vegetables should not be eaten due to an e.coli threat. Is this true?

My healthy diet does not include dead cows.

"It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life-cycle including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence and for athletes."

ADA's position and accompanying paper were written by Winston Craig, PhD, MPH, RD, professor and chair of the department of nutrition and wellness at Andrews University; and Reed Mangels, PhD, RD, nutrition advisor at the Vegetarian Resource Group, Baltimore, Md.

I have been a vegetarian for years. After I cut out meat I felt less sluggish and I had more energy. I never felt better.

I don't know what this woman is talking about. The members of my family that eat meat have diabetes, heart disease, and digestive problems.

I haven't eaten meat in 25 years. There are numerous alternatives to meat and vegetarians and vegans are arguably more healthy than meat eaters. More and more people are going vegan and it is simply ridiculous for people to state a meat based diet is superior. Tell that to the 60% of Americans who are obese meat eaters with high cholesterol and high blood pressure. The facts speak for themselves. My doctor told me a vegetarian diet has likely assisted my health positively because high cholesterol runs in my family.

A healthy diet does not include meat. The "nutritionist's" claim that a plant based diet is lacking nutrients is way off base. Every vitamin and mineral that is needed can be found in a plant based diet. B12 is the ONLY thing that is missing and that is more readily absorbed in liquid form. Animal protein speeds up cancer growth. She is respectfully disagreeing with scientifically proven studies and repeating misinformation that has been the standard in "nutrition" for too long. Everyone should read the China Study. It changed my life.

I agree with Dr. Campbell. A healthy diet can be meatless. Milk and eggs are OK to be included. In America. Who is behind Dr. Rodriquez research?

The ecoli contamination in vegetation was caused by an outside source. I person with e coli or COW MANURE!!! That's something that belongs in our food as much as dead critters!

it's not true that you have to carefully monitor your protein intake if you don't eat animal protein. I have never monitored my intake and I am a fantastically healthy vegetarian.

I enjoy a good turkey dinner, ham and scallop potatoes and a steak on the BBQ like almost everyone. However, when it comes to the very idea of picking out an animal and saying "I'll have that for dinner", I could not do it. However, as long as some else will do the dirty work for me, I continue to enjoy those meals. I really don't like that about me.

If eating tanted meat is healthy. How long would you cook the meat, if you knew it was tanted and your child was eating it?
this is about safe food, not healthy food

What about e-coli from veggies? Isn't that what we hear the most about anymore?

Boudain will eat crap and call it gourmet. He is disgusting!

Hi, Ive been a vegetarian all my life (27 yrs) and have had no problems. Its true that the protein intake can never match a meat eating diet, but eating lentils, greens are much less prone to high oil content, salt and unnecessary fats. The worst part about living here (esp in the midwest) there is hardly any veggie food!

The U.S. has the safest food supply in the world PERIOD!
ecoil is also easily found in plant based diets. We can be thankful that we have many safegards in place from the Rancher to the USDA !

Read the China Study (T Colin Campbell) The best book I have ever read. It will change your life!

No, We should not eat meat. For many many many reasons!

I also agree soo many people lead a vegetarian life style and are very healthy!

Vegetarians rock!!!

The meat industry is safer than it has ever been.

With proper preparation all meat is be safe to eat. Even in cases of improper handling before it arrives in your kitchen, proper handling there after and cooking at a proper temperature can kill e-coli.

E coli is everywhere in the environment. There is no way to completely avoid it. Each of us must take personal responsibility to handle and prepare our food properly.

If you are going to eat meat you should have the stomach to watch it being made.

I am 14 years old and I am a vegan (don't eat dairy or meat) by choice. I believe no meat and dairy is not as healthy as not eating meat or dairy.
If you are watching Larry King now meat killed 2 people!!!!! And it will kill more people!!!!!!!!!

IN ONE WORD ,THE RED MEALT IS NOT GOOD FOR THE HEALTH.WHY THEY CAN BE HONEST TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO EAT FISH,TURKEY,AND CHICKEN.
THANK YOU TO GIVE ME OPPORTUNITY TO EXPRESS MYSELF.

I only eat meat, chicken and fish that are certified organic I have tried being a vegetarian for about a year where I eliminated all meats but I found out that it was not for me so i guess to each his own . After puttng back meat in my diet I did feel a lot better energy wise and I only eat organic meats a d it does taste better being organic

You can smoke 5 packs a day, eat donuts and drink like a fish for 80 yrs and live a long life. It's about doing the right thing. for your kids and the environment. The meat industry kills kids and our planet. The meat industry and tobacco industry just got out of control and force upon society it’s products as necessity. They are killers.

A healthy diet does not need to include meat. As a vegetarian, I mostly get my protein from sources such as tofu, seitan and tempeh. Dr. Nancy Rodriquez spoke about amino acid chains, and she failed to mention soy–the plant world's complete amino acid chain akin to that of meat. There are plenty of plant based choices for protein and iron. Compared to the days when I ate meat, I feel a huge difference now that I have eliminated it from my diet.

A healthy human diet does should not include meat for a multitude of reasons. Anatomically our digestive tract resembles one similar to a herbivore than a carnivore. Therefore, our bodies have a difficult time digesting that protein and undigested meat sits in our colon and contributes to colon cancer as many studies have borne. Many many more reasons exist which can be detailed if need be.

I am 50 years old and have not eaten meat since I was 12. I am not overweight, very healthy and an active athlete. I have never found it difficult to get the vitamins nor protein i need. Eating healthy is easy with a little education as to where to get all the necessary nutrients. Eating lower on the food chain not only is healthy, and cruelty free, is is better for the environment.

Come on, CNN. You only bring us ONE person from the vegan viewpoint? That presents a completely unbalanced viewpoint.

If you look at traditional Japanese diets, you will see that they are very low in animal protein, and virtually no milk products, yet historically, the Japanese have been extremely healthy with little or no osteoporosis, cancer and heart disease. Only in the more recent years, since the Westernization of their diet, have these maladies increased.
This is also the case in other asian cultures.

Saying that eating meat or dairy is necessary to prevent osteoporosis is ridiculous. The dairy industry is very powerful, this is the reason we are told we need milk.

Hi Larry & Friends,
The issue is not whether or not to eat meat, but more specifically, the QUALITY. No one is talking about the real problem, which is how the animal is treated & processed. Here is where the real issue lies-Ooo-Anthony just dais it! Go Anthony! (as an Integrative Nutrition Counselor-everyone is an individual based on ancestry & blood type)-ooo! way to say it Johnathan!
Thx Paula!!

Whats wrong with Irradiation of red meat ?
In the last few years theres been e coli in strawberries,lettuce,and im sure, off shore imported beef

Ghandi is spelled incorrectly ... it is spelled Gandhi and he had eaten goat meat

You have done a great diservice to the country by presenting the woman opposed to Dr. T. Colin Campbell. She is NO where in his league. Dr. Campbell has impecable credentials and his research was funded by NIH, The American Cancer Society and Cornell University. Who funded this woman's research? The Beef Lobby?? Dr. Campbell's research clearly shows that animal protein is linked to cancer. Do you hear that??? It is not a happy little package of protein that makes you healthy. Overconsumption of animal protein is killing this country. Larry, put Dr. Campbell on when he can inform you and the rest of the world of his work. It will be a positive part of your legacy for getting this important word out. Plant-based diet is the answer to most of the ills our citizens face as well as the hothouse gas ses produced by factory farming feedlots and the devestation of our oceans from nitrogen runoff!!! If

Anthony, can you, without clothing, shoes, or manufactured weapons, (i suppose a sharp stick would be natural enough) chase down, kill and eat "stupider" creatures? I doubt it. Thanks for your "intelligenter" input.

The word "butchered" alone turns my stomach. It is so brutal!

The meat industry is safer than it has ever been. With proper preparation all meat is be safe to eat. Even in cases of impoper handling before it arrives in your kitchen, proper handling there after and cooking at a proper temperature can kill e-coli.

E coli is everywhere in the environment. There is no way to completely avoid it. Each of us must take personal responsibility to handle and prepare our food properly.

In my country in Bulgaria- the ground meat is sold mixed with salt . I think that may prevent from some bacteria to survive. And we dont eat the meat rare. Here in USA peope need to have day without meat and the other days the portionsof red meat need to be reduce.Some people dont eat a lot of garlic and onion hwo may kill bacterias too.I am very sad about the lost of all this young kids.A lot of deseases are because of bacterias and parasites.

It is so unfortunate that this is happening in this modern age and time. I believe we can do more to greatly minimize the ugly situation in the meat industry.
However, concluding that total abstinence from meat diet is an extreme situation that will be detrimental to a healthy life style in our society.
This is like suggesting that Americans should absolutely avoid flying by air due to the horrible experience of 911.

Becoming vegan has been the best thing I have ever done for my health! A plant-based diet is the healthiest way to eat. Do some research, folks!

As Patrick Boyle said, there are two options to completely eliminate E. coli O157:H7, irradiation and proper cooking techniques. The use of irradiation hasn't been widely adopted due to the public's negative image of the process. Also, consumers demand reasonably priced ground beef. Irradiation is not a cheap solution and costs must be passed on to the consumer. How much are consumers willing to pay for the extra safety when billions of pounds of ground beef are eaten each year without bacteria contamination? Secondly, there is very little the USDA or large meat processors can do to teach consumers proper handling techniques. Proper cooking temperatures are already posted on all ground beef products and consumers fail to follow those directions.

Thanks for covering an appropriate topic. Please understand that the nature of the diet (vegetarian vs meat eating) is one topic whereas food safety and E Coli is another. Please note that plant sources now appear to be the largest contaminant source of E Coli. So please cover how people can help handle and prepare ALL food (vegetables and meat) they bring into their kitchens to minimize E Coli from being present on the table serving of the food.

It is unfortunate that Larry King show chose to bring in so many members of the panel who have hidden, emotional agendas.
(Just FYI, I am a PhD nutritionist, a CNS and a Fello of the American Nutrition Society.)

I like that idiot, who said "meat is healthy. those are the facts"

If by FACTS you mean "what our government [who is controlled by the big business of the meat industry] chooses to tell us," then yes, those are the facts. but even the American Dietetic Association are now saying that vegetarians have lower instances of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and other like conditions.

I do eat beef, fowl, and fish in moderation but no pork. .Dr, Rodrigiguez's statement that we need meat to provide for a healthy diet is and has been proven incorrect many times over. Yes you do get more and easier protein. iron, calcium, and many other nutrients from meat, but her argument is that it is not as easy to get these without meat. Meat has already been shown to not be the best diet for the human body just as an all vegetable diet for bears would not be the best for it. The Bible gives us the perfect diet and the first meat that was allowed to be eaten by man was Noah. 2 of every non clean and 7 of every clean animal for them to eat and survive until Noah could begin to grow food.

For me it's a moral issue. I don't believe innocent animals should be exploited and killed in order for me to eat when I can survive on (and enjoy) plant based foods... and I believe I'm healthier for it.

E coli is present in hamburger as a result of processing. It is easily destroyed by heating the meat to a degree that cooks the meat to a well done state. In Canada, by law, all restaurants must cook hamburger to well done and do not offer the option of rare or medium rare cooking.

Carla Steeds of Cambridge, Ontario

I am fifty years old and I have tested my diet with an animal versus a plant based diet. When I stay away from beef and keep a diet high in vegetables and grains, I feel better, have more energy and stay extremely regular. I love the way I feel on a diet that excludes beef. I will eat fish and turkey. I have always enjoyed eating beef but I believe it is not healthy for us to eat.

Thank You Larry for airing this show even though they tried to sue Oprah for a simple statement against hamburgers! Our government is killing us with these disgusting farm practices! Everyone read The omnivore's Dilema and Fire the FDA! Get a new green crew in there!!!!!

I became a vegetarian after a CANCER scare and went to a private cancer help center in England. Their first step was to take all patients off of meat. We consumed a holistic organic vegan diet during the residential stay. I never returned to eating meat. And I have been free of cancer for 15 years and healthier than ever. No signs of protein deprivation.

That's the point - nothing negative from not eating meat. This to me is very significant.

just what is a factory farm? i have several hundred farms located around my state that have cattle, dairy cows, maybe even some sheep and pigs, along with a couple locals who may have 100 head of cattle that they truly care for?

what is her PhD in her facts appear to be quite incorrect. - recent studies of higher meat intakes do not promote optimal heatlh in fact do the opposite. Nancy's statements are very misleading and why is she on your show?

To date, a plant based diet is one of the healthiest diets –

thank goodness for Cornell!

Larry,

I used to eat meat, but a health guru by the name of Gary Null.
Helped me to stop eating meat.
I suggest that anyone who does not want to eat any more fecal matter.
to go to his website GaryNull.com.

Also, Madcowboy.com to see exactly what goes on with your meat today before it gets to us as consumers

I see you eat healthy foods larry.
I should be so lucky to look as good as you when I get your age I am 58.

This is a freedom issue as much as it is a health issue. A free person should have control over what goes into their body. I should have the freedom to put any food type in my body. It is good to inform us regarding health issues, but the negative attitudes towards "meat eaters" or towards "veggie eaters" is inappropriate. We must have the freedom to make our own choices regarding the morality of eating meat or any other type of food without the judgement of others who may or may not know anything at all regarding morality. We must work to protect the freedoms we have in this country and not allow the government or imperfect science control those choices. Medical science has changed their ideas regarding what is and is not healthy several times in my lifetime alone. We truly know very little regarding the body and health issues.

when you cut off blood supply of any living organism, it starts to decay right away. think, how much preservatives we must be using to keep those dead meats from getting spoiled or rotten. Instead the vegetables, beans and plant proteins are freshly made.
In meat , we get lot more unwanted and harmful subs like preservatives, fat along with protein.
The preservatives cause cancer

My husband& I have worked in slaughter houses or meat depts all our life.Meat especially beef is a main part of every meal but we don't eat out alot.BUT the USDA do a fine job in most cases.

If you are referring to the "nutritionist" on the program. I completely disagree with her and her responses don't even sound very well thought out. She's saying what she's been told to say and told to think for years. The truth is that the health, nutrition, diet industry is not about health – it's about money. As long as that's the case, you will hear anything disguised as truth. This has nothing to do with contamination, or how you cook it. The nutrients available in meat are available in better quality from plant based diet.

I wonder how many carnivores would be willing to explain to their kids where their Happy Meal came from, or better yet let them watch it being made?

We fail to take into consideration of the economic aspect of nutrition. We live in a monetary system, us that can afford to eat the right way, need to take into consideration of how we are going to feed our children. I am from a poor country were we have to eat in a frugal way. needless to say, we did not suffer many of the illnesses we suffer today.

RH Have you actual read the research. I do believe you would change your mind if you took the time to read his book.

What about the ranchers and cattle farmers who can not sell their cattle because of labelling (country of origin) Great ALBERTA BEEF.

Plant based diets are easier to digest & give you "sunshine" energy that have no negative side effects. We are the only species that drink the milk of another species & most of us are unaware that our digestive system is not designed to handle dairy.

Being educated on food would probably shift most people's diets dramatically. For instance, did you know the leafy vegetable "Kale" has more "absorbable" calcium that milk because it contains magnesium, a key ingredient for calcium to actually absorb into the body? That means the milk you are drinking for calcium doesn't even give you the calcium you need because it can't be absorbed!

Most Americans have no idea where there meat is coming from or how it was processed. If people saw the journey of the food they were eating they would see things that would horrify them.

Much more to say – but the main thing is Education. We need to educate ourselves on food & stop the confusion of being told what to eat only based on the marketing & advertising of the BIG companies only interested in making profits & NOT in the overall health of humans.

Who is funding Dr. Rodriguez's research? The fact is that the science on plant-based diets is overwhelming and has led the American Dietetic Association, the nation's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals, to state:

“…appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases.”

Environmentally speaking, Jonathan Safran Froer is right on par. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization published a report identifying the livestock sector as one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global.

According to the report, farmed animals contribute more to global warming than the entire transportation sector.

The good news is that switching from the standard American diet to a vegan one for one year would reduce your carbon-dioxide emissions more than switching from a normal car to a hybrid.

Rajendra Pachauri, the chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, (the top man of the world’s most important international agency dealing with global warming), finally came out and said, "Please eat less meat - meat is a very carbon-intensive commodity."

To me, it's a no-brainer. Plant-based eating is better for your health, better for the environment, and better for animals.

i am a vegetarian, so of course i am biased on this issue. but everyone is on one side or another, so there will always be a bias. meat is not necessary, as is dairy. we can find other places that have calcium and protein. a small portion of meat a day is OK, so of course everything needs to be in moderation. people are not educating themselves on what is in their food, and that is where the problem starts. i think the government, both canadian and american needs to step up their game on how to educate the public on nutrition. too many useful things are not being shared. we just need to spread the word on how to live the best life!

Larry,
good for you for having this on your program... HOWEVER! let your guest talk!! Just when they're about to say something important or relevant you cut them off!!
Have fewer commercials or less guests or both?

Just let them talk for crying out loud!

I agree with both sides,in the begining their was plants.and then came meat. In the future "now their is both".....

What type of person gets pleasure from the suffering of innocent animals? I don't want to know those people.

The question is not whether to eat or not eat meat. It is whether to eat GROUND meat which includes pieces of meat from many unknown sources. There are no laws which require markets to keep documentation re the source. (Therefore, there is no accountability.) Name another food where if you do not cook it right it could kill you. And what does "cook it right" mean? Super well done? Burnt?

It is absolutely untrue that 99% of livestock is raised on factory farms. What is a factory farm? The entire country is full of family farms and that is where 99% of livestock is raised. That statement totally discredited the guest that made that.

If FDA made the meat industry labels the ingredients in meat…. Mercury, antibiotics, growth hormones, other drugs and chemicals that preserve and falsely make the meat products seem safe… people would be shocked!! People die from the product!

From what I have learned from the basis of the 80-10-10 raw vegan diet: human bodies are NOT designed to digest meat. If you compare human characteristics to that of a natural carnivore you will fine no similarities. From the type of teeth, make up of digestive enzymes and length of the intestinal tract. Not to mention the excess stress put upon the kidneys and liver to over work in order to attempt to digest this unnatural protein. There is a theory that because our bodies spend so much energy subsequently immune defenses to assimilate this 'artificial' diet we compromise many other aspects of our bodies....in the long term, causing the development of adult onset disorders (so very common in the standard American diet) such as diabetes, cancer, immune disorders...etc. It really makes (common) sense.

Meat is an essential part of a person's diet. Meat provides the body with many key amino acids and vitamin B12 which can not be obtained from plants. Not to mention meat tastes amazing! Of course vegetables should be a part of everyone's diet, but a world without meat is a ridiculous.

Hello!

I wish we would talk about this topic more. I agree with all three gentlemen in the show. I did stop eating chicken and beef 8 months ago, and I feel great! I do excersise more, more energy.
I find a lot of other healthy food to eat, vegetables are great!

Let's talk about CRUELTY to animals, why killing animals for our pleaseure of eating meat??

Thanks! Celia

e coli can be completely eliminated through proper cooking. cleanliness is a major factor in food preparation. salmonila has killed more people than e coli ever has.

.I am an 89 year old female. I have not eaten a bite of meat in 45 years.
I do eat some fish, cheese and eggs so am not classed as a true vegetarian. I eat raw honey but no processed sugar. I eat very little processed food. I eat a lot of raw fruits and vegetables including carrot juice and take vitamins. I do not drink alcohol nor smoke.
The result of this diet is: I take no medication, neither by prescription nor over the counter. I do not go to a doctor. I walk about three miles a day, do my own gardening and drive my car. I definitely believe from my ongoing research that eating meat would be a detriment to my health.

You know what I like? Booze. But I know enough to have a little bit, once in a while rather than every day. I eat meat the same way, here and there, rather than every meal. And I am a very healthy, energetic marathon runner.

I have been a vegetarian for 35 years. I look ten years younger than my meat eating peers and i have none of the cardiovacular, obesity, diabetes and other toxic effects of their meat based diets.

"Becoming vegan has been the best thing I have ever done for my health! A plant-based diet is the healthiest way to eat. Do some research, folks!"

@Katie, Don't you find that your taste buds are sharper? I do. Everything tastes better.

Eating meat is healthy! Everything in moderation is healthy. Beef is full of zinc, iron and protein. Beef is the most efficient converter of untestable fiber into a high energy product and protein. Beef is not bad for you a lack of self-control is bad for you. Eating a huge portion of fries and having a pop with your burger is bad for you. If meat is cooked fully E. coli 0157 is killed. Oh I could go on and on. The meat processing industry has stepped up and put regulations in place they can not come into your house and cook your burgers too. Its about time people need take responsibility for their actions.

1) Saturated Fat is HIGH in Meat. Isnt this true compared to Vegetables
2) Food posioning – isnt this less compared meats in vegetables

No meat or animal by products a vegan diet is the only perfect diet. And your meat eater Dr. is uneducated and uninformed as the other vegetarian Dr. is informed and the meat eater Dr. did not bring up the fact that soy protein, grain seitan, has more protein then meat and that their is no health problems like cancer, e-coli, cholesterol that is found in meat.

I am a healthy 41 year old vegetarian male who grew up in India. I have grown up around generations of vegetarians. Lack of proteins or minerals has never been an issue. Vegetarian food is healthy for the body and for the soul.

meat kills

On the Dr. Oz show he addressed the problem of e-coli in meat and said that if you freeze meat it will kill the e-coli....If this is true wouldn't that be a safe way to assure the meat is safe along with cooking it throughly?

i'm a raw food vegan. i'm 71 an feel like 20. i'm on no medications and have no aches and pains in my body. any one who thinks meat is good for you is so wrong. and grilling meat is the worst thing to eat. live food, veges, fruits, nuts and seeds are the best thing you can do for yourself.
people can eat meat all they want, but they will end up with the usual illness.

Dr. Campbell is correct. A lot of research has concluded that the closer the diet is to a plant based diet is overall healthier and better than a meat based diet.

As a Registered Dietitian, I am vegan and what I am disappointed about is how Ms. Rodriguez is missing the boat. What about soybean for protein? It is a complete protein. To mislead the public by saying that it is far better to include meat is disturbing. The point she failed to mention is that a person can be vegetarian or vegan, as long as they have help with PLANNING their diet. So see a Registered Dietitian or Nutritionist and request help with meal planning.

cave people eat nuts and grass. not meat. fact

Enough of Nancy, already. Let the others speak as they are infinitely more informed tha this gal with whom you seem overly enanmoured. As usual, you focus not on the most intelligent guest on your show but the one "joe" america has the greatest chance of understanding. You pursue the least sophisticated on your show. Shame.

I am trying to follow the discussion on this important topic,but instead i end up being annoyed by the constant "breaks" or the constant interruption of Mr.King,who seems more interested in how many questions he can ask, rather than allowing the guests to complete their answers.Why ask the questions if you won't allow the people to answer.

When was the last time you hunted the hamburger you ate? Oh yeah, I see it...aisle 7!

I tend to think that eating meat is a habit from the last ice age and that normally humans should stick to a plant diet.
Aaron

The ADA says that a vegetarian diet is nutritionally adequate. ADA statement on Vegetarian diets. "It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes."

Fire Cargill ! Get back to subsidizing small farmers! If we don't fight it will kill our children and grandchildren. Of course we should eat meat and everything but All natural !!!! Look at Europe , they wouldn't eat any of our garbage if you paid them!If you have spent time there you will realize the difference between real food and what we have in the USA!

When is the last time you heard a person become fat from vegetables? Americans have poor eating habits. Just look around and see how many fit people you see? Most of them are eating meat! and tons of it.

Not even the Bible can answer this question.....

Larry is UNCLEAR on a key point. The e coli that is infecting our ground beef (and our spinach) is from slaughterhouses and farms that are largely unmonitored and not held accountable for poisoning us rather than keeping us safe from food borne contaminants.

The issue is not meat or veg diet, it's: Assuming some majority of our society is going to eat meat, isn't the USDA charged with assuring the supply of that meat is inspected and safe.

meat is not necessary, it is just tradition and that is why people are conditioned to thinking they need it!

Meat is nothing more than a habit. People, get over it and move on. Go vegan. Spare an animal, eat a vegetable.

USDA is a full-blown disaster. don't take my word for it, check it out.

You don't "need" meat any more than you "need" salt. It's a habit.

I eat very little meat, but do like it and will continue to eat it, but with a more careful eye to where/how it was produced-support local farmers

Meat is absolutely not necessary in modern day human diet, and in fact it is not good for you overall. Plant based food give a much better balance of protein, minerals and nutrietns, and fiber. Not everyone likes the taste or smell of meat either!

By no means, do I eat meat all the time. However, there are TWO major things that say we should eat meat. All you have to do,,,is just take two fingers and place them in your mouth and you will find the 2 things. Namely your CANINES!! They are for tearing flesh, nothing more.

"I could sure sink my teeth into a vegetarian right about now"

I find nothing wrong with eating meat with regards to 'health'. I eat all sorts of meat. I also eat pasta, rice, break, fruits, vegatables, fish, just about everything.

I think moderation is key. Nutrition is just one aspect of being healthy. Exercise is key too!

Larry meat itself is not bad. However the chemicals and hormones in the animal feed is what makes eating meet bad. I did a radical change of my diet the past 2 days to organic and doing a detox. The pain that was in my body has left and my joints are completely flexible.

One day, I was on backyard and all of a sudden I felt and realized that animals, birds and fish feel the pain and fear before they got killed. And by buying animal products we make demand for suffering and death of living creatures!

All their pain, suffering and death go into animal products and we take it in! Maybe people’s problems because of this? “Do not kill” commandment is not only for people.

I went to the book that has been here before me and in first chapter I found this:
“Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.”
(Genesis 1:29)

I stopped eat and use animal products in order to stop their suffering and their deaths and maybe as a result people will be more Healthy, Happy, Kind and Peaceful. We never try to do this.
But we keep doing what we used to do and wonder why we got the same result.

As a doctor and dietitian I see that all required nutrients, vitamins, minerals and protein are in plant based diet.
I found tons of medical and dietitian studies about this subject, for example:

Largest epidemiological study in history at Cornell University states: “The vast majority of all cardiovascular diseases, cancers and other forms of degenerative illness can be prevented simply by adopting a vegan diet.”

The American Dietetic Association states: “Well-planned vegan diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, adolescence and adulthood.”

Moreover, there was a doctor Max Gerson (Gerson Institute) he cured terminal stages of cancer by using a vegan diet. I think if he healed such diseases, then a healthy person can prevent a lot of problems with his health by using this life style.
This is preventative care!

I also recommend Eat Less (Calories Restriction). The less our body gets preoccupied with food digestion the more restful our cells are and cells start doing their purpose – clean, fix and rejuvenate our body. Keep in mind that our stomach has the same size as our fist, thus this it is clear that we don’t need a lot of food. But we were brainwashed by industry and diverted from healthy and human diet.

All of this makes sense!

I stop consuming dairy when I realized that by buying milk products I support veal industry. Animal baby was taken away to slaughterhouse what mother feels in this moment? All this negative energy goes into dairy.

I stop eat eggs when I got to know that in order to protect eggs birds have their sensitive beaks cut off without painkillers.

I stop eat fish because when fish dragged from the water depths, fish undergo excruciating decompression – the rapid pressure change often raptures their swimbladder, pops out their eyes and pushes their stomach through their mouths and then they tossed on board where many slowly suffocate. Others are still alive when their throats and bellies are cut open.

All this pain, suffering and negative energy go into animal products and we take it in.
Food is energy.
Do not let this industry use your stomach and your soul for their profit!

“Do living creatures understand something at all?” is the wrong question.
Do They Suffer?

This is why I stopped eat, use and support products made from living creatures, in order to stop their sufferings and maybe as a result of this, people will be more Healthy, Happy, Kind and Peaceful. We never try this, but keep doing the same and wondering why we get the same result.

I was surprised that a lot of well-known people propagated Vegan life style years ago!
Here are some of them:

Albert Einstein
Abraham Lincoln
Alec Baldwin
Buddha
Benjamin Franklin
Brad Pitt
Vincent van Gogh
Hippocrates.
Mahatma Gandhi
H.G. Wells
George Bernard Shaw
Ikaliast
Immanuel Kant
Leo Tolstoy
Leonardo da Vinci
Mark Twain
Pythagoras
Plutarch
Paul McCartney
Plato
Richard Gere
Seneca
Thomas A. Edison
Charles Darwin
Charles Mayo (founder of the Mayo Clinic)
Shakespeare
and more…

If you worried about your physique and muscles (I had this worry, too) you have to know that many sportsmen adhere to vegan diet. Here are some of them:

Bill Pearl,
professional bodybuilder and four-time "Mr. Universe".

Keth Holmes,
boxing champion.

Mac Danzing,
martial arts champion.

Edwin Moses,
two-time Olympic gold medalist in hurdles.

Carl Lewis,
“Olympian of the Century”.

This is not weak guys at all!

Thank you for your time.

Roman_

What is the solution for a complete protein? eating soy? yeah right, soy is the biggest scam that the US has ever been fed. look back 30 years, when diabetes, heart disease, and all of the other problems we have were way lower. people ate meat, and cooked in lard and butter. its all of the soy and processed food. its not meat.

Larry,

I believe if people cook there meat well done there will be no problems with e coli, people just need to watch what they buy make sure its not out of date and be smart about buying meats. I believe people should have a bit of meat and veggies mix it up don't just eat one or the other. I think vegetarians don't get the iron they need thats why I strongly believe in the mediterriean diet, Everything in Moderation. I love eating meat and will never stop because someone had a bad expierence with meat.

Albany ny

In response to the comment about E.Coli. in plant foods being caused primarily by runoff from animal farms, it's important to consider contamination by workers not following proper sanitation practices before harvesting or handling products.

There is absolutely NOTHING healthy about the way animals on factory farms are bred, fed, raised, and finally slaughtered. The whole process of turning living beings into a meal to simply satiate a person's palate is riddled with disease and abuse. If you aren't aware of where your dinner comes from, you need to educate yourself on the harsh reality of what the food industry has become...

And yes, I am a healthy vegetarian of seventeen years!

I have been vegan for 42 days! I saw the video "Meet your Meat" and swore to NEVER support this industry ever again...all my blood work has GREATLY improved and I have lost 15 pounds..I eat a wide variety of foods and do without anything...

not one person on this blog nor watching this show could kill and butcher thier own meat...

The show was 'loaded' with vegetarians who greatly distort facts to push their agenda. The one man was strictly out to damage Cargill!!
The other gentleman stated gross inaccuracies about animal agriculture, such as 99% of all animals are raised on factory farms. More than 90% of cattle are raised on familay frams and ranches. Even when E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks have occurred on lettuce, spinach, peppers, ect., the anti-animal agriculture blame the source on animal agriculture.
I am disappointed on the imablance of participants Larry King invited to speak!!!

Hello,
I have been a vegetarian for 6 years. I found that I can't metabolize the enzymes.

I stopped eating meat this spring and have never felt healthier in my life. Fresh , organic fruits and vegetables are the way to go. It's easier than you think!

there are two different issues – food safety and human nutrition. i have read the journals. there is no reason to eat meat, however a very very small amount of meat, 4 oz per week, would not be harmful.
laura dice

Dear Larry,

I am completely in favor of Colin Campbell's position. The data is overwhelmingly in his favor.

Mark Oldendorf, MD

For the same amount of resources, you can make 3 to 6 times more plant food than animal food (in terms of calories).

Going vegetarian may therefore be more sustainable.

For all the hits everyone is making on production agriculture, please think about this. Production agiruculture produces an inexpensive and almost always healthy product. There are millions of Americans that would surely love to eat free range family farm foods, but that doesn't make sense with their budget. Free range, family farm=expensive. We need to take into account people that cannot afford to eat that, and the best alternative besides starving is production agriculture.

Our treatment of animals in this country is beyond unconscionable. The massive resources required to supply our desire for animal products, including meat, is not only contributing significantly to global warming, but most of the vegetables we grow go to feed livestock rather than to feeding starving humans around the world!! Dr. Campbell should be given a Nobel prize.

Mr. Bourdain... you commented on the human body's design for a carnivorous diet. You notably failed to mention internal organs when you described that design. To that end, let me remind you that the intestinal tract of a true carnivore is incredibly different from that of a human being. Unfortunately, my husband suffered the diagnosis of stage 2 colorectal cancer last year at the age of 38... we have realized as a direct result of a lifetime of a diet high in animal protein. Since that diagnosis, we've gone vegan, and my husband is in full remission! Let's look at the effects meat eating has on the inside of the body... not just a superficial analysis of the teeth and fingernails.

It is written in scriptures that meat was made for the use of man, but is to be used sparingly in times of winter and famine. I think with that in mind you choose the safest and healthiest meat such as chicken, fish, and healthy cuts of meat. Then make sure you have plenty of fibers, vegetables, legumes, and fruits.

I am digusted by the way factory farms are raising livestock. Michael Pollan's book Omnivore's Dilemma spells out very clearly what's wrong with the way livestock is raised in this country. It's appalling that factory farm practices have become the standard as opposed to the exception and that our government has not just condoned but supported these practices. My husband and I go out of our way and pay the premium for grass-fed beef and organic free-range antibiotic/hormone-free chicken.

A couple of years ago seemingly out of nowhere I developed such a strong aversion to chicken that I could not eat it for 2 months! I realized that that was likely in response to eating chicken my whole life that's raised to be sick in factory farms only to be treated with hormones and antibiotics. I continue to be disgusted by most chicken, but when I travel to foreign countries I don' t have such problems because they don't treat their chicken the same way.

I couldn't live without red meat or dairy, but I believe we need to shift from a factory farm model to a model in which livestock are born and bred to be healthy and free of hormones and antibiotics and to be treated humanely.

YES are food supply is safe, when cooked right ! America loves BEEF!

what about eskimo who have no vegetables and no hart disease

I watched Anthony Bourdain eat a wild pigs anus on his "Nambibia" episode. He stated "that was the worst bite of food I ever had" The look on his face confirmed it. Yes, animals are tasty but humans could be smarter about how they are consumed

I became a carnivore at Smith & Wollensky, Ruth Chris, Mortons and Peter Luger. I am Indian and would very much appreciate a more intelligent advocate than the "Nutritionist" on the show.

I applaud the show for hosting an intelligent discussion among educated people (mostly) about a very grave and important issue today. We should think more scientifically and ethically, and less like cavemen. If you educated yourself, and tried to become more empathetic toward humanity and non-humanity alike, you would find that factory farming is one of the greatest crimes of the industrial revolution.

1. Your 1 800 676-2100 number is jsut ringing and rining

2. Is there a difference in eColi outbreaks between Barbequing and/or flame broiling your hamburgers as opposed to just frying them in a frying pan?

A 3-ounce serving of lean beef provides about the same amount of protein as 1-1/2 cups of legumes, but in half the calories. Unlike plant proteins, lean beef is a source of high quality protein and is the food supply’s most readily available and easily absorbed source of iron and zinc. God bless American agriculturists for providing me with a safe, reliable food supply!

you diet shou be based on the ph of your blood not calories or carb based diets that have been around for ever and obviously dont work.

meat is one of the least alkaline products we consume, up there with alcohol and sweets.

they are treats not the mainstay.

Everyone in my family is a vegetarian. We strongly believe that being vegetarian is healthy and it helps us save and respect environment and its creatures. We have been vegetarians for generations and very healthy. Meat is not at all required for a healthy leaving and in fact the contrary is true.

Why does the USDA not honor recall requests from manufacturers
I am a manufacturer and tried to get 19 million lbs of contaminated meat from shipping.

It seems like those who support heavy meat diets, like Nancy, will usually blame the consumer for the preparation of it, when something goes wrong. As a mother, I find that so insulting.

I quit eating meat in March and I've felt great since, my weight is great, I am very energetic. My kids eat very healthy diets. I only feed them meat when they ask for it. And they rarely ask for it.

Sure, as Nancy says, meat is packaged neatly and packs a protein punch. But you can leave it off of your plate, and not only will you not drop dead from lack of it, but you just might find you love the way you feel!

I ate vegetarian now for almost 32 years. I do eat fish mostly to get essential protein to help with my diet and to be able to eat out at some restuarants with my husband. You go–Celia about the comment about cruelty and animals–you speak my mind.

Regarding diet, if you do it correctly, you can get every essential amino acid and nutrient that you need from plants. Quinoa, for example, is a grain that has the complete essential amino acid profile that is found in meat.

I've only been vegetarian for a month, and am trying to become vegan. If you have the right resources, the transition is actually quite easy. Meat substitutes have made great strides in taste and texture (check out "Gardein" products in particular).

All it took was for me to watch ONE investigative video on "downer cows" in factory farming, and the transition had begun.

Okay, but in all seriousness, the trouble with many heath care practitioners, nutritionists, and the general public is that we are mis-infomed. Many doctors seem to forget all of the organic and biochemistry they learned. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. A plant-based diet can supply all of the essential amino acids you need. Besides, when you eat a piece of meat, your body disassembles the protein into its amino acid components and then puts it all back together so eating a plant based diet is more efficient.

People are forgetting that the meat today is not the meat of the past. Eating meat in years gone by produced less issues then what's out there today. Protein comes in many forms and plenty in the form of veggies. Facts are facts and too much protein can cause cancer!!

Do you think killing animals is a good thing to do? I do not at all. I think that meat is murder!

I would love to hear the ideology on what the Doctor Rodriguez has to say about the basic food chain that 3rd graders learn in school which we don't follow at all int America. How can this be?

does nancy rodriquez of Univ. of Ct. receive any funding from the meat industry. Grants. seminars, etc.

I am amazed at how much ignorance there is in the world regarding beef. Larry and the rest of the media is not bringing on the truth regarding beef. Come and spend time with me regarding how safe your beef is.

Empirical research shows that humans are best equipped to eat plants, rather than animals. Besides harming our health, animal agriculture negatively impacts the wellbeing of animals and the environment.

tim veggie.... I can 🙂

I am a healthy 47 year old vegetarian since I was 13. My 3 and 6 year old also are veggies. Jesus was a vegetarian. And we wouldnt want it any other way.

those workers picking those veggies also have e coli in their system. that is probably where the contaminated lettuce gets its e coli

A 69 cent hamburger or even a $2 burger may seem like a bargain. But is it? What's the real cost of eating too much beef, the real cost of 85 billion hamburgers? An epidemic of high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes, colon and breast cancer and food poisoning, grain fed to cows instead of millions of starving people, water pollution, topsoil erosion and rain forest destruction, millions of tons of methane released (a greenhouse gas), trillions of gallons of water used to grow livestock feed, tens of millions of cows brutally slaughtered!

I would just like to say that I completely understand what Dr Campbell's research proves. It seems people are not getting what he is trying to say about how the animal protein changes the body on a cellular level...forget the ounces to eat! That's not the point as far as a healthy body and keeping the body clean and healthy on the inside! Open your ears people, listen!

Yes, my family eats meat that I raise from start to finish. Our lambs, goats, meat and egg chickens, & turkeys are raised all natural and grass fed. I also have a large garden where all of our produce comes from.
The public needs to start caring where their food comes from, how far it has traveled and the conditions that were involved in the growth and processing.
We need to support our small farms and local grown food.

These days I try to eat with integrity. Gone of the days of feels good, smells gook, looks good. Factory farming is unconscionable, and something does not have to die for me to eat....there are to many other choices.

Meat is not any more unsafe than vegetables or other foods. And, it's important to realize that it is nearly impossible to get diseases such as ecoli from whole muscle meats such as steak, roast, etc.

I think beef is fine, but beef safety is the bigger issue. My nephew nearly died of HUS and kidney failure, three years ago after eating sausage at a Denny's. So "preparing your food correctly" at home as one guest said is not enough. The American people need more protection.

We were hunter-gatherers as "natural man." One big kill fed the whole village, not one 4 person/5 person family. This country is based on convenience, TASTE and over-indulgence. The palate is a delicate thing and when it's inundated with just salt and sauces and FAT, of course a whole-food, plant based diet is going to be unappealing. It takes up to 10 days for less than 10 oz. of meat to digest and the corn fed to these poor poor animals are practically never digested – where is the nutrition then?

Has anyone seen Food, Inc.?

Dr. Rodriguez has an active research program that has been extramurally funded by agencies including USDA, NIH, the American Heart Association, the NATIONAL DAIRY COUNCIL, the NATIONAL CATTLEMANS BEEF ASSOCIATION and the EGG NUTRITION CENTER. Gee, I wonder what incentive she has to promote an omnivorous diet.

Cargill–go away! you are done. Americans will be wising up.

And...we don't need USDA and FDA to stamp Froot Loops and "chicken" nuggets as "healthy."

I looked at a map of the US by rates of heart disease recently, and surprise surprise, the States that eat large amounts of meat have the highest rates of heart disease. Of course portion size, lack of exercise and obesity could be more important factors, but I bet if the Southern States suddenly substituted beef for tofu, heart disease rates would drop.

Do not eat meat–I suggested some excellent books before and hit "sent prematurely" but you must read Dr. Colin Campbell's book the China Study–and John Robbins' book, In Defense of Food et al. Trust me they reveal that the reason we THINK we need meat is because of the marketing –millions of lobbying dollars spent–convincing us we need meat and dairy! NOt true! Follow the money. If you don't believe–take a look a round at the obeisity , increase in diabetes, etc. Please continue to have the caliber of people like Dr. Campbell add Dr. Gabriel Counsens, John Robbins, Michael Pollan, et al, and Andreas Moritz!

Barbara Foley Arlington, Texs

ADA position on vegetarian diets "often associated with a number of health advantages"

“Vegetarian diets are often associated with a number of health advantages, including lower blood cholesterol levels, lower risk of heart disease, lower blood pressure levels, and lower risk of hypertension and type 2 diabetes. Vegetarians tend to have a lower body mass index (BMI) and lower overall cancer rates. Vegetarian diets tend to be lower in saturated fat and cholesterol, and have higher levels of dietary fiber, magnesium and potassium, vitamins C and E, folate, carotenoids, flavonoids, and other phytochemicals. These nutritional differences may explain some of the health advantages of those following a varied, balanced vegetarian diet. “

“An evidenced-based review showed that vegetarian diets can be nutritionally adequate in pregnancy and result in positive maternal and infant health outcomes. The results of an evidence-based review showed that a vegetarian diet is associated with a lower risk of death from ischemic heart disease. Vegetarians also appear to have lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of hypertension and type 2 diabetes than nonvegetarians. Furthermore, vegetarians tend to have a lower body mass index and lower overall cancer rates. Features of a vegetarian diet that may reduce risk of chronic disease include lower intakes of saturated fat and cholesterol and higher intakes of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, soy products, fiber, and phytochemicals. “

Hi Larry,
Why do we always have to take extreme stand like "Go Meat" or "Pure Vegan". There is something called eating things in "moderation". While there is definitely room to reduce meat consumption, a balance of meat and an increased plant based diet is probably the right combination.

This guy is lier. He is a killer. and he is rich. ceo of death. you know his kids don't eat meat.

No, I don't think a healthy diet includes meat. According to the lab, my breast cancer tumor was estrogen fed. I wondered why my estrogen would be so high...or why that would happen. Animal proteins...not just meat, but animal proteins, raise estrogen levels. There are a couple of others that I am looking at, such as bisphenol-a (bpa) because the molecular structure is similar to estrogens on the ends and the center is different. Some people think that's why it forms a lump. I dropped meat. I heard that it leaches calcium also, but I am not well informed on that. My immediate concern was to lower the estrogen.

Although I do eat meat sometimes, I prefer a plant based diet for the obvious health reasons. I question the integrity of nutritionist Nancy Rodriguez for not mentioning plant based foods that full amino acid chains – such as Quinoa. The protein in quinoa is considered to be a complete protein due to the presence of all 8 essential amino acids, including Lysine which is essential for tissue repair and growth. It also contains 15% of the iron daily reccomended value – the exact same amount as a 3 oz serving of ground beef. Not only does this food have a full amino acid chain and the same iron content, it contains loads of fiber – which is anti-carcinogenic – meat does not.

In regard to eating meat: Please Pass The A-1 Sause!

The people that believe that animals are raised in "factory farms," are completely uneducated. Being very integrated in the agricultural industry. I can tell you that these animals are taken care better than most peoples kids. This is how we make a living. What sense would it make to raise these animals in an adulterated environment? Animal performance is optimum in clean, healthy conditions. Animal performance=more money. Our meat industry is "safe and wholesome."

I have been a vegetarian for 28 years and a vegan for 7 years. I am healthy and believe in a 100% plant-based diet.

I also have empathy for animals. I prefer to love them and not eat them. Even well-treated animals that die for humans to eat, isn't right.

What the man just said, vegetables have been the leading cause of E COLI out breaks in the last 3 to 4 years. If you buy and care for the meat you eat from the moment you bring it home from the store, There is much less chance of contracting an e coli infection. Beginging with washing your hands and repackageing your meat and yegtables the minuet you bring it home. Cook your meats to the recomended temp, for the meat you are going to consume. care for left overs in a concensous way as well. Refrigerate it with in no more than a hour after preperation. I am a registered nurse and have seen many children who were being raised on a animal protien free diet, who were lacking in iron for one thing, and under weight for there age.

There is plenty of evidence that eating meat, milk, and eggs is unhealthy and the cause of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. There is also evidence that plant-based diets are very healthy.

The meat industry is like any other industry. Lobbyists and large corporations control it...and it is one of the saddest industries out there. Just google to see some of the factory farming practices out there.

Does the guy that said most of the e-coli that was found on plants is the because of factory farming know anything about food production. How do plants get fertilized? Its either fertilized by manure or commercial fertilizer and if you don't do either we all starve.

Have your panel members heard of LDL cholesterol and trans fatty acid found only in animal meat. These chemicals clog blood vessels and kill everybody more quickly than would otherwise be so. People who eat animal meat or dairy should be required to pay higher health insurance premiums. Duh!

I think that we should be leaning toward locally grown grass fed meat.

Good Evening...I have an idea...what if parents were to act as if Healthy foods, i.e. fruit, veggies, et al., were as tasty & appetizing as sugary foods...would the kids think that these foods were as tasty as the Sugary Sweet Foods?

I eat Vegan. It is pure non residue non clogging energy food.
Race horses are vegan.
What animal nurses a beast for milk after infancy ??? NONE!

Nothing is wrong with eating meat but the way how factory farms are raseing and treating animals that is sickening and deadly. The animals are full of hormones and antibiotics. The adrenalin level also very high in those animals (expecialy before slaughtering) and that is also poison for human.
Why is that necessary to produce that many animals? We are throwing away minimum 20% of it.
I think the answer is organic farming, treating animals right, slaughter and process them humanly.

I am a total vegetarian, and major in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics, possessing two master's degrees. National Institiute of Health in Washington issued a circular to all its members about ten years ago, advising all its members to advise their patients to switch to a plant based diet. American and Canadian food guides relegate meat eating to the lowest level. CNN presented a program sometime ago, titled 'Fifteen miracle foods'. Only one of them, chicken/turkey was meat.

Meat eating is not only harmful to one's overall health,it also effects one's thinking processes, making a person more prone to violent tendencies. To quote an example, Texas executes one third of the total number of dealth and also has the highest consumption of meat on a per capita basis.

Eating a plant based diet is healthier for everyone. I am sixty five years old, completely healthy, free from any disease. My doctor tells me that its nice to see a healthy person once in a while.

A comparison of human beings and animals would suggest very strongly that the human body was never designed for meat eating.

It's not meat vs veggies. It's what Anthony touched on, 2 things, what are the fillers put in the beef? 2, how clean is the factory preparation and the farms

Colin Campbell is a professor at an Ivy League University and is speaking from 30+ years of actual scientific research, not from opinions. Nobody else on this show has said anything of scientific merit. Nancy Rodriguez's main argument was that you should eat meat because it is efficient from a protein to calorie standpoint. But if you look it up, there is more protein per calorie in spinach, broccoli, and most leafy greens than meat.

You can read about my nephew Chance's struggle to live through HUS yourself in the book his parents wrote "Second Chance". This is a VERY important issue.

Hi Larry,
Good evening,
I am naturopathic doctor from India, as per Ayurveda or herbal medicine we as human being, GOD has made us as a vegetarian. You can see there is a vegetarian and non vegetarian life on the earth. The animal, birds or human who drinks the water by tongue are non vegetarian and who drinks the water by lips or who sucks the water, are vegetarian. It’s very simple. The cause of illness is an Ice who put off your fire stomach and causes indigestion of food and creates lots of toxicity in our body. I would like to talk about this if I can.
Thanks
Ramesh Radadia
San Diego, CA

I have not eaten any form of meat in 33 years – and I am extremely healthy!
I KNOW that the reason I am healthy due to the fact I cut meat out of my diet. I do not eat red meat/fish/chicken etc…
I do eat eggs and dairy products.
I do take a multi vitamin daily.
I do not supplement my protein with soy/lentils/tofu etc… I just eat a vegetarian diet and that works for me! Every body works differently, and mine thrives on NO Meat!
It may not be for every body…. however I do believe that I am much healthier without it. I do not believe my body was able to digest flesh.

What about deer meat–if you kill a deer and have it processed at local processors–can it have e-coli?

Eat meats sparingly in times of famine and winter. With that in mind choose healthy meat such as fish, chicken, and healthy cuts of meat. Eat more fibers, legumes, fruit, vegetables. It's all good for us but in moderation. Definately stay away from hamburger and processed meats in fastfood chains.

Isn't it possible that different diets can work. Maybe meatless diets work, as well as ones with meat. Is it really right to say one is better then the other. To me I love it, heck i even hunt. But i watch my intake of everything to much of one thing can be bad regardless of what it is, am i not right?

Let me assure I could eat kill eat and my dinner. I believe Gandhi would be delicious in a sandwich with mustard and yes a bit of lettuce.

as a person who has kidney disease, I have been advised by all doctors to avoid animal protien, It is detrimentel to the kidney's.

It is my firm belief that factory farming is one of the great "sins" (fill in your own word, if that lingo bothers you) of our society. Not only are the practices cruel, but they dehumanize the human workers involved - and that is without even considering the issues brought up on your show - issues of waste runoff, methane production, and the quality of ground meat.
I've tried to eat a vegetarian diet, and I failed. I really do love certain meat dishes. But since returning to eat meat SOMEWHAT guilt-free, I do my best to buy free-range and to limit wasting meat that I purchase.

Why do we have to heat our meat, because we are and should be herbivore. We also do not have the proper teeth to bite into animals. Why do you have professors with a unintelligent chef. Also more reps of meat eating industry is obviously being represented on this show. Not very balanced.

yes, especially for women! Meat in moderation.
Red meat has the protein, amino acids, heme (iron) from animal protein that women need for menstrating and MENOPAUSE! What about one's sex drive? It is proven vegans have not enough iron for proper progestron and testoterone production.

USA ha to feed the world, it is up to each individual to not over eat anything.
PLEASE watch the movie food.INC. USA feeds the world, what did u think was going to happen to our meat supply? Our food is much safer than other countries

I'm a mom of a healthy 5 year old. I'm proud to serve my family lean cuts of meat on a daily basis. We are lean, fit and healthy. I pay close attention to cooking recommendations and I always check the doneness of burgers I serve my son, or consume myself, when eating at someone else's home or in a restaurant. It's one of the many ways I take responsibility for the health and safety of my family.
That said, I see obese adults AND children at every turn. I also see them consuming empty calories at an alarming rate. Discussions about eliminating nutrient rich foods from our diet seem profoundly vapid and arrogant. I live in an area with a high rate of poverty – the addition of high quality animal protein to any diet is just plain smart ... hopefully along with quality vegetables and whole grains. The villain is not meat by any stretch. We have a nation of overfed and undernourished people. We have an opportunity to encourage sound, sustainable, and enjoyable nutritional choices that may come at the expense of the "treats" that are now a major component of most diets – and they reveal themselves in corpulence.

Factory farming is cruel, inefficient, and destroys the environment!

All meat is acid forming. This is increasing risk of all chronic disease (cancer, cvd, etc.) as well as promoting inflammatory processes that are preceding many chronic disease known today. Combine this with grain fed, hormone injected, unhygenic, and highly stressed animals – the stage is set for disease if meat is a large part of your diet.

Based on the 80-10-10 raw vegan diet: human bodies are NOT designed to digest meat. If you compare human characteristics to that of a natural carnivore you will find no similarities; from the type of teeth, make up of digestive enzymes to the length of the intestinal tract. Also, the excess stress put upon the kidneys and liver (over) works in order to digest this unnatural protein. There is a theory that because our immune system spends so much energy to assimilate this 'artificial' protein that we compromise many other aspects of our body....in the long term this causes the development of adult onset disorders (so very common in the standard American diet) such as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, cancer, immune disorders...etc.
Question: Why is it the country that consumes the highest amount of dairy also has the highest incidence of osteoporosis? It really makes (frightening) sense to me.

The confusion over the food industry is disturbing as consumers try to make informed decisions on what to eat. The more I find out about the way food is handles the less I want to eat. Food safety is greatly misunderstood and procedures followed by consumers because people don't want to believe that they can get sick from our food supply. Looking at the number of cases of those who have contracted a food borne illness is alarming. Much can be done to improve the system beginning at the farms and continued through the consumer.

I;m not much of a fan of eating meat but what about our teeth, our incisors, were we "made" to be able to tear/chew meat? Some animals who eat vegetables or plants only do not have incisors-right??? Exmple-deer.

I read Dr. Furman's book Eat to Live and decided to apply some his recommendations. For the 3 weeks I reduced my meat consumption to 2 times a week. My diet consisted of whole grains, limited dairy and lots of fresh fruits and fresh or cooked vegetables and legumes. Wow – what a difference in how I felt. My body felt light not sluggish, I had more energy and just felt so much better overall. Unfortunately I just got back from vacation where I went back to eating meat and/or dairy everyday and can't wait to get back on my reduced meat diet! And forgive me for saying this, but BM's were stink-free!

"If slaughterhouses had windows, we'd all be vegetarians." Paul McCartney

patrick would run you down in his hummer in the whole foods parking lot with a pork chop bone sticking out of the corn of his mouth. how many heart attacks has he had?

Healthy eating is the only way to go.
Meat only clogs your arteries.
And takes awhile to digest in your system.
If you don't eliminate it from your body afterwards.
It can become toxic.
Take it from me world, don't eat the meat.
Stay healthy and live

Dr. Campbell could easily shut down all of Rodriguez's points. The meat industry is destroying our environment and health. Why would it matter if the meat industry collapses by all of us becoming vegetarians, if that means we save millions of lives in the process.

I would have liked to hear more on cooking meat properly. When I've been to restaurants in the States, it seems that the majority of people order raw or medium cooked beef. Also, when one looks at recipes in magazines, the burgers are most often dripping with blood. Could it be that Americans need ensure that their meat is well-done in order to prevent e. coli incidents?

love to watch larry king but lately the number of commericals has made me a former watcher, sorry

I have been vegan for 2 years and have never felt better. You don't know until you try!

Cargill and the other members of the Meat Institute wouldn't have to spend millions of dollars on "new" technology if their methods weren't so horrific in terms of the slaughter of animals. If they weren't so greedy and the cows were grazed as they should be on grass and fresh air, we wouldn't have this problem.

A meat diet is completely unnatural for a human body. Our teeth, our intestines, our physiology are all designed for a vegetarian diet. People have become disconnected from anything that is natural. A vegetarian diet is observed to provide sufficient protein and is healthier. Millions of poeple live happily and healthily throughout the world on a vegetarian diet. Do not believe pseudo science coming out of the meat industry and the government.
As if this were not enought, the burdon on the environment from meat eating and factory farming is killing the planet.
Last but not least, what about the suffering of these animals? God never intended for the animals to be treated this way.

Eight years ago I stopped eating animal protein and went to a plant based whole foods diet. My cholesterol dropped from 234 to 165 with an outstanding HDL to LDL ratio. My blood pressure is excellent along with blood sugar. I am 53 years old, exercise regularly, and do not take medication for cholesterol, blood pressure, or blood sugar.
Dr. Campbell is correct. The literature supports his position.

Hello,

I just saw the show about "ARDI" on Discovery channel yesterday and it showed that 4.2 million years ago ARDI was gathering food, fruits and berries in wooded areas.. instead of hunting and eating meat as primary source of food... something to think about when we say that our ancestors were meat eating and hunting animals as primary source of food..
I think having fish, dairy products and chicken can replace red meat and provide same amount of proteins.. even soya bean provides the same amount of proteins as meat. There are options available and its individuals decision to not to eat meat.. afterall everyone knows cigarettes are dangerous but even then people smoke..

How many commercials can you have Larry? Get on with it!

The meat industry is only interested in making money!! They are not concerned about your health. Dr. Campbell's book, "The China Study" is an amazingly well-researched and documented book. Read it!

Larry: we met at the Regency several years ago in NYC. The human body has a biology that is 90-95 % vegetarian. If that is a "foods as they grow in the field" type diet, then most cancer , diabetes, osteoporosis, high blood pressure (latter if salt is also controlled), high cholesterolpen heart surgery is prevented & can even be reversed. Such a diet prevents diseases. What we like such as meat/fat/sweets/salt turns on internal internal chemicals similar to marijuana. That's we like them so much–to our own harm. Call me if you wish at 860-523-0340. H Robert Silverstein, MD (I am an inner city cardiologist)

Not only is a diet in animal protein not healthy, nor necessary, factory farming it is closely tied to antibiotic resistance, and the relatively inefficient conversion of calories and vegetable protein is a direct contributor to global warming.

The argument that you need to eat meat to get a balanced diet and protein is false, based upon bad science and worse, bad public policy.

I ate meat, in very small amounts, before I had a mild heart attack and was diagnosed with heart disease. I exercised, ate mostly a plant based diet, and thought I was doing the right thing, but after my diagnosis and detailed blood analysis, I now know that I can eat virtually no meat or dairy products due to my inability to efficiently remove cholesterol from my blood. I was a vegetarian in college and am now happily eating a vegetarian diet, now supplemented with omega-3 containing fish, once again. The dangers of a meat based diet can not be over emphasized and the media should be educating our nation's families about the health, energy, and ethical problems of a meat based diet. Corporate interests refuse to tell the truth about meat and continue to control the flow of information presenting the meat industry in a favorable light to the detriment of the health of millions of people. I almost died. Now I know better.

This comment is for Nancy...The Chia Seed has a higher amount of Protein, fiber, omegas, calcium and iron in one tablespoon than 3oz of meat, not to mention only 40 calories.

Also this argument should really be about the factory farms and the treatment of the animals and the way they are kept abused and killed. Eating meat should be honor like the indiginous people. They respected and gave thanks for the life they took to feed their family.

My research into meat eating has taught me that the less meat people eat, the lower their propensity for cancer and cardiovascular diseases and the better their overall health. This is one of the reasons I avoid meat. But the health part is only part of it: the meat industry is responsible for about a fifth of global warming according to the UN and recent studies suggest that that figure is actually over 50%!

One final note: the morals of murdering animals should also be recognized. If karma exists than those responsible for killing innoscent animals (ie. those who buy meat, not just those working in slaughterhouses) will have will have blood on their hands, as animals have as much a right to life as humans do.

Why was proper cooking only mentioned once?? While tragic, the child that contracted E. coli from her grandfather was a case of hospital cross-contamination and nothing to do with the meat industry.

Eating meat is unhealthy; check out the CDC site for all the diseases and parasites you can get from eating meat. Nobody needs to play Russian Roulette by eating meat.

We in ag work very hard to ensure that the food you eat is safe and healthy. Meat is a great source of zinc, iron, and protein! Our kids need protein in their diets to be healthy and animal protein is very healthy! As a farmer and a Mom of 5, I am very happy to have a freezer full of meat o build each meal around!

Not all meat is equal. There has always been a humane and sustainable way to raise meat. Now we have to get back to it so we all have access to quality protein.

Also, I have heard stories of cancer patients eating a strictly vegetarian, *organic* diet, and going into remission without traditional treatment. I do believe vegetables have disease fighting properties, but not if they are sprayed with chemicals. The meat industry will dwindle as people's preferences change and there is a cultural shift. If people want to eat organic meat that should be available. I personally wish fish was not contaminated with mercury and wasn't so expensive – I would substitute a lot of the meat I eat with fish instead, but the mercury and cost puts me off.

Tested only 15,000 times a YEAR? After he said at the beginning of the show that Americans eat 1 billion meals a DAY? That's IT?? Unacceptable! Thoroughly and irrevocably unacceptable!

Please, can someone redo this show with a more informed nutritionist? She's so cyclical and is saying NOTHING!

No, don't eat meat it's not sefety, don't Trust the Goverment. They don't say the thruth about food. Please be a vegan!!!!

This is classic bait and switch. The program was presented to address food safety. Instead we are hearing why one should be a vegan rather than hearing what industry, regulators and consumers can do better to eat safer.

My 23 year old son had to have a Kidney Transplant this year because he survived E-coli/HUS 7 years ago. His kidney's failed slowly.

I have cust down on the Meat Intake but when he was on Dialysis he had to have red meat as part of his diet. Talk about contradictory..red Meat of some sort caused the problem now he had to eat it.

in reading the blog comments I think the public is misled in how safe the meat supply truly is. All meat is labeled all you have to do is read the labels! 99,9% factory farms? Just around my state we still have several family owned farms? what? all we need to do is cook our ground beef to 160 degrees. it looks like Larry has a lot of vegans that watch his show. maybe because those of us that know our meat products are perfectly safe are watching something worthwhile. the MLB game or monday night football!

Everything we eat is bad for us in these times.

Problems with meat!

. Our animals live in absolute inhospitable conditions (standing or lying in their own urine and feces) creating stress within the animal.

2. They are given growth hormones, steroids and other injections to make them grow bigger and fatter faster; which could be one of the major causes of obesity in the USA.

3. They are killed in mass; therefore, they are aware of their fate and are pumping huge amounts of adrenaline into their system.

4. The herbivore animals have been feed meat and other substances that makes them very sick.

Problems with Plants

They are picked too green, and ripen in a chemical atmosphere warehouse.

They are sprayed with pesticides containing DDT

Who knows how much genetic engineering is involved and how will that affect.

It really does not matter what you eat! Everything is ((( BAD ))) because of what we do to the food!!!

Recently I have found more information against eating farmed meat. There are so many things added to the meat (processed) even for a simple chicken breast) and the animals are not in healthy natural conditions when they are alive. I have limited the amount of animal protien I eat and I feel much better. There are so many other sourses of protien out there. Also if poision tasted good would you still eat it cause you enjoyed it. Give me a break! Same goes for what kids ask for. Growing up my sister and I always asked for more fruits and veggies because that is what we were offered. It is all about what you choose to feed your kids.

Strengthest animal in planet are vegetarian such as Horse and elephant.
they are not meat eaters.

Has anyone considered the environmental factors that may impact the human body's ability to properly digest meat? We are in fact descendants of hunters and gathers. What has truly changed recently? I believe our ability to zero in on meat may be a bit over-simplified, and yes, Americans should "eat better" i.e. closer to the earth – fruits, vegetables, less processed food, etc. and exercise.

People die of disease now because the meat industry is getting away with feeding humans with unhealthy meat practices that is why they get away with it cause a lot of it can happen over time also.

I try to limit meat in my diet because most of it has antibiotics and hormones which are harmful to women's reproductive systems. We should start implementing a hormone free/antibiotic free/free range meat policy to start.

Regardless meat is safe or not, WE ARE STILL KILLING ANIMALS, I believe that the way animals are raised, then the way they get killed affects the quality of the meat.

There is so many other food options around us. Eat what mother nature give us.

thanks!

Marler is right. We need to push these big meat companies to make them accountable for their sloppy handling of meat. There is no reason why e.coli should be included in any food product. Zero tolerance is the only acceptable standard.

LB-YES! Everything tastes so much better. It is like I am truly tasting food for the first time! I get so excited about thinking about what I am going to eat next. It makes me feel so good to think about what I am doing for my health, the planet's health, and the animal's health by being vegan! I am getting no animal cholesterol as a vegan. It seems I can exercise forever!!! I wish i had become vegan many years ago. Hopefully i will live to 115!!!!

Don't let the industry guys fool you. They only care about money! Meat is not healthy for the animals, people, or the planet!

it's pretty clear to me and millions of others that humans evolved over millions of years as hunters and meat-eaters. And our bodies adapted to this and we climbed up the species chain. So is Dr. Campbell saying we’ve evolved in the wrong direction????

I love beef but I do not eat it. A plant based diet that includes grains gives me more energy, more strength, and helps me stay regular. My experience is quite the opposite when I add beef. I am sticking to what works foy my body which is vegetables, grains, fish and fruits.

A few facts–The vast majority of ranches are family owned-a long way from "factory farms" according to the EPA agriculture in whole contributes about 6% of the total green house gases emitted. Animal agriculture about 2.7%. Like it on not cars and power plants are the cause of global warming. Ranchers provide the habitat for over 70% of the wildlife in the west for no compensation. Most of the land that can support the production of vegetables is in production. Most ranch land is not suitable for anything but grazing. Animals can be used to harvest grass-convert grass to healthy useable protein. The world will need about 70% more food production by 2050. We will need the ability to turn grass into protein to feed the world.

I think that meat is not the issue here, it's the way livestock is raised and fed in the United States. Just take a look at a country like Argentina where livestock roams in open plains and eat grass, a normal diet for such animals. The raising and feeding of livestock in this manner creates healthier, leaner, and much more delicious meat. With the average Argentine eating 30 pounds of beef a year and living long and healthy lives, this is proof that eating meat does not "kill people".

I'm with Jessica above. I just searched for Nancy Rodriguez, and apparently her research is funded by the beef industry! Talk about lack of integrity and bias. This is what the whole industry is about.

Don't blame a cow for soggy cornflakes!

Drink GREEN TEA as plentiful as you like, provided the water is safe and the tea is genuine...

Northport, NY

Meat is safe if cooked to a proper temperature. the consumer must be responsible. the meat industry spends billions of dollars to reduce carcass contamination . I fault the meat industry for not showing the efforts they have invested in making US meat the safest in the world.

As a PhD. Microbiologist – the concept of "zero" E. coli or any other bacteria is an impossible goal. Even if it was attainable, the only way to ensure it would be to test 100% of the meat supply – this would leave nothing for consumption.

I love all of you who get all of your information about farming and the meat industry from PETA and other vegetarian/vegan zealot sites. Have you ever been to a farm? Have you ever been in a packing plant? Of course not.

Grassfed beef absolutely has Ecoli 0157:H7.

And wildlife carries pathogenic bacteria too.

The question of weather to eat meat or not to is important, however what we really need to think about is what kind of meat are eating and where is it coming from. In a perfect world, we would all be able to afford a lean healthy piece of meat, but that is not the case here. most people don't have the access to important nutritional information nor do we have the money to constantly eat healthy lean cut meat. eating healthy is difficult , bottom line! especially when you don't have access to healthy meat,. the doctors on the show may be right however are they considering other important components like education on safe food handling, or nutritional information. most people who eat meat are not eating it for it's nutritional contents, they are eating it because it tastes good. what they are not thinking about is how good is this burger, how much fat is in this piece of meat, and is it possible contaminated. These are the important things to consider when making the decision!

Pain and suffering of animals go into animal products and we take it in.
Food is energy.
Do not let this industry use your stomach and your soul for their profit!

I agree 100% with the following post by Gretchen, Great Job!

Gretchen October 12th, 2009 7:42 pm ET

Absolutely meat is part of a healthy diet. In fact a lean cut of beef is the most nutrient dense source of protein available. The level of zinc, iron, protein and other vitamins, minerals and amino acids in a lean cut of an appropriate portion size of beef can not be equaled in any other source of protein or vegetarian based diet. The high incidence of obesity and health problems attributed to diet in our society have more to do with portion size and the reliance on heavily processed “convenience” foods than on animal proteins. The facts regarding our modern production methods in agriculture are rarely told. Rather the public is spoon fed a “conspiracy theory” approach of big business agriculture out to poison the populace in the pursuit of making big money. It’s just not true. Talk to a rancher, a dairyman, a farmer and you will find the real truth. Take a tour of a large scale dairy and you will realize that your milk comes from the safest, most sanitary and humane methods for the cows, the producer and the consumer imaginable. Ranchers and farmers used science based evidence and approaches coupled with common sense in raising our food. America enjoys the safest, most nutritious and abundant food supply available anywhere in the world; and yet there is a growing number of people who would vilify the American Rancher or Farmer and the product they produce. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you or you may find yourself relying on your food supply to come from unmonitored and unregulated third world countries.

Of course I eat beef, first I love the taste and second of all I know that is is incredibly healthy. Have you not heard of the ZIP you get–I would have to eat so much spinach to get the same amount. Why not enjoy what you eat when it is so nutritious for you. Your talk seems to be heavily weighted towards promoting a veg style – why not talk to the real cattle feeders and nutritionist who support both lifestyle choices (eating meat or eating a plant based diet).

The industry DOES NOT do extensive testing. They don't want to test, because if they tested, they would find a lot of BSE.

I seldom eat meat, but really, this attorney is pretty pathetic, insinuating the issue is that the American public must have more info on "twitter", to make informed choices. What is all this talk about informed choices, most people can not spell, and they arent going to look at Twitter and then give up their burgers.

The number one carrier of E. Coli is alfalfa sprouts. Look it up. How many of you people that embrace the idea of "factory farming" have ever seen a farm/ranch, feedlot, or harvest facility?

It would be helpful if the doctor could inform the public of specific plant foods which provide adequate amounts of iron, b vitamins, protein, and calcium.

Do you think Oprah would touch this one?

Dr. Campbell conducted the largest study of human population and diet. His findings have been published in numerous peer reviewed medical journals. The science speaks for itself. Studies have shown meat eaters have higher incidences of heart attacks, strokes, type II diabetes and obesity.

Please have Dr. Campbell on for an entire hour as a follow up.

I am 100% certain that meat is not the part of healthy meal. I belong to the indian religion, name Jain, which is my last name too, which is world's only pure vegi religion. We not only do not eat any animal or meat but also do not eat egg too; even people who follow strictly they do not eat the food stuff that grow below the soil and interesting thing is that we are healthy. As i am hearing CEO or meat industry who is saying that we have new research and and testing to make meat safer, but this is the problem in this country everything is research based and these researches are just 5 or 10 years old and include less than 5% of population so we by any means can not generalize the results. Instead why not we should beleive on old knowledge about food that meast is not at all good for health. And if somebody does not know then i would like to tell them that meat producer give unnatural hormones to animals to produce more meat and that changes animals Genes and that affect human body and gene. Last but not the least when you stand against killing animals for cloths then how can you not seeing killing of animals just to satisfy for hunger which can be quench by vegi diet.

Please ask your guests Patrick Boyle " Do meet producers have a tour program? I would like to take a tour of producers from the birth to the sale of the beef they produce. If they do not have a tour program WHY NOT.
THANK YOU
GARY

Dr. Rodriguez clearly has not researched a vegetarian diet.

I change my diet and eat tons of leafy greens, veggie and beans. Eliminating red meat has kept me slim, more energetic and I rarely get sick. I am completely appauled by the cruel treatment of our animals and feel we should treat our aminals ethical and with respect. Their are studies that thew trauma that these animals endure causes them to be sick.

Largest epidemiological study in history at Cornell University states: “The vast majority of all cardiovascular diseases, cancers and other forms of degenerative illness can be prevented simply by adopting a vegan diet.”

The American Dietetic Association states: “Well-planned vegan diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, adolescence and adulthood.”

Moreover, there was a doctor Max Gerson (Gerson Institute) he cured terminal stages of cancer by using a vegan diet. I think if he healed such diseases, then a healthy person can prevent a lot of problems with his health by using this life style.
This is preventative care!

There should be very little to no meat in our diet. Animals are abused by those raising them in what they feed them...cheap grain, hormones, antibiotics and many are sickly animals. The industry has done a horrible job in producing good, healthy animals and are more, much more concerned about making millionaires of themselves, less concerned about the safe, cruel free environment of our animals. The animals are tortured...cows, pigs, chickens...are abused at these farm factories and it is disgusting how these industries continue to lie to the American people. To the industry, it is all about money. Americans, please see through this and go with the truth...eat more fruits and vegetables. Eat natural food. Americans need to be smarter people and see through these lying people in control of the industries that are killing us and destroying our life span. They have destroyed Americans' health and diet. I praise Dr. Campbell for being on Larry King and speaking the truth. I pray Americans listen and eat healthier and more natural foods, eliminating animal fat from their diet.

A healthy diet should NOT include meat or any dairy products.

Meat and dairy products have antibiotics and hormones, which affect the metabolism of the body and lead to antibiotic resistance. Meat creates an acidic environment in the body and will eventually lead to DNA mutation; it also encourages cellular growth due to acidity of the body and leads to various types of cancer.
Meat and dairy products are NOT healthy and should be taken away from every day diet,

We were not evolved as hunters, but as gatherers, than farming. The meat industry is no different then the tobacco companies, advertising, lobbyists and lies for profit at the risk of the Americans health. It isn't about e-coli it's about heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, cholesterol, and obesity. I don't eat meat. It isn't necessary for our diet. Not too mention that killing and eating animals is a moral issue.

If Cargill and the entire meat packaging industry had better standards for processing meat Stephanie Smith wouldn't be paralyzed!
Consumers wouldn't have to fear eating meat!
I never buy meat in the grocery store. I get in processed in a place that I know is safe and NOT DISGUSTING like the mass processing factories used by Cargill. Not everybody can buy a half of beef and store it in the freezer. The USDA needs to set better standards and monitor and ENFORCE THEM!
I think meat is safe, IF you know where it comes from!!!!!!

I'd love to ask Patrick Boyle why the meat industry is so resistant to testing trimmings for E. coli before grinding. The NYT story about the Minnesota woman who was paralyzed after eating a hamburger stated that slaughterhouses refuse to sell to companies that test trimmings. Why?! If you're selling a contaminant-free product then you should have no problem with stringent testing of it.

I'm an African American male, just turned 50 years old. Eight years ago I had a triple by pass operation. My blood pressure and cholesterol was very high and on the verge of becomming a diabetic. I stopped eating all forms of meat,poultry and fish a little over 90 days ago. Along with the change in my diet and exercise (of coarse), my blood pressure has dropped greatly along with my cholesterol. I truely believe that giving up meat has helped with my rapid change. I also need to mention that I come from a family that has a history of heart, cholesterol problems.

I want to thank Dr. Campbell. I read his book a few years ago, and tried a vegan diet for "a couple of weeks". I'm still vegan (about 98% of my food). I lost weight immediately, have kept it off, and have much more energy. I feel healthier.

What is Patrick;s salary?

The production torture and slaughter of animals for human consumption is beyond arcane and unforgivable. Haven't we as humans evolved past this thoughtless practice and learn the terrible effect on the earth and our only bodies. Who really finds cooked flesh delicious must not think of how this "food" got on the plate or the obvious nightmare it causes. Bad for health, earth, and conscience!

I read somewhere ( I believe it was a book by Jane Goodall) that there were examples in chimpanzee (or it may have been gorilla) populations of these animals eating differently in different geographical locations. In other words they adapted to their surroundings and while chimps in one area may have not been carniverous, the ones living in another region were. It did not mention if the plant eaters were healthier, as a result, than the meat eaters, but it has me wondering if anyone has considered the vast array of human races, evolving from different geographical regions of the world, as a reason why perhaps some people do much better on an animal based diet and others are healthier on vegetable based diet? Can it all come down to we are all different and that what works best for one doesn't necessarily work better for another? Is it really a "cookie-cutter" diet that will always work for everyone? Maybe we need to educate ourselves more and pay better attention to what happens with our own bodies as we shift our diets to see what has us feeling optimal health.

A google search for Nancy Rodriguez shows that some of her research has been funded by the beef industry. Is this true? Has this been verified or checked by Larry King Live staff, and if true, did Larry King mention this?

Likewise, has Dr. Campbell's research been funded by a particular industry? It's important to know the motives behind their comments.

Larry-
Irradiation with X-rays is approved for red meats, and is currently provided by several companies across the U.S. Dairy Queen in 2002 offered ground beef patties to customers at its stores in several states while also providing conventional, non-irradiated beef patties on sandwhich selections. The consumer, in those instances, were informed enough before going to Dairy Queen to select irradiated patteis for their orders, knowing it posed no danger to them while providing nearly all the nutrients present in untreated ground beef patties.
Irradiation of foods has been opposed and often obstructed by groups such as Science in the Public Intererst.
I have found that irradiation is a safe and viable process to apply to many foods, not only meats. Yes, red peppers from Mexico have killed and sickened many Americans. The purchasers of those chilis, U.S. companies, are open minded to irradiating those porducts in order to eliminate e-coli and other food borne pathogens and to improve their image to the Aamerican markets.
Spinach in California in 2006 was found to have e-coli- the deadly type. My research of that situation concluded that the pathogen came from farrow pigs on a fifty acres parcel leased from a ranch. Spinach from that plot was processed at a nearby plant that produces more than 600 million pounds of fresh spinach products each year. The processor also processed and packaged organic spinach, such as that from the fifty acre plot. The last person to die from the tainted spinach was a woman in Seattle who never purchased organic spinach. The conclusion is this; the processor did not perform its cleaning and packaging to FDA regulations that defined the processing of packaged Ready to Eat products. Yet, the U.S. Attorney General in June 2007 publicly stated that no criminal charges would be made.
Your expert on Food Irradiation.

Could Dr. Campbell please address soy protein as an animal protein substitute for those living a vegan lifestyle? I have recently heard that soy protein may not be a healthy alternative but am not sure why. As a word of encouragement and thanks to Dr. Campbell, nearly two years ago, my husband and I adopted a predominately vegan lifestyle after reading The China Study. We feel very proud to have made this change and believe that our lives have been improved by cutting out nearly all animal products. We do our best to educate our family members and friends about the excellent findings in Dr. Campbell's book, and we have found that while most people are skeptical of our change in eating habits, others have begun to make healthy changes in their lives as well. Your work has changed our lives and the way we will raise of our future children, and for this, we thank you very sincerely.

Uneducated people who do not understand the way meat is processed should not be on the program. I am an Oklahoma rancher who takes great pride into producing quality American food products. It discucusts me to read blogs about how unsafe the american beef process is. The smart SOB's blogging about how bad beef is are probably the ones who eat McDonalds on a daily basis. McDonalds by the way no longer buys american beef; it is to costly because of all the safety measures implemented on american beef. Cheaper meat comes from places such as Brazil where there are very few control measures. I despise the people out there trying to give the American rancher a bad reputation. American beef is the safest food supply in the world. Educate yourselves to learn more before you put the American rancher out of business because some animal rights organization tells you it is unhealthy. BEEF it's whats for dinner.

I agree with Dr. Rodriguez that meatconsumed in the correct quanity is necessary for a balanced, healthy diet. Plant proteins are very good but vegetables tend to be very expensive.Also what about Vit. B complex, can you derive enough of this from plants?

Actually, bacon and chocolate are much better for you than milk, cheese, beef, chicken, or other cooked or processed proteins. Dr. Rodriguez talks about nutrients and "quality" protein in cooked meat, but a diet of fruits, brazil nuts, and small amounts of raw animal food (100g in weight, not protein content) in the form of eggs or fish will provide you with even higher quality protein than any cooked protein, and the other numerous health benefits mentioned by Dr. Campbell.
Yes, do some research before you start making wacky claims like Dr. Rodriguez.

Even when I eat meat in moderation, my cholesterol runs in the mid 400's. I've even tried a vegetarian diet that still included cheese, eggs, etc and the numbers stayed very high. Finally, I tried the John McDougal plan which allows absolutely no animal protien whatsover. My numbers were normal in 6 weeks.

There are issues beyond affordability when it comes to factory farming. Animals are sentient beings, and it is our obligation to handle the ones in our care without cruelty so far as we are able. I've been a vegetarian for more than 20 years, but even those who don't want to take that step can learn about commercial farm and slaughterhouse conditions. I recommend books by Temple Grandin regarding improvements which can be made in these environments.

Thank you Anthony Bourdain for your bold comments. The practices of the meat processing industries are indeed unconscionable and need to be exposed and corrected! Having said that, I am a meat eater, in moderation, and choose only organic meat without any added hormones or antibiotics. Not only is the taste better, but I know my children and I are not ingesting any unnecessary additives. AND, please consider the environmental impact of cows alone....they produce extraordinary amounts of methane gas and waste...why not simply REDUCE?!?

Patrick Boyle is misleading the public by saying they are performing adequate testing for disease. Diseased animals commonly get into the food supply.

Food safety and not eating meat to improve health are two different topics.

PRO MEAT CNN!
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Why are we forgetting that we are animals!?! We are omnivores! Have you ever heard of a vegetarian lion! I will not eat a meal without meat! If a lion ate veggies all day he would eventually feel full but never satisfied! We need to carefully monitor meat safety!

You have to be kidding me, Mr. Boyle will say exactly what he is saying. But for the nutritionist, Mrs. Rodriguez, to have the audacity to suggest that meat is necessary for a human to live, is just completely wrong. Plant based foods are more than enough for a human to survive and not only that, but were does she thinks the cows are getting their nutrients from. The cows are not getting their nutrient from meat. they are getting it from plant based foods. The cows are also fed with growth hormones, they are raised in unconventional ways, they are not free range animals, bad unsanitary conditions and other disgusting things, but the question falls again on the economic factor, some of us can not afford to buy organic grown food. To believe that politicians are going to make legislation to regulate the food is a joke, when they get money from some of this companies to influence this politicians.

My husband and I have been vegetarian for five years, and not only are we healthier than ever, but we can sleep at night knowing that we are acting as good stewards of the earth and of animals. Factory farms should be banned for so many reasons, but for someone like my father, who is a small-time cattle farmer who treats his cows so well, feeding them nutritiously and more expensively with grass and not with corn, he is unable to make a living, even though he does everything right. It's a shame–I'm not against people eating meat per se, but I think they should cut down drastically, and farmers like my father, who farm cattle with a conscience, ought to supply this meat.

I think Dr. Rodriguez in in cahoutz with the beef industry. I am morbidly obese and have chronic pain. When I was a vegetarian four years ago and my weight was down and I was nearly pain free. I no longer eat red meat regularly and have noticed every time I do eat it I have an immediate negative reaction reaction resulting in extreme joint inflamation. Anyone who is trying to put the hard sell on the benefits of eating red meat definitely does not have honorable intentions period.

Does freezing meat before eating kill e-coli? If it does wouldn't this be an added safety measure to protect ourselves?

OMG, Patrick is now talking about irradiation. I believe him and his ilk are trying to kill us all for profit!

Anyone who has worked in the industry... whether it be meat or plant knows the truth. I worked at a Pineapple cannery in high school. To this day, I will never eat canned pineapple! EEEEeeeeeWWWWwwwwEEeeee

I have reduced the amount of red meat in my diet because of the fat that is contained in the meat. I have found that when I perspire, there is no odor because the meat is not putrefying in my system. However, I just bought apples from a farm and had diarrhea and cramps after eating one small apple. E Coli can be found in many foods, not just meat. We need to drink a heck of a lot more water than we do. I live near farms and farmers have their cattle out grazing. They look so peaceful and calm. I hate to think of those docile creatures being inhumanely slaughtered!

The people involved in meat product do this for money and breeding for profit is it. Shame on them

E. coli is from feces. Plants do not create fecal matter.

Larry,
Indian vegetarian food style uses lots of herbal spices which is very helpfull to keep swine flue away. Ayurveda is an amazing herbal science to live long and healthy. The turmeric + clove + cinamom + honey + mint and many others are very easy to find from Indian kitchen are very usefull to keep swine flu away, I can guarantee you.
Ramesh Radadia
619-222-4704

I believe that meat is not needed in are diets because it just causes problems with your health.

Not only are your assumptions of tying this myth of factory farming to antibiotic resistance false, but a grasp of media buzzwords with no scientific backing.

Animals, specifically beef, are raised by the 800,000 family farms and ranches. These people are stewards of the land and cattle, and regarding antibiotic resistance, medicines are only used to make those animals feel better. Producers CARE!

Most people would believe moderation is appropriate.

Why didn't any of your 'experts' talk about the e.coli vaciines which are becoming available?

I would love to have a healthier diet but I just don't like plant grown green vegtables. I don't however eat a lot of junk because of that. I do eat some ground beef but only better grade beef and no steak ever. Don't like that anymore. I guess I eat more chicken or fish and dairy. My diet is very simple low carb Slimfast in AM, Auntie Annie's pretzel for lunch and whatever I make for dinner which is usually just one thing. No full 3 course meals for me.

We're overlooking the fact that cooking kills e-coli proper prep kills e-coli. Interesting your own poll says 84% eat meat- 16% do not but your representation on this show was weighted to non meat eaters. Not to trivialize any sickness but the number of annual deaths from the flu far exceeds the total to ever die from e-coli. Maybe we should outlaw being sick.

The animals on our farms are well cared for, we provide safe feed, shelter, and care for each and every animal on our farm. We also utilize vaccinations to ensure that our animals stay healthy and we will treat them with antibiotics only if they are sick. Please make sure that your food information is coming from people who are growing your food, not the people who want to limit your food choices!

Your all invited to enjoy Beef it's what for Dinner!

I was hospitalized on Sept. 13, 2009 with a very severe strain of E Coli, I remained in the hospital for 8 days, I almost died. 5 weeks later I'm still not back to full strength & stamina. I will never eat ground beef again!

Susan in Colorado

I am very concerned about Nancy Rodriguez' comment that plant protein is somehow inferior. That myth has been disproven a long time ago. Eating plant protein provides all of the necessary amino acids. Perhaps Nancy should read The China Study.

Meat is a very important part of a healthy diet and the animals in the United States are processed humanly.

Absolutely not. Meat is dead food. Eating something dead also produces death within. Vegeterian food provides us with vitality, health. That is why from the viewpoint of health, as well as spirituality and ethically, consuming meat is the worst possible way of eating. I am vegeterian for 18 years and very healthy.

all chimps go on meat binges, every ONCE in a while

Patrick's hummer just pulled up with BK's "The King Driving" Mc'ds clown in the back seat and they are on their way to Wendys right now and see if she want to go to long john silvers.

Humans do not have the intestines of a carnavors. I have been a vegetarian for over 45 years and am extremely healthy. Elephants don't eat meat, nor do Giraffes, or some of the other larges mammals on earth.

It is a know fact that vegetarians are healthier than meat eaters.

read Diet for America by Robbins - it is still very true today
Thank you

i believe quality meats are essential for some of us (the carnivorous types). the key is quality. our meat has been hijacked by big business and turned into a bunch of grain fed, steroid and hormone loaded crap.

the meats of 50 years ago are not the meats largely available today.

bring back, grass fed, free range natural, humanely raised and processed meats.

How can a dead animal be a part of a healthy diet?! Meat is dead! The processes used by the factory farming industry are designed to increase profits. They create a hell-ish, unhealthy existence for the animals and almost insure that disease will be passed on to those who consume them.

Finally! News to stick through the commericals. News that informs and challenges, speculates and considers. Finally, news that I can be proud of.

Hello,
I was wondering if anyone remembers the title of the book written by the author from Brooklyn, NY? (He mentioned that 99% of the nation's meat comes from factory farming).
Thank You!

Larry, thank you SO MUCH for this show!!

I'm sorry for GLA who believes this:
"First of all, most all beef animals live in the great outdoors consuming a strictly vegetarian diet, hays, grasses and the like. When they reach an age and weight that causes them to be unefficient, they are then placed into feeding pens designed for the utmost of animal comfort and feeding efficiency. Care is taken not to over populate the pen."

This show will help people realize the realities of factory farming that have been so well hidden from society. My husband and I eat a plant based diet and are extremely healthy!! Meat, cheese, etc. tastes good? It's a weak argument. We eat amazing deliscious foods every day and we feel great!

Less than 1% of all slaughtered cows are tested for mad cow.
Until this number is drastically raised, I will not support any company that Mr. Boyle's AMI supports.
The conditions shown in the movie Food Inc. are an eye-opener, introducing more people to Kevin's Law. If Mr. Boyle's son died from E. Coli, as Kevin did, I think Mr. Boyle would be pushing for more screening of meat.

Patrick is whats wrong with our country... fat white and rich=lie's and more lie's.

Why eat food that requires treatment with pharmaceuticals?

I ate meat in moderation, exercised 5-6 times a week and ran marathons and biked 100 bike rides on the weekend. I still almost died from a heart attack and clogged main artery from cholesterol from animals. After double bypass surgery, I am now on a plant base diet, have significantly reduced my cholesterol, and am running even faster than before. People do not need to eat meat to live a healthy life. Many athletes are vegetarians and virtually everyone with heart disease can name meat as the source of their problems. Information from the meat industry needs to be balanced by advice from doctors and health experts warning of the dangers of a meat based diet. Ignorance about the dangers of meat can kill you. Knowledge about a plant based diet can dramatically improve your health.

travis family farms are distributed locally, city's/grocery stores hold factory meat, and the over use of antibiotics in such factories is indeed not good.

Beef is without a doubt essential to a healthy diet!!! The main thing here is that the public just needs to be better informed about how to store and prepare their meats. E. coli is found in UNDERCOOKED hamburger! I think that in the last years the USDA has done a great deal to improve food safety and education on consumers. The problem is that there are a large number of uneducated people out there who voice their biased opinions and inaccurate facts that infect the minds of others. Meat provides many nutrients and vitamins essential to our diet. For instance, meat is the only natural source of B12!! Also, meat contains what we call CLA's. CLA's are conjugated linoleic acid which benefits include, but not limited to, are anti-carcinogen, anti-diabetic, anti-obesity.

And to all of yuns out there who are like – should we be killing animals for consumption – yes. It is a healthy part of our diet and the slaughter process, despite uneducated, bias opinions, is done in a humane practice. Meat is not murder and those of you who only criticize and never support the agricultural department disgust me.

E.coli in our vegetables are not fully to blame on livestock farms. Farms are under strict regulations these days to prevent runoff into our water systems and fields.

The west wasn't won on salad there sweetheart!

Eight years ago I was diagnosed with MS.
After Choosing a vegan diet over drugs, I regained the use of my legs which were at that time causing a condition that prevented me from
walking for a normal distance.
I am totally convinced that it was discontinuing meat.

I am currently producing a documentary on animal rights and veganism/vegetarianism, which touches upon the health issues present in meat products. The documentary is titled 'Don't Eat Me' – check it out!
donteatme.ca

Vegetarian diet supplemented with milk, yogurt, etc. is a healthy diet. Look at India. That country has so much variety in terms of vegetables, legumes, grains, and curry to flavor the food. The ingredients of curry are equally beneficial to good health. Here in the U.S. we have a strong meat lobby and most people will laugh when someone says to them he/she is a vegetarian. However, I will be the first one to admit that due to the cold climate and history of thousands of years, people are accustomed to the meat diet. So I don't expect them to buy into anything other than meat and potatoes. One of the 4 panelists commented "meat tastes good." Taste is a matter of habit. Most people smoked in this country I(and I am a non smoker) , and it is only in recent years that people are awakening to the dangers of smoking. So, I will say, I will give another thousand years to have changes in attitudes and habits. Just because something is healthy that doesn't make it appealing. Such is life. Our extrovert senses demand sense gratification, and our intellect and discriminating powers say something contrary to sensory needs.

**Larry your discussion tonight is missing some very important points that need to be discussed!!! There are three different issues here that need to be distinguished.

"Healthy" eating can mean lots of things, including very un-healthy eating- only eating vegetables is not healthy.

1. Some people argue that meat, especially red meat, is unhealthy because of its' nutritional content (fat, calories, cholesterol etc). This is not necessarily true, there are lean cuts of red meat, plus a NON-Fat diet is NOT healthy, we all need some fat in our diet. Any good nutritionist will tell you that a healthy diet consists of balanced meals that contain the right kinds of fat, protein, carbs, legumes and fruit.

2. Some people argue that meat is unhealthy because of the manner in which meat is processed in the US. This means that that the public should demand that meat manufacturing companies change the way they treat animals and process our food. Also, people should learn more information about organic and free range meat which likely does not have the same problems as mass manufactured meat.

3. Our diets need to have protein, especially women need to have enough protein. All of the discussion about "eating healthy" in the media does not discuss the rampant problems of eating disorders in this country. Very often people with eating disorders will switch to a vegetarian diet because it is an easy way to cut out an entire food group (meat) with an easy excuse. If reporters,"experts" or nutritionists (who really should know better) or doctors are going to propose an vegetarian diet they need to warn people about not getting proper nutrition. It is very frustrating to hear everyone in the media propose vegetarian diets or cutback on meat without really thinking about the consequences.

Tim Veggie and Veggie Lord – Patrick Boyle doesn't drive a Hummer, and has had no heart attacks. I can't remember the last time he ate fast food. Next time, talk the issue, instead of attacking a person.

A vegetarian diet is absolutely delicious. Most people just don't even know about the plant-based foods that exist. Don't be afraid to open your minds and mouths to something new!!!

Two comments

1. To the person who said no one watching the show or writing on this blog could butcher an animal, I've spent enough time in beef slaughter houses and help my dad clean enough pheasants to know what its like to butcher an animal.

2. To gary yanowsky, many food and meat companies used to have public tours but then 9/11 happened. After that there was a huge push for greater bio-security. Now companies and the government would rather keep the public out of food processiing facilities in order to keep our food supply safe.

Thank yu for having Dr. Colin Campbell on tonight! Do not discount this extraordinary man–read his book "The China Study" first. Eat whole food, eat plants, nuts, legumes, seeds, fruit! Best regards,
Barbara Foley

Anastasia,

Just as your child may get sick, livestock producers would take their animals to doctors (veterinarians). Ranchers aim to keep healthy animals as they ensure that these produce healthy nutritious meat for your dinner table. I believe in the safety of animal agriculture.

I've visited farms across the U.S. and seen the intolerable abuse that the animals endure. We can be healthy without eating meat, milk and eggs, so the animals' suffering is completely unnecessary.

Hey people!!! Please remember the contaminated veggies came from the poop in the fertilizer!! Plants cannot produced e coli it came form the cow poop!

Dr. Campbell's book :"The China Study" is a scientifically rigorous, compelling (yet readable) document that indisputably disproves the myth that animal protein is beneficial or necessary to the human diet. Further, it shows that by eliminating animal protein it is possible to reverse many of the diseases of modern American life.
Why haven't we heard about this information before? There is a chapter in "the China Study" called "Why Haven't You Heard This Before?:". It explains how the truth discovered about meat/poultry/dairy has been obscured by constant advertising by industry trade associations.
Someday soon the idea that animal protein is good for you will go the way of 'the earth is flat'. Truth-tellers like Dr. Campbell, Dr. Gregor, Dr. Ornish and Dr. McDougall will be listened to with the respect they deserve.

BTW: The way to get kids to eat broccoli is to put it in a fruit smoothie. Half a banana in the smoothie will hide the taste of the broccoli, and a half cup of blueberries or strawberries will hide the color. MUCH better that a toaster pastry for breakfast!

I've been a vegetarian for over 40 years. I am now 55 years old. I take no medication and enjoy very good health. According to the Genesis 1:29, the original diet was plant based. Most diseases are passed through the blood.
Animals are full of diseases. Most human diseases are directly influenced by a meat diet. A hamburger can have over 60 grams of fat! According to many studies, vegetarians enjoy a longer life span -approx. 7 years more!

These vegetarians are crazy, you need meat. Handling, preparation and proper cooking temperature is important. Eating anything today has its risks.

evolved from combinations I believe. There's info and books on the blood types and their diets. Hope it helps.

I was raised in a beef & meat eating household with parents who grew up on a farm. I was the "weird" kid of the family 35 years ago because I couldn't stand to eat meat; didn't like the taste, hated the grisle"fatty" stuff in sausage & steaks; the texture while chewing meat disgusted me, and the thought of eating a dead animal was even more disgusting As a small child, I was "forced" to eat a certain portion of meat with every meal as my parents thought it was best for me. I was a vegetarian before it was even heard of in the area I grew up. When I got into my teen years ... I said ... meat... NO more! As a teenager, when eating with my friends at Burger King... I would "Have it Your Way" and order my Whopper without the meat or I would give it the patty to my friends. I'm happy to say that I am still a vegetarian today.
My grandparents died of a stroke, as well as all my uncles, and one aunt is in a nursing home from a stroke. My Dad died of cancer. They all died before they were 65. After my Mom had all her loved ones buried, and she became a diabetic, she drastically changed her diet. Now... I'm not the "weird" kid anymore; I'm the healthest person in my family with low blood pressure, and low cholesterol. My Mom now eats mostly vegetables and doesn't think twice about having a meatless meal. She is 81. If you have ever thought about being a vegetarian... DON'T DELAY... change TODAY !! You'll be glad and probably alot healthier too!

Boyle spoke a lot about all the testing and regulations they did to ensure the saftey of their meat. He failed to mention that there are MILLIONS of slaughterhouses in the country, that process BILLIONS of animals a year. Less than five thousand inspectors could never come close to making sure meat is safe. NEVER.

All of you people who keep taking away what everyone has lived on for years and now wonder why your children are always sick! Wake-up! Your children are building no immunity to anything and every bug that comes along knocks them down. It is so sad to watch sick people who have sickened themselves!

I quit eating charred dead animal flesh over 20 years ago and what do I have to thank for it? Low blood pressure, GREAT cholesterol and the biggest impact you can have on the environment. I have a 10 year old son that has never eaten meat and hopefully never will. You are only as old as your arteries and the biggest contributor to plague accumulating in your arteries is saturated fats that come from animal sources.

I am currently producing a documentary on animal rights and veganism/vegetarianism, which touches upon the health issues present in meat products. The documentary is titled ‘Don’t Eat Me’ – check it out!
donteatme.ca

You can "become a fan" on Don't Eat Me's facebook as well –
facebook.com/pages/Dont-Eat-Me/295048725170?ref=nf

Or follow the film on Twitter –
twitter.com/donteatmefilm

Facts don't lie! Someone commented about the nutritionist being biased. I noticed how she evaded the question on the source of E. Coli in vegetables – all of it comes from animal famring runoffs. Here's how much she received for research grants in the last 203 years:

Nancy Rodriguez
• National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Role of beefbased
diet in modulating skeletal muscle protein turnover
and intracellular signaling events during acute calorie
deprivation, 2006 – 2008, $60,000
• Donaghue Nutrition Research Competition, Leucine as a
bioactive nutrient: A pilot study, 2006 – 2007, $32,000
• National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Mechanisms for
regulation of skeletal muscle protein metabolism, 2005
– 2007, $149,946

has anyone even thought of the animals in factory farms here? The evidenc exists that eating meat is not healthy and so what about all the animals that are brutally murdered and slaughtered in factory farms .has anyone thought about them?

Travis-

While small farmers may have provided care for sick animals, today's factory farms consider illness and death an acceptable economic loss. If an animal is worth $20, profit-minded farmers will not spend $50 for a vet visit. Do you really believe that factory farms have the individual animal's best interest in mind?

THANKS FOR YOUR WORK ON FOOD SAFETY REGARDING MEAT – PLEASE do a show on Genetically Modified Food that is currently in our food supply. The information is staggering – why does Europe require food labels for Genetically Modified Ingredients on all foods and the United States doesn't? Why has the instance of peanut allergies increased by 80% in our country since we have intruduced genetically modified foods into our food supply? Why do some African countries turn away the food aide we try to provide because it is genetically modified? Read "The Unhealthy Truth" – a book recently published regarding some of this information. I am just a concerned mother – trying not to come across as a food extremist – i just want my kids (and me) to be as healthy as possible.

Although I am a vegan and don't eat meat for humane reasons, I think any rational person would choose not to eat meat from factory farms given the health ramifications. I wish Larry would contact Howard Lyman, former cattle rancher from Montana who got Oprah into trouble over her comment on hamburger, who has become a vegan and written several books on his change of heart and now lives in Ellensburg, Washington. He is a tremendous speaker and would be very enlightening in his views as he was one of the biggest successful cattle ranchers in the US.

I also noticed your representative from the meat industry's prime concern was getting the meat to market as quickly as possible and to heck with the health of the animals raised in such appalling conditions. One more industry ruled by money and greed.

Hi Larry, My husband sold his company to Cargill in 2001. The amount of money, research,and time that has gone into meat safety is monumental.The bottom line is people need to cook their meat to a tempature of 155 degrees to kill ecoli. Patrick Boyle works really hard to convey the AMI message and why is this so difficult to grasp??? To conclude since selling Empak Foods to Cargill my husband is involved (on our dime) in a food process called high pressure processing. To be specific it is a post packaged intervention that eliminates listeria, samonella, and ecoli. PLEASE contact us now and he can bring you up to speed on this cutting edge technology that should be mandated. This might put attorneys like Mr. Marler out of business.I hope you can begin to see the transparency of his argument. Sincerely, Holly Segel

Wrong Planet Clare Im Sorry you feel you need to stick up for a poison pusher like hamburger patty boils! This guy is what’s wrong with it all. He might as well be the ceo of Philip Morris or build bombs with GE. Like I said, earlier this guy would never ever let his kids eat meat. But, who cares about how many poor 1 dollar menu kids die every year from his poisonous product.

Red meat is an important part of any healthy balanced diet. It gives us the protein and vitamins we all desperately need.

This meat is raised by the hard-working men and women in agriculture. They care for their animals and work to provide safe, nutritious food they feed to their own families. Please, do not listen to the fringe groups who are bent on removing meat from our dinner table. Let Larry know you support farmers and ranchers.

Did you notice that three of the four guests in some way or another believe in having meat in the diet or be one of the many industries in America? All of them have some link to the government, who basically tells them what to do, what the government thinks a food pyramid should consist of, what regulations they must folow, etc. Also, CNN should have spent more time finding more guests to represent the plant based diet side. Shame on you CNN! There are plenty of reptuable studies to back up that a vegan diet is healthy. Speaking of "healthy".....this word needs to be defined correctly. The meat eaters say they eat healthy and the vegetarians say they eat healthy!
What is wrong with this picture? CNN you should have a future show with supporters of vegetarian lifestyle like Gabriel Cousens, M.D., David Wolfe, as well as experts on raw foods, ph balance lifestyle, etc.
I have never met a vegan that has had sickeness, disease, cancer, terminal illnesses!

Animal agriculture in the U.S. uses more drugs than the human population. If the animals were healthy and the conditions were decent, these drugs wouldn't be necessary.

I believe the problem is not meat, but a sedentary life style that includes too much TELEVISION!! My Grandparents lived up until their 90s and ate meat, fried foods & home grown veggies. They watched little to no television. If they did it was after a hard day of physical work. I raise cattle on my family farm. It is not a factory. They are well taken care of and I get top dollar for them at the sale barn. I also raise a garden for vegetables and the physical activity it gives me. People should do more physical activity and turn off trash talk shows especially the woman from Chicago.

I have known people to make it to their mid-nineties who have spent their entire lives eating heavy amounts of red meat. They raised their own cattle, their diets was mostly home prepared and lacked hormones or chemicals.

Myself, I can't stand cooking red meat or chicken or turkey due to the time consuming clean-up. Although, I will break down and cook a turkey once a year.

Fish is fast and easy clean-up. Here are some of my favorite dishes:

Lemon-lime Tilapia with Melon Salsa
Chilean Sea Bass With Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette
Pecan Crusted Trout with Orange-Rosemary Butter Sauce
Almond-Crusted Sole with Leek & Lemon Cream
Roasted Halibit with Tomato, Saffron and Cilantro
Swordfish with Red Onion and Spiedini
Pan Seared Ginger with Shitake Cream Sauce

We are able to get very good fresh fish here on the west coast!

If you speak to people in their 90's around the world, I think you will find out that it is not what they eat but how much they eat along with other factors that contribute to healthy longevity.

Just some simple facts. Compositionally speaking red meats can be higher in fat acid content, however when we analyze this fatty acid content-what do we find? Of the saturated fat within beef, over half is found in the form Stearic Acid. This compound has been shown to have absolutely no effect on blood cholesterol level. Additionally, beef contains Conjugated Linoleic Acid, the same heart healthy fatty acid advertised in many products today.

Moreover, beef is a nutrient dense protein source high in Zinc, Iron and B-Vitamins. Of this nutrient dense source, 20 cuts of beef have just one gram more fat than a 3 ounce serving of boneless skinless chicken breast.

Addmittedly, any componet of our diet when consumed too frequently, can cause adverse health effects. However, like most things in our lives, moderation can yield incredible health benefits. Bottomline, we must still count our blessings that we live in a society where we are able to debate these topics and not wonder where our next meal may be coming from. We are blessed with the cheapest, safest, most abundant food supply in the world, and that is truly a triumph of our nation's farmers.

Folks...please think about the children. Why take chances with possibly contaminated meat when you have so many healthy, nutritious, and delicious plant-based alternatives?

People who eat meat ought to get real honest and kill their own animals. That is what turned me to be a vegetarian for the past 26 years. I am healthier than probably 80 percent of people of my age – 57 years old.

we love our poultry, meat etc. why do we have to be such savages. give the animal a break, a half decent life before we slaughter them.
when i was a kid i used the feed the chickens and the pigs on my families small farm. It said to see those chickens in those little cages on tv. Give them a break!!

I suspect many, if not all of you, who post things about "factory farms" have never been to a modern animal farm such as one of our many hardworking swine farmers. They work very hard to provide their animals the best possible environment to live in and they work very hard to provide a safe, nutritious product for us to eat. Please do your homework before you pass along biased information that is not true.

Of course I eat beef, first I love the taste and second of all I know that is is incredibly healthy. I am a meat eater so I think that meat is a big part of a healthy. It depends on how you cook it to determine if its good or not. It depends if its fried, because if it is then you shouldnt eat it. If it baked or boiled then I believe it would be good for you to eat.With that in mind choose healthy meat such as fish, chicken, and healthy cuts of meat. I feel that we wouldn’t be as healthy if it wasn’t partly due to the food we eat!

Patrick Boils defends death! Has he ever killed a cow, a pig, a lamb, a chicken???? I'm sure somebody reeled in a huge blue marlin for him at some point... (of course not to eat just for show). This guy deals with death and cruelty of animals with a smile. And turns a blind eye to an industry killing our kids. And has never ever butchered nor will his own take. Heart attack walking heart attack walking!

Meat Is not good for you. It is all about MONEY. I did not change my lifestyle until age 70 I was on prescribed Medications for diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and vitaminsof all kinds.
I read The China Study in which Dr. John McDougall and Dr. Essylstyn of the Cleveland Clinic were referenced and I was convinced I needed to get off of the Standard American Diet (SAD). I became a vegan and no longer need to take any prescribed medication or vitamins. My cholesterol has gone down to 138 and my sugar is an average of 90 each morning. No medication and now age 73 and my blood pressure was 119/70 this morning. Read the China Study and check out Dr. John McDougall. If the people go to Lifestyle medicine, vegan we will no longer have a health care crisis like we are facing today.

Charlie

Charlie

If you want to find out the truth about consuming meat products visit donteatme.ca

Don’t Eat Me is a documentary on animal rights and veganism/vegetarian. It is planned to be released in 2010.

For more info on Don’t Eat Me including the synopsis and intent visit the film's website donteatme.ca

You can also “become a fan” of Don’t Eat Me on facebook – facebook.com/pages/Dont-Eat-Me/295048725170?ref=nf
or follow the film on Twitter – twitter.com/donteatmefilm

Travis-

I never heard of anyone having their arteries clogged from eating too much broccoli.

I've been looking through and a lot of you believe that the slaughter of cattle and other meat animals is inhumane. I attend Penn State University and I have had one on one, been there done that experience with the slaughter of animals. It is completely humane! The butchers only slaughter healthy animals that pass antemortem inspection. If there is any sign of immaturity, disease,broken bones,pregnancy,and a fever the animal is not slaughtered. If a USDA inspector finds signs that livestock are coming in injured or bruised they go back on those people responsible and something is done about it. There are anti-slip measures on the floors of slaughter houses to prevent animals from slipping and harming themselves. When they are electrocuted it immediately deems the animal unconscious and the animal is bled out within seconds. The animal feels no pain. It is not a cruel process that many hear about. Those of us in the meat industry do care about the health and safety of our animals, as well as the health and safety of consumers.

Furthermore, during the slaughter process a USDA official examines the carcass to inspect lymph nodes, glands, internal organs, and other tissues. Another inspection is performed at the end of the slaughter line to search for any signs of contamination that would make it unsuitable for human consumption. If a carcass or any part of a carcass are found unfit they are marked 'U.S. Inspected and Condemned.' Facilities are under strict regulations to prevent contamination of meats and to protect animal safety.

Thank God for American farmers and agriculture!!!!!

I have worked in the meat industry for about 40 years in a maintenance function at various meat packing plants in Canada. At every facility I have ever worked we have been doing everything possible to ensure our equipment and facilities are in top shape, our handling practices are sanitary and the food we produce is wholesome. In fact, I would put our ready-to-eat processing rooms up against any hospital operating room in the country. However, things are not perfect and we forever are working on ways to improve the cleanliness of the food processing plants that we work in – it would be crazy not to. Our livelyhood, own health, the health of our families and all our customers depends on it . Some people however are asking the virtually impossible – to have no illness caused by foodborne contaminants. Most people I know eat and drive cars or at least are passengers. No-one thinks twice when they get into an automobile. Yet, the probability of dying as a result of a car accident is approximately 8-9 times greater than from consuming food (of all kinds – not just meat). Not that we all don't wish the same thing but to make demands like forcing the meat industry to produce product where no deaths occur is as unrealistic as demanding that automobile manufacturers build cars in which no-one ever gets killed.

Patrick Lobster Boils laughs at the counter attacks. knows that his industry has the power, money and lies to keep the death machince going for ever. it's up to us and all who love our planet and kids to do the right thing. Boils will boil over and have to face the golden calf someday.

Meghan D....

Even reading about the "humane" "slaughtering" of "livestock" ... i.e. the animals... makes me cringe, turns my stomach and makes me sick.

I don't think killing of any animals is considered "humane"... think about it. I'm glad I won't be killed to be eaten.

Thank God Ifor ALL vegetarians and I'm proud to be a vegetarian.

People should make food choices that are consistent with their values and interests, which means eating plants instead of animals. Killing animals is inherently violent, and inhumane, and upsetting to most people. And, eating animal foods leads to cancer and heart disease, as well as serious environmental destruction

veggie lord – you are a complete, uneducated dumbass who knows nothing about the meat industry apparently

Killing animals for meat causes more environmental toxicity and global warming than any other destructive human activity. All the grains, corn and soy that is fed to inhumanely mistreated "Food Animals", could be used to feed the entire human population thereby ending starvation. Millions of vegetarian Hindus, Jains, Seventh Day Adventists and Buddhists have and continue to live long and healthy lives. Eating meat is unpardonable and morally wrong!

Gene Baur meat has CLA's (conjugated linoleic acid) which are anti-carcinogen!!!!!!

I grew up on a tropical diet of mostly vegetables, fruits and seafoods... meat was a luxury item and not regularly served. It did me well as I naturally learned to appreciate plant foods. When I moved to the Arctic, my diet radically changed to meat based. Though some was locally hunted and wonderfully exotic to me the rest was shipped in. I realized that the frozen and canned goods that were available, were innately unsatisfying... so though I sorely missed and craved fresh vegetables. Later in life I read the book 'Food Pollution' and willingly went more Veg (ovo-lactarian). I learned a lot, but became sickly and could not maintain a predominantly veg diet. I returned to the " tropical diet" that makes me feel the best at this stage of my nutritional needs..

With vegetables, I think the contamination starts in the fields. I have seen migrant workers relieving themselves amongst the rows. I am also ever more concerned that pesticides are voiding the health benefits of vegetable's nutritional offerings.

With meat, I think it has to do with an assembly line mentality and sanitary issues with machinery. After a while even the most consciencious person will see the animals as a "product", hence the inhumanity of the business. With assembly line machinery, there are just too many crannies and crevices to clean thoroughly without an ordered shutdown. Factory farming needs to be minimized.

Though I do not consider it efficient, we do have one of the better food production chains in the world as far as supply and variety go. Costs, I feel are artificially inflated due to the redundency of shipping/transport. eating seasonal foods, grown with consideration to health values should predominate in everybody's diet.

I think a varied diet with animal products as the lesser portion of intake is in tune with our physiology and is most healthful. If someone were to choose vegetarianism, then they should diligently learn about nutrition, food combination and meticulously attend to their menu. For most, it is just too complicated and takes too much effort to do right.

I feel that humans were "gatherer – hunters" rather than the other way around, and that some animal protein, even intemittantly, is good for our health.

Processing and additives are the weak links in the food chain.
I support the Small Farm and Farmers Market system, and feel BigAgriBiz is doing more damage than good.

Meghan D….

Even reading about the “humane” “slaughtering” of “livestock” … i.e. the animals… makes me cringe, turns my stomach and makes me sick.

I don’t think killing of any animals is considered “humane”… think about it. I’m glad I won’t be killed to be eaten.

Thank God for ALL vegetarians; I'm proud to be an American Vegetarian !!

And environmental destruction??? Have you not heard about sustainable agriculture where farmer's are now using more environmentally friendly practices! No-till farming, pasture rotation, methane digesters, decrease use in pesticides. How about you educate yourself first with facts before you start making opinionated comments.

God bless the farmers!!!!

Personally, I'm tired of the lies. I need real information. The quality of the information that we get to fight a disease is just flat lousy. My tumor was estrogen fed. That's all I got for information. I don't trust most of the folks that are supposedly trying to help us...they are well documented to fail, yet they still pump lousy information out. We are tired of the lies. We want to know the truth. Where is the estrogen coming from? Why are so many people getting cancer...so young? Where does all of the money go that supposedly tries to figure this out? Why are so many industries bent on not telling us the truth until they are sued? It's a failed system that we live in. Dishonest. Not acting in anyones best interest. They need to re-tool to something healthier, not lie to people.

Meghan Dobrowolsky -, I got a master in agricultural economics from Cornell University and remember that silly notoin of promoting meat using the CLA story. Do you really think meat prevents cancer? Please review the empirical evidence, and think more holistically. Just because you can find a beneficial component in meat doesn't mean eating meat is healthy. Remember, 'experts' used to say smoking cigarettes was healthy. Again, please review the empirical evidence, then make informed statements.

I would encourage people that want to learn more about beef production to visit a local farmer or rancher that raises beef. Go out and see it for yourself. These livestock aren't being raised on factory farms, they are being raised by family farmers. Don't rely on a google search for your information, ask a farmer. If you don't know any local producers, contact your local Farm Bureau or Cattlemen's Association and they can probably help you. As a fifth generation United State rancher, it's disappointing to hear all of these negative comments that aren't true. Meat and dairy products are an important part of any common sense diet which is why i work hard so that families in this country can have a wholesome meal that I helped grow.

Meghan...Gene Baur is very well-qualified to make these comments, which are facts, not opinions. Maybe you should read his book, a national best-seller. Have you written a national best-selling book? What are your credentials?

I don't think anyone is arguing that you shouldn't eat veggies. Vegetables are an important part of the diet, just as proteins are. If you don't like the taste of meat, that's fine. I don't like asparagus. I just think it's irrational to omit meat from your diet because of food safety reasons. There are plenty of safe, wholesome options for those individuals who do enjoy the taste of a good piece of meat.

Yes, true Sandra, some industries do try to hide the truth from consumers. However, the food industry is NOT one of them. The USDA does everything they can in order to make certain our food system is safe. They do their best in informing the consumers about products. Meat inspection is a very by the book procedure and products are labeled with information for consumers. They would not do anything to harm the consumers, in fact they do everything they can to inform them and protect them.

Does eating meat make our bodies too acidic? Sugars? What is the pH connection here? I know that a plant can't uptake the nutrients if the pH isn't right. Is that true for humans also? Are we starving because our pH is off? Some of what we call food doesn't have much for nutrients in there to start with, but are we making it even worse because our bodies are so acidic that we can't utilize the nutrients?

Gene – I'm certain that having a master's degree in ag economics does not make you an expert on nutrition or food safety. I have a degree in ag economics too. Big deal.

Cathy- there are an enormous amount of delicious plant-based foods. A veg diet is not just lettuce and tofu! It is not your diet minus meat. It is a completely different way of eating that most just don't know about, because we were raised eating meat, milk, and eggs.

I don't have to write a best seller to know what I am talking about – I have one on one experience and contact with the industry. I have a degree there too sweatheart. And like everything else, you have to eat in moderation. I'm not saying to go get a huge steak every night and shove your face full, but I am arguing the meat is in fact safe for consumption and does have many beneficial attributes.

Cathy...perhaps Gene Baur is not a nutritional expert. However, I can say he is absolutely an expert in food safety. He has conducted hundreds of investigations in our nation's slaughterhouses, factory farms, and stockyards. He has expertise from these field investigations. Do you even know who he is?

I eat meat and always will! People need to learn how to cook it. I can't believe all those vegans would kill all those poor veggies. Twyla who said all the poop came from cows how do you know it didn't come from the workers in the field who couldn't make it back to the bathroom!

Thank you Cathy!!!!

Meghan D. – How can you say the USDA does everything it can to ensure a safe food supply? Did you not hear about the slaughterhouse in Kansas who wanted to test all their cattle for BSE (in order to export meat), but the USDA took them to court to prevent the testing? Seems to me like the industry has a lot to hide. Agribusiness has also passed laws to prevent pictures from being taken at factory farms. Hello!?!

Meghan, have you ever considered that you are a little too fond of the whole idea of "killing" and "slaughter" and authority over a creature unable to defend itself from the fate the USDA has decided for it?
Sounds like perhaps you have a darker side to your personality.
Ever think of psychiatric evaluation?

Yes, God bless the farmers who grow our veg and fruit..lets support them a little more as they don't make anywhere near the money of the ranchers.

On that same thought process, do yeast infections change the pH enough that people can't uptake the nutrients?

I still like to think that our bodies are doing what they were designed to do and we are messing it up somehow, but how?

I know that I couldn't lose weight to save my soul with a yeast infection, but lost 103lbs (run, bike, swim) when I got rid of it. My theory now is that the infection kept my blood sugar too high. My body sent insulin to deal with it. Insulin loves to store fat and hates to let go of fat...so its very difficult to lose weight with an infection. It didn't have a fever or anything. But, I craved carbs like crazy with a yeast infection. Felt like I was feeding a monster. When I lost the weight, I found a breast cancer.

The lab said that tumor was estrogen fed. Where did that come from? Does anyone know how these pieces fit together?

Cathy, Neither you nor I are nutritional experts, but Dr. Colin Campbell who was on LKL this evening is an expert. His decades of research has found that the more plant foods people eat the healthier they are, and the more animal foods they eat, the greater their health problems. You can read his book The China Study for more information.

This nutritionist Rodriguez is playing on the myth that we need meat. She says that it's an efficient way to get "quality protein" in just a few calories. So what's the point? What do you do with the rest of the calories you require in a day? Why not obtain all the protein you need from a variety of plant foods, thus obtaining all the aminoacids, and then some fiber, antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, etc. in the process? Nutrient content in meat is another myth (if you read the China Study, you'll see that plant sources beat meat any day), B12 isn't an issue, since many soy milks and cereals are fortified with it. It's this fear that we will loose muscle and be skinny (lack of calories, no lack of meat) And what about horses, bulls, gorillas and the many herbivorous animals that have large muscle mass? Wake up America! We're being hoaxed by an industry that doesn't care! Pat Boyle mentions that 15.000 test are done per year... clearly not enough. The nutritionist Rodriguez has clear ties with the industry, as her funding clearly points. Dr. Campbell is a true man of science. He's not pushing his ideas for money. He believes in what he is saying because he investigated it. It's peer reviewed and it's proven. Not for a paycheck like Rodriguez and Boyle! The Meat Institute is there to push meat at any cost. Good for Larry King to bring this issue to the table. Please do more on this.

Sammie- by eating meat, you are killing more veggies than if you ate the veggies directly. The animals are fed a diet of mostly corn and soy beans. If you are worried about plants, you are actually killing more through meat consumption, and a vegetarian diet would decrease your amount of plant killing.

I suspect that the yeast infection came from taking antibiotics.

Meat, as I understand it raises estrogen levels. I was eating a lot of (sushi grade) sashimi tuna for a year or so before I found that tumor.

When I channged my diet from meat eating to a living foods vegetarian diet which includes wheatgrass juice...i cured my incurable exzema.....i got my sexuality back in 3 weeks which had been gone for 9 years....no doctor could help me with this despite seeking answers for 9 years. This is HUGE......please change the way you eat.....it will change your life!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE ASK LARRY KING TO HAVE DR. BRIAN CLEMENT ON HIS SHOW.....HE IS AN EXPERT IN THIS FIELD. YOU CAN FIND HIM THROUGH HIPPOCRATES INSTITUTE IN WEST PALM BEACH FLORIDA.

I would like to hear a whole show with Dr Campbell. This was too many people not quite asking the right questions.

Sandra....good for you. Read Dr. Campbell's book, The China Study.

The USDA does do everything it can to ensure a safe food supply!! They perform antemortem and post-mortem inspections. They perform thorough tests and inspections of animals before, during, and after slaughter. And maybe they don't want people taking pictures because people like you blow it out of proportion. Also, after 911 and biosecurity measures, it is not safe to have people running on and off of various farms. Farmers do care about the well being of their animals, and they want to ensure their comfort and safety despite your contradictions.

Sammie... regarding all of us "vegans"... I don't think anyone "kills" vegetables; vegetables don't breathe with lungs, eat and produce waste from food consumption, walk around, feel pain. I've never seen broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, corn, soybeans... etc... bleed ...red blood ..like animals and produce waste products of urine and feces! Have you? If so, I don't think there would be a distinct difference between animals and vegetables and all veggies would be animals too.

Way to go Gene Baur !! I'm with you !!

Anastasia, your comment "Sammie- by eating meat, you are killing more veggies than if you ate the veggies directly. The animals are fed a diet of mostly corn and soy beans. If you are worried about plants, you are actually killing more through meat consumption, and a vegetarian diet would decrease your amount of plant killing."

So what is your solution, we kill off all of the livestock anyways so that they will not be consuming plants???? That's pretty inhumane.

Meghan...where are you getting your information about the USDA? Gene Baur has conducted hundreds of field investigations in slaughterhouses, factory farms, and stockyards. He has seen the process and the dangers. He has witnessed the practices. Why are you putting so much faith in the USDA? Just open your mind for one minute and consider the possibility that they are NOT doing all they can. I assure you that they are not. We want to inform you, not fight you.

Kathy – I support my farmers – those who not only produce crops, but also those who make a living off of raising healthy livestock for human consumption. I love animals, in fact, I am attending my last years to become a large animal veterinarian. I want to ensure the health of animals because I love them so much. These animals have been bred for centuries for human consumption, it's the circle of life, get used to it.

I have not eaten meat or dairy products in over a decade and during the decade prior to that I ate very little meat. I look many years younger than my real age. The notion that we require a certain amount of meat is a fallacy and hype from industries that stand to gain. Consider this. Breast milk contains only 5% protein. Do you believe that adults need more protein than babies in their formative years? We require much less protein than advised and most people eat. There is ample evidence that meat causes degenerative illnesses. On the other hand, a plant based diet is regenerative. Between 80% and 90% of all illnesses are preventable through diet and exercise.
Presently, wonderful great tasting foods are available in the market place containing no meat including meat alternatives. Plus, new vegetarian products are being introduced into the market place on a regular basis. I have found replacements for what I used to eat and do not miss my old diet. In fact, I feel good about the way I eat. Americans need to change their diets to become healthier and reduce health care costs. The standard American diet is keeping people sick and costing us a fortune.
The nutritionist on your panel certainly should understand where e-coli originates. Such information is not beyond the expertise of a good nutritionist. It is difficult to believe she was unaware that only animals produce e-coli. In fact, all plants including spinach are incapable of producing it. It seems as though she was siding with the meat industry for whatever reasons.

Meghan, I've been to slaughterhouses and seen animals too sick even to stand pushed with forklifts and dragged to slaughter with chains. Did you not see the undercover footage taken at the Hallmark slaughterhouse in CA last year? I videotaped similar conditions there ten years earlier. This was a slaugherhouse given awards by USDA. Also, USDA slaughterhouse records show that animals with numerous disease – like pneumonia and hepatitis – have been approved for human food. USDA explicitly allows diseased animals into the food supply.

Meghan, I worked in meat packing plants when I was a kid. Some were better than others. But, that would still be missing the point...what Dr. Campbell is saying is that eating meat raises estrogen levels. Some cancers (breast and testicular) are estrogen fed. He is saying that eating too much meat raises estrogen levels. When you have this, you have to make a decision...to take a drug, tamoxifen, to knock down your estrogen levels. As a person faced with this decision, I have to make a choice...to take a drug that makes me sick for five years...five years...or figure out why my estrogen is so high. I asked lots of questions. I'm not getting the greatest information.

Anastasia I have worked one on one with the USDA, I have been there for the process of animal slaughter and I have seen have strict they are when it comes to safety. I have actual experience in the field unlike a lot of people here. Maybe you should take some advice from Troy Hadrick and go visit a local farm and learn about the actual industry rather than criticizing them.

The way farm animals are kept now days in strict confinement due to greed, it is no wonder why all the ecoli & contamination in meat & poultry. God never intended for animals to have to live this way. Man has gotten way too greedy & as a result they end up losing money & the animals get killed for nothing many of times since they have to recall the meat due to contamination.

Meghan- slavery was defended with your same reasoning. Large animal veterinarians enable the abuses of agribusiness, because if they speak out against agribusiness, they are ostracized by this powerful industry. You will find that out. You seem very passionate, concerned, and full of love. I believe you do love animals, so please think about learning more about an industry that commits egregious abuses against them. Factory farmers produce most all of the animal products consumed in this country. Agribusiness is all about $$$.

Bisphenol A (bpa) looks like estrogen on the ends. BPA is in everything...even canning jar lids (the only ones that are approved). Laws and legislation can sway the whole world to one product. It would be good if there was more research on that product.

Where does the estrogen come from?

Some folks are talking about gender bending because we have so much estrogen in our environment. Where is it coming from? I can't believe how many people, and how young they are, have breast/testicular cancer lately. Are you seeing this? Parents of two and three kids losing their parents very young. We need more research. Whatever it is, we need to stop it. We need more research. We need to be asking the right questions. We need real answers. This is serious.

Meghan – You say you have first hand experience. Have you worked in a large commercial slaugherhouse where they are killing thousands of animals per hour? As the lines speed up the animals' suffering increases, but time is money, so slaughterhouse assemply lines tend to run faster and faster, with bad results for animals and workers alike.

Don't let companies lie to you and don't let them intimidate you.

Meghan- a solution is not to kill off all the animals. A solution is to stop breeding them. A solution is to decrease market demand for them by not eating them. Consider the PAIN that animals suffer for your simple gustatory pleasure. You must realize that these animals suffer. They have feelings, just like cats and dogs. We would NEVER allow an industry to treat dogs and cats the way agribusiness does to cows, pigs, sheep, chickens, etc. Please make the connection. They are all animals. They all have feelings. They do not need to be abused and tortured, living a life in a giant warehouse without natural light or fresh air or grass. They never run or play. They can't even turn around to scratch an itch or stretch their limbs? Why is this OK, Meghan? It is not OK.

One time, during my teens, I was forced to be on a vegetarian due to my severe acne problem. Since then, I was feeling better but it was in the 1980s when meat-based diets were highly in fashion and vegetarianism was in a small scale, therefore, I was forced back into a traditional diet with meat. I wished I never made that mistake. Finally, I went back into a vegetarian diet in 2003 and that was the best decision I had ever made. Honestly, I had my last cold, which is a small one, three years ago and hadn't had one since even when I was exposed to people who had colds and flu symptoms. I am a devoted vegetarian and proud to be. I agree with Dr. T. Colin Campbell: we don't need meat for a healthy diet.

Kelli – if animals were kept in small confinement that wouldn't be the cause of E.coli and contamination...

I have not worked in a large commercialized slaughterhouse, no. I have seen the procedure done at our on campus facilities, which in all honesty is quite different than a commercial slaughterhouse. I apologize for that misconception. However, I have talked with an official USDA inspector and I have had the education and I have seen the procedure. in the past there were occasions where animals that should not have been slaughtered were, but, today the USDA is very strict. The people DO care about the safety and well being of not only the animals, but also of their workers and the consumers. That is my argument.

Some of the meatpacking plants that I worked in were pretty bad. Some are closed now. I have a friend that cleaned the area where the meat was cut, he got leukemia trying to keep them clean. They used to clean the rooms by running chemicals from the entire pH level so they kill the whole spectrum of bacteria, etc. But, he ended up with a chemically induced leukemia. Meat packs are pretty gross. Stand outside of the kill area sometime. It's gross. The turnover is very high for that job. People hate it. It's hard on them.

my diet used to be atkins and fortunately I realized how unbalanced this was..

.it is wonderful to be vegan, but as all experts will tell you, you need b 12, so eat some sea veggies and there you go.

I evolved into a vegan raw diet after my health began to fail, and any one who eats sprouts and wheatgrass knows, you can heal yourself.

It is important to not substitute junk food for meat.

I also can no longer support the meat industries practices, it is not necessary to be cruel. Somehow we are losing our respect for life.

Meghan – Thanks for acknowleding the difference between commercial slaugherhouses and campus facilities. I've been to commercial facilities and spoken with many USDA inspectors. While industry people may intend to do well, unfortunately, bad has become normal in commercial operations. My belief is that we don't need to kill and eat animals, and killing leads to a callousness and insensitivity. I've been vegan since 1985, and it's one of the best choices I ever made.

I am 39 years old & after several years now of hearing how factory farmed animals are treated & the horrible conditions that these poor innocent pitiful animals have to live in & the filth & the stress & standing or no room to move or stretch & the pain & the horrifying treatment of slaughter, my mom & I have decided to go vegetarian. I am loving the soups & vegetarian dishes that we have been making from cookbooks & online recipes. It is much more healthier for people in general to eat vegetarian. Anyone who works in a slaughter house #1 HAS NO LOVE FOR ANIMALS AT ALL

#2 HAS A VIOLENT STREAK IN THEM & WOULD REALLY LOVE TO KILL & TORTURE PEOPLE

#3 IS HEARTLESS & COLD & HAS NO LOVE FOR LIFE WHATSOEVER

#4 WILL REAP THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE INHUMANE WAY THEY TREATED POOR INNOCENT KIND ANIMALS.

If all slaughter houses had glass windows then EVERYONE would go vegetarian. People have no idea how these poor animals are treated so inhumanely & cruelly. It is horrifying, abusive & I hate all slaughterhouse workers, you sick evil doers.

Meghan- this is a good thing that you were on this blog tonight. You are a student and you got an opportunity of a lifetime...to hear from an incredible activist, Gene Baur. I implore you to consider what was said and remember that we are only trying to help the animals, not personally attack you!

So you are willing to stop breeding of our livestock so that they just die off? I find that appalling. That goes completely against conservation and protection of animals. Why would we want them to die off??? These animals do not suffer. The poultry in our barns on campus are kept in small confinement, which upon first seeing this I thought it was cruel. However, when I was educated that the cooing of the chickens was them feeling safe, relaxed, and happy, I was really intrigued. A lot of people don't understand animal practices. Another interesting fact, farms that allow their swine free range of an entire farm are increasing Trichinella spiralls (parasites). Fortunately, cooking meat thoroughly kills trichinella. Animals are allowed ample space to graze and move. Barns are very well ventilated. In cattle barns there are huge fans to cool off animals so they remain comfortable and don't overheat. Take a trip to a local farm with an open mind and learn about the actual agribussiness.

People cut their arms with very sharp knives. People get paid more if they are faster so they use very sharp knives, but can deeply cut their wrists in a heartbeat. It's not that great of a job. Many immigrants on those jobs. Agree that they try hard to be good, but I still think we are missing the whole point in all of this. Recent reports (on the radio) are saying that they don't have enough inspectors. We had a couple on the line, and we needed them, but rumor was always that they are paid off. I have no idea if that's true. Most of the time it looked like they were probably honest. I was very young...a line worker. I wouldn't have known much, other than that I wanted to take home a paycheck. I wouldn't have been able to judge whether the meat was bad. They took samples and tested them. We weren't trained to know anything other than how to cut it. It is very heavy work.

It's expensive to feed an animal and then eat the animal. Love farmers and the lifestyle, but if it really is raising estrogen levels, and they are saying that it does, then we need to re-tool to something healthier.

Seriously, seriously look at the research. If we need more studies...then do that. But, you have to be careful about research. Personally, I'm pretty impressed with what I have seen come out of Cornell. Impressive. I am very happy with them.

I understand that you are not personally attacking me, you are just sharing your ideals. And that is what this is all about. However, I become very upset when people who are completely uneducated about the agribusiness criticize it. I am trying to give a voice to the meat industry because I am a large supporter and I am very educated about it, thanks to Penn State University. I hope that people will keep an open mind and take a trip to their local farmers, universities, farm bureaus, anywhere they can get honest reliable information, not biased one sided information. Become educated about the real facts and then make arguments. I am here to argue that the meat industry is not inhumane, that meat consumption is safe, and that we should all do a little more to thank our farmers who work so hard to produce the food on our table, the clothes on our back, and the numerous other agricultural products we come in contact with on a day to day basis.

My three year daughter contracted e-coli two years ago this November. We nearly lost her three times to Hemulitic Uremic Syndrome, which is the result of e-coli in the blood stream. She is now a full blown type-1 diabetic. Her kidney sustained damage as well, but luckily it still functions. I am so thankful that we did not lose her, and I am so very sorry for the mother and the grandmother whose child was lost.

Meghan – Things have gone too far in commercial production. I am for animals living and thriving in their natural habitats, not being genetically manipulated and confined in factory farm warehouses. The only species native to North America is the turkey, and they've been so genetically altered that they cannot even reproduce naturally anymore. Regarding your being 'educated' to accept conditions you had originally seen as cruel, I've seen students decencitized in this way to accept bad as normal in other ag schools too. If you care about animals, please reconsider your opinon about how we should be relating to them. How can you love animals and then kill them? We don't need to exploit animals for food.

Larry,
Great topic: Meat Vs. Plant-Based Whole Foods:
I totally agree with the Dr. T. Colin Campbell. Having Tony Bourdain is a.joke. His argument was eat meat because its taste good, smells good, we have evolved to do this,etc... Tony is not health conscious, chain smoker, no point having him with other qualified people. He just muddy the good water. LOL. Lest respect research, vs. some popular tv actor.
Tx,
BG

Meghan- I don't want these beautiful animals to "die off." I just don't want them to suffer and be tortured. You seem to hold beliefs that many people do...that farm animals are happy, with sun and grass and fresh air. This just is not so! Believe me, I wish I did not have the knowledge of knowing the truth. The truth hurts. It hurts to know what these animals endure day in and day out, for months and even years! Your first instincts were correct when you saw those birds! You are repeating what you have learned in a school that is teaching you that factory farming is OK. Believe me, I have opened my mind, and I hate what I have seen. It is absolutely horrible. Your campus is NOTHING like a real factory farm. PLEASE realize that. Personally, I think a pig would rather run around free in a pasture than spend her entire life in a crate that is 2 feet wide.

Is there a difference in the strain of ecoli found in meat and that found on Spinach a few years ago.

Meghan – Yes, good idea to keep an open mind. I'd encourage you to question whether certain habits and customs are appropriate or make sense. A growing bed of evidence shows that animal agriculture is a bad habit that needs to be reexamined. Eating plants instead of animals is more humane, more efficient and healthier.

Another friend of mine died in his twenties, left three kids, from cleaning a dairy farm. They had the lowest bacteria count and they were very proud of that, but he died. Chemically induced leukemia? It's not a safe industry.

Meghan, I agree with you that there are lots of good people trying hard to be good, but that's not really the point. We have a tendency in this society to blame people. We really do need to look at the processes. Take the focus off of the people and put it on the processes.

Animals do suffer.

Eating meat can be a part of a healthy diet, as can finding sources of protein from other things. It's all about quantity, too much of anything is bad for you...

I became a vegetarian 27 years ago, at age 12. I have never had any trouble getting protein – anyone educated in the human need for protein knows the need is much less than the promoters of the Standard American Diet (SAD) would have you believe. I love the feeling of knowing I'll never face heart disease, colon cancer or other diet-induced diseases.

Sanda, a great deal has been done to help protect workers in slaughterhouses. I do agree, accidents do happen though, knife cuts, repetitive trauma injuries (connective tissues: carpal tunnel) are the most common in food plants. But heck, you can get carpal tunnel from sitting on a computer all day and typing or cut yourself on a knife at home. Food plants now have platforms that raise and lower to help prevent injuries to workers shoulders, back, and arms. New knife styles were created to help ease stress on workers hands and to make their job easier. Workers also switch jobs regularly so that they are not doing repetitive movements which contribute to repetitive trauma injuries. Workers wear wrist, arm, and belly protectors. Some which are made of chain mail, or Kevlar. Between 1991 and 2004 the total reportable cases of job related injury and illness for meat and poultry industry workers dropped from 30 to less than 10 per 100 workers per year (Animal Science/Food Science manual).

Everything in moderation. Meat is not making people unhealthy- they are chosing to over-eat.
I thank God that we live in a country where we can chose what kind of diet we want. Organic, Gluten-free, or just plain Affordable!
Instead of critizing all farmers b/c you have seen a 5 sec video on you-tube please contact a farmer and ask questions yourself!
On my family's dairy we know that taking care of our animals is ethical and good business- its what we love to do. We are blessed to have a job that we are passionate about- making a safe, wholesome product while contributing to our community and in some cases people from around the world! There is no better way to raise a family then teaching kids to appreciate animals, environment, family and hardwork!
I appreciate where Vegans are coming from and I hope they can respect the importance that farms play in our society. To say that everyone should be just like you is very close-minded.
Larry I am hoping you will be a responsible journalist and make sure that both sides of this argument are represented.

When are they going to talk about the fact that this variety of killer e-coli is produced by the overuse of antibiotics in the raising of cattle.
In general normal e-coli is not deadly.

From a public health perspective consumption of meat today is unhealthy because it highly correlates with resent flu pandemics, H1N1(swine flu) & H5N1(bird flu). Industrialized animal agriculture contributes to zooinotic infectious disease pathogen emergence, such as H1N1. A superior system sustaining animal health surveillance and care with minimized animal confinement and transport must replace the unmonitored intensely dense animal operations in unsanitary conditions with amplified stressors that form the perfect recipe for flu pandemic origin.

I just don't get it.....I have been a vegetarian for the last 48 years (yah, I guess that would be all of my life),not only is being a vegetarian the humane thing to do but in many, many ways its the best diet to have. After all we are herbivores physiologically aren't we? I think your panel should go back to school and study the details of human physiology....as I am hearing the Dr. Rodriguez...she just doesn't know what she is talking about. She needs just be quiet before she puts her foot in her mouth.

A vegetarian diet can provide all of the nutrition a man needs with optimum levels of intake. We were made to eat a plant plant diet and a recent centenarian said her secret to being so healthy at 100 was a vegetarian diet and a positive state of mind. I have been a vegetarian my entire life. I am 55 and we do not need the amount of protein the pro-animal protein people say we need. An average man only needs 30-50 gms of protein a day. Meat is tampered with. Organic plant food isn't.

Better questions would be:

What do we do when whole industries are based on something that we find out isn't all that healthy for us? How do we deal with that? Does it have to go the Phillip Morris route? Or is there something smarter than that? Should people be told? Do I have a right to know why my estrogen is so high or am I just supposed to eat the drug and shut up?

If the odds of contacting e. coli dramatically decrease from eating plant based foods, and they are delicious, nutritious and fun, I say leave the cows alone. The whole thought of eating carcasses as was mentioned tonight and visualizing what goes on in slaughterhouses just sealed my vote to go green.

Larry, the real issue that needs to be addressed is the journey of meat in america from factory farms to your plate. That is where consumers need to be educated. We should not be discussing whether or not meat in your diet is healthy or whether we should all be vegetarian. We should be examining the food industry and their desire to put the bottom line before health and safety. That is the real issue.

I hope that can be addressed during your segment.

Meghan- one more thing before I sign off. I imagine you do not want to believe the things we have been saying, because that means you have to admit that much of what you have learned is simply wrong. That is a lot to process and accept. But, please, do yourself a favor, and get the facts from the "other side," the side that believes in compassionate choices, the side that believes animals deserve good treatment, the side that believes that living beings should be respected and allowed to live their lives as naturally as possible. Factory farming is SO unnatural! Think about looking at this from another point of view. That is how we truly learn. I used to eat meat, too! But, I learned more about it and realized that my daily food choices contributed to cruelty...both animal AND human. Choose compassion...open your heart and mind to the concept that animals are not a commodity but a living, feeling creature that deserves respect. Oblivion is bliss...but knowledge is power. Be a leader, not a follower, Meghan! It will change your life!

How is genetically modified food products?
As the food we are producing is integrated (plant and animal), food safety problem has become the same.

In the case of nutrition the problem is method of preparation and portion of consumpti. What about cancer and meat preparation?

Hi – I am a 37 year old life long vegetarian and loves this discussion. I would encourage anyone to read Dr Campbells book – The China Study as you will be amazed with the research. I do not have a problem with anyone who eats meat, but do have a problem with the people that think you lack something if you choose not to. I am 6 foot 4, fit and have never felt better. The woman you had on your show as the advocate for meat eating, lacked content and was sadly a poor representative for people who choose to eat meat. She should spend more time discussing the benefits of meat eating in moderation versus suggesting that vegetarians potentially lack nutrition. The fact that America leads the way in most health ailments speaks volumes and to suggest this is not related to the mainstream diet is ridiculous.

Meat – depends on who is paying for the advertising. Eg. papaya has more vitamin C than oranges – ever heard of that? NO. There is no Papaya Board funding advertising. Prof Campbell's 27 year study (and ongoing) has proven how lethal meat is to one's health. We eat the most meat per capita – are we the healthiest? Go figure, I wonder why not? We consume the most milk per capita along with Finland and some other countries and have the highest incidence of osteoporosis – yet the dairy industry is even brain washing school kids into believing that milk is a good source of Calcium. No – one needs to limit meat and animal protein as best possible. We are the most obese nation, the nation with of the highest cardiac deaths, the highest diabetes rates and overall rank around 37th in the world in health – this answers the question as to whether the high protein diets that we are consuming are healthy or not.

Split pea soup gives you 16 grams of protein with out meat and yes you can get all you vitamins and mineral from plant base diets. Look to the bible in the begining diet was meatless and people lived longer and after the flood where meat was introduced life span got shorter.

I'm all for eating meat, but today's society take in too many servings of meat a day. Even in one meal, a "serving size" is way bigger than the suggested serving size. Bottom line, Americans eat too much meat and not know it.

What we completey FAIL to talk about in this arguement is the QUALITY of meat! We don't raise our animals in the same way as we did 100 years ago. We feed our animals feed, put hormones and antibiotics in them to keep them from dying, etc....but they are not as healthy as the free range animals we once raised. So all the arguements against meat are biased with this fact. Raise the animals properly and the meat will produce healthy diets.

Meat – depends on who is paying for the advertising. Eg. papaya has more vitamin C than oranges – ever heard of that? NO. There is no Papaya Board funding advertising. Prof Campbell’s 27 year study (and ongoing) has proven how lethal meat is to one’s health. We eat the most meat per capita – are we the healthiest? Go figure, I wonder why not? We consume the most milk per capita along with Finland and some other countries and have the highest incidence of osteoporosis – yet the dairy industry is even brain washing school kids into believing that milk is a good source of Calcium. No – one needs to limit meat and animal protein as best possible. We are the most obese nation, the nation with of the highest cardiac deaths, the highest diabetes rates and overall rank around 37th in the world in health – this answers the question as to whether the high protein diets that we are consuming are healthy or not.

I compromise on the meat question. We eat a lot of meals without meat and rarely eat out. Tonight was a wonderful Italian bean soup with pesto served with cornbread!

I avoid processed foods but not entirely. We get all our beef at home from a neighbor who raises the cows and they are processed at a wonderful, clean place run by local Mennonites, so I trust the beef. I do buy chicken at the grocery but last year we also bought those from some Amish through a program. Sometimes I buy organic chicken when I can find it at the grocery. We are getting ready to stock our own pond with fish, so we will have that as another source of protein in a couple of years. I also like local barbecue, and we sometimes get that for a treat, including barbecued chickens.

I do not as a rule buy hamburgers at fast food restaurants, although once or twice a year I'll get a patty melt at Steak N Shake. I once got an incredibly raw chicken sandwich from a Hardee's and pretty much avoid fast food when I'm out and about nowadays. I'll go to a local barbecue place instead.

My goodness who are you going to believe this uninformed nutritionist
her speaking voice is so mundane or this Dr. from Cornell University? This Dr. is correct !!! a meat diet will kill you . Only humans radiate meat to death and then eat it. Did you know Gorillas as massive and as strong as they are a.........re VEGETARIANS.
Only a human being would think they are ahead of the game by eating meat and enduring so many health problems
HA

the length of the human intestine is similar to that of meat eating animals and the strictly plant eating anmials have much longer intestinal tracts. Does this factor into wether we should eat meat along with the minimum five servings of fruits and vegetables?

The issue isn't meat vs. veggie diets. The truth is – the way we raise meat for food in this country has changed dramatically – more in the last 10 years than in the last 50 years. Factory Farming is how its done. Go see FOOD INC. its an incredible film. Read The Face on Your Plate... you should know about what is happening in the Food Industry. Larry, your segment was interesting – but a little scattered – stay to the point – Jonathan Saffron Foer – hit it on the nose. Unfortunately your space-filler guest – that stupid lady who was on to counter the Cornell professor was unconvincing and lame. PS – you need some major NEW publicity photos. Fire your current publicist!

As livestock producers in South Dakota, making a living and consuming our own raised product, we live the healthiest life we could imagine. Illnesses from unsafe food comes from ill processed and ill prepared food. American produced commodities are the safest and healthiest products in the world. Please choose american.

Anastasia I live in PA farmlands. Although I have not had the pleasure of owning my own farm, my best friends own beef, dairy, poultry, sheep, swine, and goat farms among many others. These facilities all provide the livestock with safe, healthy, comfortable environments.

I'm 61 years old and have recently gone back to a macrobiotic dietary regimen–something I did religiously for three years in the 80s. I've been predominately vegetarian for most of my adult life and have the vital signs and cholesterol level of a healthy 35 year old. Vegetarianism has also help keep me at the same weight I was when I was 15 years old. All, and I mean all, of my friends and close acquaintances in my age group are either: A–Dead B–Have bypasses C–Are on blood pleasure reducing drugs D–Have Osteoporosis E–Are considerable overweight F-Complain incessantly about their health G–Have chronic ailments. None of them can compete with me physically, nor can most people decades younger. I don't know, is there a link?

Eating meat is healthy and safe with proper cooking. All frsh meat should be considered to harbor bacteria and thoroughlt cooked, especially frozen patties that require more cooking time. Methods to eliminate bacteria from raw meats has been tremendous with improved inspection and carcass pastuerization but no process is 100 percent for raw meat. That is why you thoroughly cook your meat. It is meaningless if it is from a family farm or a corporate farm. Bacteria doesn't know the difference. Our meat supply is safe as anyone can expect. If you want it sterile, then people should buy only fully cooked hamburgers instead of relying upon a family member yo cook it properly. I buy only fresh never frozen ground beef since risk is so much less and more risky cooking from frozen. Commen sense must prevail.

I hope all you vegetarians are getting your monthly B12 shots.

It's very simple. You are what you eat. If you eat vitamin and anti-oxidant rich living food, they will be life giving and life promoting and have natural healthy and healing effects. If you eat dead rotting decomposing flesh, you will introduce disease, fat and cancer causing pathogens into your body. period.

Maybe the problem is that cows cannot digest corn, so while feeding cows an unnatural corn-based diet may be more economical, it leads to diseases – which leads to the need for antibiotics, which leads to antibiotic resistance which leads to e coli OH:157. If cows were fed a grass based diet, it would be more expensive, but they would be healthier and the meat would be safer.

As usual, when there is a problem in our society, follow the money to find out why its not been corrected.

You can get pathogens from eating veggies also.

Nancy Rodriguez does not know what she talking about. She is blaming consumers for not cooking their food right. She is completely missing the point – its not about reading labels and cooking your foods at the right temperature - Nancy – the point is that food in this country comes from unsanitary and un-humane factory farms. Check out the-meatrix – its sums up whats happening in cartoon format spoof of The Matrix. Nancy – get a clue and throw some cucumbers on those tired eyes and enjoy a salad gurl.

And lots of vegetarians get cancer.

The whole reason E coli 157 exists in beef is the feedlot system which creates an acid rumen environment. When cattle (or sheep, bison, goats, elk, etc) consume only vegetation, the rumen has a higher pH and E coli 157 does not survive. Put all cattle back on pasture and the problem goes away.

When you ask if our diet is killing us, the answer is yes, but it is corn that is the main culprit. Vegetable oils are the completely unnatural part of our diet. They have only been around for a few generations and our bodies still view them as poison. Meat has been a natural part of the human diet for a hundred thousand years. Meat from a natural environment is the real health food!

I have bought ground meat lately that had maggots in it. I read where only Costco inspects the meat when it comes in and many large meat suppliers won'y sell to them because they reject a lot. Why maggots in the ground beef?

Thank you Larry King for this evening's show. Dr. Campbell's message is very important for people to hear. Our country is killing itself by eating a horribly unhealthy animal based diet. Please have Dr. Campbell on again. Lives are literally at stake.

famfarm I completely agree with you!

You can't get H1N1 from consumption! H1N1 is a virus, and if the meat was infected, cooking of the meat would denature the virus, thus you can not become infected! H1N1 has been so blown out of proportion...

Rachel – a meat diet is not going to kill you!!!! GET EDUCATED!

What they are not saying is that this death by e-coli is caused by the over use of antibiotics which has created a very deadly strain of e-coli.

I consume beef on a daily basis. As I see it we need to educate the consuming public on safe handling of food in general and specifically follow the guidelines to prepare ground beef.

Look to your local rural communities to invest in and purchase antibiotic free grass fed beef. Get a freezer and store a quarter or half steer and you will eat well.

I don't think the question here is should we eat meat but can you stop Americans from eating meat? It is such a part of the culture from BBQ to grilling burgers and hot dogs on July 4 to eating a nice steak dinner on a date. Regardless of the problems behind factory meat farms and the possible dangers, I don't think you can kill the meat culture in America.

Absolutely not, a healthy diet should not include meat of any kind. See substantial proof in The China Study, by T. Colin Campbell, The Food Revolution by John Robbins, The McDougall Program by John A McDougall, Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, Dr. Dean Ornish Program for reversing heart disease, etc.... Americans can improve their health, i.e., reduce obesity rates, reverse heart disease, and eliminate cancer threats by staying fateful to a plant based diet. Feed the world humans with all the food grown today and wasted feeding animals.

To those of you who are using the phrase "factory farms" I would ask how many of you have actually visit a modern farming practice anytime in the last 5-10 years? May I remind you that those of us who produce the food for this nation do so, more often than not as a our single form of income. Multitudes of studies have been conducted that show the detrimental productivity loses incurred when animals are treated poorly and raised in unhealthy environments. I assure you, an overwhelming majority of the farms I have visited and worked with house animals that are more well cared for than many third world human populations.

I hold nothing against anyone who chooses to consume a plant based diet, or even those who choose to consume natural or organically raised meats. But for the rest of us, who participate in the production of safe and healthy meat products in a way that is actually affordable for a much broader spectrum of US and world population, please do quote ridiculous studies about links between meat and cancer, those studies have never been verified or published in credible journals. And if you have never been on a farm, drive out of town and find a farmer and ask to see his/her factory. See what you find.

I have never really eaten red meat (not a fan of the taste, actually) and gave up all meat 2 years ago. I make sure I get my nutrients otherwise. I mainly stopped eating meat because of factory farms. If I end up dying at 75 instead of 85 because I stopped eating meat, then I'll be content with that. I'd rather not eat hundreds of animals over the years.

Don't even get me started on dairy.

I am a vegetarian for environmental reasons. Mainly to save water, but other resources also. Also, I don't really care for the taste of meat. But that's secondary.

One of your panelists, the chef, talked about the pleasure factor, and this is something to consider. However, my experience is that when you begin to change your eating preferences, your desires change. My daughter is a vegetarian after being a kid who adored meat and hated vegetables. She is not a strict vegetarian and will eat some meat on occasion such as chicken, and she'll eat fish, but she pretty much can't stand beef at all now.

I find for myself, now that we eat beef much less often, that I don't have the same passion for beef that I did when it was a regular part of our meal plans. Water has been the same for me–once I started drinking water with meals, I stopped wanting other drinks with meals and even between meals and I only drink a soda maybe once a year now.

I agree with Dr. Campbe;ll and have been a vegetarian for over 19 years now. I am 61 years old and in perfect health. I run 10 miles 6 days a week, lift weights, and take no medications. Our digestive systems are not designed to digest meat. If we were truly designed to eat meat, wouldn't we relish the thought of eating a dead animal we might see lying by the side of the road? "Food" for thought....

This is a fascinating conversation, but the incessant commercial breaks make it so difficult to follow the topic and stay focused. Larry: would you ever consider switching to public television? I understand the need to pay the bills, but isn't there a better way?

Gurudeva Sivaya Subramuniyaswami forty years of the eternal Truths of Hinduism, have found that families who are vegetarian have fewer problems than those who are not. This is because when we eat meat, fish, fowl and eggs, we absorb the vibration of the instinctive creatures into our nerve system and this amplifies our own lower nature. Our lower nature is prone to fear, anger, jealousy, confusion, resentment and the like.

i am sick of the trends, WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ATKIN DIET.

Come on humanity let's all evolve and go vegetarian!

Deffinetely, a healthy diet should include protein, but, after age of 40, if it is replaced with poeltry and fish would be better.

I think meat is healthy in small amounts. The Mediterranean diet is considered to be one of the healthiest diets and it encourages small amounts of meat. I also know that vegans face serious health programs if they follow that diet for too long.

I eat more chicken than Beef. We also eat fish, I can't eat shellfish.
I'm not thinking of giving up meat. We are eating more salads with our meals.

My wife and I along with our three kids became vegans over 3 years ago and our kids are growing normally, excelling in all sports, have not gotten sick ever since, and yes, our 11, 10 and 8 year olds do ask for "more broccolli, spinach and beats please." And we feel so much better and we are proof that you do NOT need meat in your diet.

I don't think that the so called misconcieved benefits of obtaining animal protein through meets outway the increase in cholesterol and heart disease and cancer. it makes no sense.

So we pretty much say NO TO ANIMAL FOODS!!!! Go Vegans

Absolutely include meat in part of a balanced diet! Farmers take great care of their animals, who use plant materials (lignin) that humans cannot digest and turn it into food. I would like to see people try to eat that food. Also "factory farms" do not exist, 99% of all farms are family owned. It's so easy to complain when your mouths are full...where would you be with out the American Farmer....naked and hungry! Just remember that.

Thank you SO much for showing a program about the dangers of eating meat. I have been a vegetarian since 1983. My wonderful husband was a meat eater. He died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 54 two weeks after diagnosis. I know that the meat he ate greatly contributed to that cancer. If people stopped eating meat, health care costs would go way down, there would be fewer widows and orphans, and the planet would be a lot better off. It takes a ridiculous amount of grain and water to make one pound of animal flesh.. It makes me cry that people are so ignorant that they keep slowly killing themselves and their kids by eating dead animals that have been tortured by the meat industry. I just wish my husband, an actual genius who greatly contributed to keeping the peace in the world, had known what meat was really doing to his body. The world needs his intelligence and expertise, and it is really sad that eating dead animals contributed to depriving the world of his genius.

i like your program, i agree with doctor cambell and i'm planning to be a vegetarian, i want you to invite him again

Dr. Campbell- what plant sources are a source of vitamin B12?
What does a vegetarian need to do to get adequate levels of zinc, calcium, and other essential nutrients?

I don't think it's the meat that is the problem. I think it's the way it's raised. If we were able to eat free range, elk, deer, free range beef, such the cholesterol type & omegas are much better for you than factory feeder meat. In my opinion that is the health issues of our meat diets.

The 'nutritionist' just said that food production is out of her scope of practice. I am a Registered Dietitian and I find that offensive. I just spent the last 3 days at the Community Food Security Coalition conference to talk about how we are going to clean up and fix the mess we have made in the food system.

The meat issue doesn't occur in a silo. It is intrinsically connected to the environment(water contamination, global warming), our health (MRSA, obesity).

We should be internalizing these costs. Cheap food is the problem. If the meat were properly priced, the market could work.

Cows need to be on the land, not in factories.

It's not meat that is the problem in the American Diet. It's two things: #1 Portions & Diversity and #2 Preservatives like Sodium Benzoate which is in Sodas, Salad Dressings, and sprayed on prepared produce. When mixed with citrus it turns into Benzene a carcinogen. Sodium Benzoate has been banned in Europe. This is a failure of government, the FDA.

According to the highest authority, we were told that our meat would come from animals. GEN. Chapter 8

By the way, I did read Dr. Campbell's book "The China Study" and it is by far, the most comprehensive human study ever conducted which proves how harmful animal protein is.

I used to think that eating a well balanced diet was the key to health - until I was diagnosed with a handful of gastrointenstinal disorders, like acid reflux disease and IBS. Believe it or not, with these conditions, a diet with lots of lean meats (as opposed to leafy greens, vegetables with seeds, most fruits, wheat foods, to name a few) is what is recommended by GI doctors. I can't imagine what I would be eating if I didn't have meat in my diet....

We need to support our local Ranchers who practice a sustainable form of beef production, and replace unhealthy factory farminng.

I love the show Larry!

Meat can be healthy in your diet provided you need that extra amount of protein and are only able to eat three times or less per day.

Meatless diets necessarily include eating 5 times or more per day for the daily amounts of calories and essential proteins in meaningful healthy levels.

Working people on the go all the time, and especially blue collar workers are not parked next to a smorgasbord 12 hours a day, where they could consume smaller amounts of nut proteins, vegetables and pasta throughout the day to make up for abundant calories and amino fatty acids, proteins found in meats.

A. Smith
Oregon

No pork or shell-fish for our family, just wild caught fish, beef raised by local farmers and relatives, and the named ducks we grow in the backyard. We're eating as locally as possible and although it's expensive the reality is we only live once and it's our responsibility to fuel our bodies with wholesome (and whole!) foods.

I find it strange the rate \ age of our children here in the U.S. begin to develope (puberty) vs that rate of other children in other countires. Could this be due to the hormones used in caring for these animals for slaughter? Also just an after thought any link to higher levels of cancer to date.. Just a my thought

Dr. Rodriguez was. unfortunately, not well versed in nutrition or she would know the difference between a vegetarian diet, one that does include eggs, and other dairy items, and a VEGAN diet, which does not. Either way, her lack of correct information about amino acids and complete protein from vegetarian sources – legumes, seeds, nuts in concert with whole grains, makes her a poor choice for this discussion. She brings no solid information to the debate. She should be careful about not just cooking her meat – e coli can contaminate very quickly and easily and could be spread even if she DOES cook the meat properly! (the young girl who died from just visiting her grandfather shows the danger of that). Utensils, cutting boards, failing to wash your hands after handling the meat and inadvertently putting your fingers in your mouth as one child did after HELPING her mother make patties, is ALL IT TAKES!!
The production of this meat is dangerous and is putting many other food products at risk!

I am a vegetarian. My oldest daughter is vegan. She is healthy and fit. She is not protein deficient or iron deficient.
For those who do want to eat meat – like my other children – that's fine, but we do need to take a lot more care with our food production and sadly it is MASS production. That may be the problem..

Dr. Rodriguez may want to do some more research on proteins, vegetarian vs. vegan diets, and think about reducing meat consumption at the very least, especially ground beef which is historically the most risky product.

Even one death, or one person paralyzed by e coli is one too many.

e-coli is found in plants too - I know a person who nearly died from eating catelope

It takes 12,000 gallons of water from farm to One dinner plate of beef. The runoff is contributing to dead zones in our waters, and cows take up 1.3 of the earth. We can cure the earth by getting rid of all the cows, just a few but not as many as we are using that uses our water at astronomical rates.
There is no need for this much BeeF. The met packing companies are abusing live beings. giving them hormones, antibiotics.

All should be online, especially private! Hamburgers/beef are not good for you. period.

Does a healthy diet include meat?
Should we be eating meat?
Is meat safe to eat?
Is the commercial meat industry breaking the law?

These are totally separate questions with potentially vastly different answers. Trying to discuss all of these in one show means that none of the "experts" get to say more than a few words to represent their vast knowledge, in some cases a lifetime of work.

Barely scratching the surface of these complex issues does a disservice to those watching by grossly oversimplifying important decisions.

About 5 years ago, a former Mr Universe Lance Dreher and a current PhD in Nutriton commented on his Sat radio show that some of the unhealthiest people that came to see him were vegetarians because they did not get enough protein.

I am in complete agreement with Anthony Bourdain. As a chef I agree that animal based proteins are an essential part of the human diet. Americans shoul limit their intake of processed foo products and incorprate more fresh meat, dairy and produce, and grains into their diets. Fast food is not a food group! My two young boys are 8 and 10. They both eath meat, poultry, fish, seafood, grains,dairy, vegetables and fruit. Many people are shocke to see them eat things such as raw oysters, crab legs, and other foods. Although they like Mcdonalds and pizza they enjoy my cooking even more. Americans need to pull out of the drive through and get in the kitchen. Let's get cooking!

I guess then not many of you will appreciate that when i was a trucker, I have personally witnessed quite a few truck with raw meat inside, without refridgeration and the door holding the meat on the hook wide open. Sure made me change the way I looked at meat 25 years ago and still do today. Think things have changed? I can assure you they haven't. I am not saying all meat carrying trucks but if I had a nickle for the many I have seen thoughout the years .... move over Bill gates!

I haven't had meat in 23 years. With regards to meat vs vegetarian....Our intestines were meant for vegetation not meat due to the fact that it takes meat a longer tract time to leave the body. The meat resting in the intestine gives off toxins and has the potential to cause cancer and other problems. While vegetation has a shorter tract time it can pass through the intestine at a much faster rate. Stick to the vegetables.

Thank you Dr. Campbell.

There is an alternative to ground meat that you buy at the supermarkets. You could grind it yourself. I have been grinding my own meat from tenderloin, NY steak, and sirloin meat. Sometimes I add certain vegetables while I grind it and the meat tastes better than the ground meat at the supermarkets. This almost completely eliminates the risk of E. Coli bacteria because you could boil or precook the meat before you grind it. Plus the added benefit of knowing what is in your meat.

I do not eat meat for compassionate reasons....anyone who eats meat should first go visit the industrial ranches and farms where the animals are raised in a very inhumane fashion....

orangepatchdary Thanks! That's my point exactly!

Without agriculture we would all be naked and hungry!!

Good for Jonathan Safran Foer. Something the nutritionist, the chef and the slick mouthpiece for the meat industry didn't mention, aside from their soulless lack of compassion for the animals, is that when you consume meat, you also consume the hormones and medicines that have been fed to the animal. I think it was Bill Maher who said a chicken goes from an egg to your plate in six weeks.

I am watching your midnight repeat show. I am a specialist in health maintenance and have read 'The China Study' . This discussion on animal versus vegetable protein only and disease ,is complex .The danger partlyl lies in the life history of the particular protein. High intakes of preserved meats plus insufficient intake of certain detoxifying micronutrients eg. Vit.A C,selenium may lead to disease,including heart disease and cancer. I refer you to the life style of the'Healthy Hunzas' who eat their own home reared animal products, and are known for longevity! p.s. I have been an avid viewer of your programme for many years-may you have many more!

Let’s see, the largest animals on this planet including extinct animals, are herbivores/vegetarians. Humans have very long digestive tracts to allow for absorption of nutrients from a mostly vegetarian diet. When meat is eaten by humans, most of it is never fully broken down and sits in our digestive tracts omitting toxins and creating disease. Animals have short digestive tracts to quickly break down nutrients from meats then dispose of it. Animals have incisor teeth to tear and eat their meat raw. Humans have flat teeth (for the most part) for crushing and grinding. If we were created to eat meat, we wouldn't have to cook it. All other meat eating mammals don't have to cook their meat.

Bottom line is, the meat industry knows this but of course it would stop the capitalistic machine of making billions of dollars. Doctors and nutritionists know this but if people stopped eating meat, became healthier, then the doctors and nutritionists wouldn’t have jobs.

Follow the money; it’s always about the money.

I would not relish eating a dead rutabaga that I found on the road either!

Beef is part of a healthy diet. This whole nonsense that Beef is not part of a healthy diet is completely false.

It really needs to be firmly stated that E:Coli in Beef can be completely removed through proper handling and cooking.

How many of Larry's guests have taken a tour of a factory farm? Healthy? Ethical?

Why is it that all the meat eaters are so long lived in my family, and with no cancer or heart disease?

Perhaps genetics has more to do with our heath than eating meat.

My family is friends with the parents who lost their little girl Abby in Ohio. I can't believe the experts tonight. Listen here is what I know as a fact to me anyway: high blood pressure, weight fluctuation, A.D.D., headaches, stomach pain, gall stones and gallbladder loss, allergies, cysts, breast infections, melanoma, joint pain, muscle pain and so on.... These were my illnesses that doctors were scratching their heads and yes I was a woman of 30. At 32 I decided to stop eating meat...literally all went AWAY of course with the exception of the surgery removing my gallbladder and the melanoma. So whole foods and plant based diet.....healthy......YES! If people are questioning their unexplained illnesses and or allergies then start over from the "ground up" if it grows from the ground up eat it! Thank you

Meaters obviously do not watch the Larry King Show. Why do Americans feel they can force their opinion on everyone else. Because you have information and a degree does not give you the
license to tell me what I can and cannot eat/do/say/go . . .

Whatever happened to prayer and moderation. And yeah, if I want to eat bon-bons, bacon, and whatever else, so be it. It must be great to have nothing better to do.

Oh, and leave it to Cleveland Clinic and we will all be living by their formula. They do not want to hire people who do not meet their lifestyle standards.

Question to the nutritionist......

If animal protein is essential to life, then how does the cow, the horse the elephant, hippo grow to be extremely huge and strong solely on a plant based diet?

And e-coli strains that are deadly can be prevented by not giving the animals antibiotics. They should receive their internal cleansing with chlorine dioxide and nothing else.

Ok this has inspired me to eat less meat, i will eat it only 2 days a week. maybe 3. Good or what?

I will only eat meat if I know where it came from. If it is from a local farmer and I know how they farm, then I will be more willing to eat that meat. Otherwise, I don't eat meat. I will not support the big companies that farm in such a corrupt way. Support your local farmers or don't eat meat at all. Watch the movie FOOD Inc. It will change the way you look at what you eat.

High volume low cost production is not factory farming? Are you for real? Have you actually been to one of these farms? I have. And, if there is so much safty involved, why the not disclose the studies, findings, and tests? Because if we truely knew what contaminates are passed in these "thoroughly tested" products, we would never...ever...buy the meat products. Come on Patrick Boyle.

I grew up on a cattle ranch in Texas, quit B.S.ing us.

the hippo is a big one.

I choose to get my source of my protein from chicken, turkey, fish, eggs, cheese, & yogurt. I will eat meat once every two weeks with buffalo. Dr. Mao says a good balance is to be a vegetarian during the week and carnivore on the weekend. I eat a lot of fruits and vegetable and occasionally almonds & walnuts. I get my grains from oatmeal and sometimes rye bread. I prepare my own food and avoid processed food.

Responses like Riberto L make drive me crazy about how big animals grow big on a plant diet – the answer is simple – humans are not animals!

I can't stand comments that sound good but are not based on any logic.

I've been a vegetarian since 1971. Neither of my boys have ever eaten meat, and they are in their middle to late twenties. Obviously, it just isn't necessary to eat meat. With all the wonderful variety of fruits, veggies, nuts, beans and grains, why would you want to eat flesh, blood and guts? Makes no sense to me.

The experts on nutrition agree that vegetarianism is not only healthy, but prevents disease:

“It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes."

Riberto, on the other hand, wild lions who eat only meat are quite healthy, not to mention wolves.

You would do better to compare oranges to oranges and not oranges to apples.

No, meat is not healthy.
It cause a lot of diseases including cancer and cardiovascular diseases!

I would like to call attention to the sustainability factor. I eat almost no meat because of the smaller environmental impact.

I truly feel Colin Campbell's China study is one of the most compelling studies to date on the dangers of meat on health. How long will we deny the link between high meat consumption and the epidemic of many common diseases (cancers, diabetes, arthritis, heart disease)! Numerous studies show the reversal of heart disease and various cancerous tumors with a diet change that specifically excludes meat consumption!

People have consumed meat since the beginning. Meat was also a dietary component in biblical times. But the methods of meat growing and handling have greatly changed since then so the problem may be with the industry procedures, not meat itself. Organic farming... in other words, going back to the ways of farming before pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, and questionable feed... may be the answer. Do it the way God intended and no worries!

Let's face it everyone – we have to watch out people that are vegetarians for religious or "its not right to eat another living being" reasons. These are not nutrition comments but personal beliefs.

Bravo Riberto!

Marsha,

The reason why plant foods have e-coli is because
1) they are growing the veggies near animal farms and slaughter houses and

2) They use manure based fertilizer to grow the veggies

May all that have life be delivered from suffering.

Angela – you have it right!

What did humans do before the onset of agriculture? They hunted and they hunted all the time.

Guil N
If you think your not an animal go to the local zoo, without a gun just a smile on your face and visit the lions. If they don't attack and try to eat you then you must be right lol

Eating flesh, regardless of source, as well as dairy and eggs is ALWAYS unhealthy. The nutritionist argument that we need animal products in our diet because of the nutrients they provide, where does she think these animals GOT those nutrients? From plant based feeds!!! Any nutrients you get from animal based products you also get from plant based foods. She's just not aware that her education is controlled by industry. She's basically a spokesman for those industries. She's right though, that it's the total lifestyle not just what you ingest that determines quality of life and level of health. I have worked with many patients with diseases who were consuming the standard american diet and taking all the "medicines" and getting worse, educated them to ceased the drugging and switching to a plant based diet and guess what – they all recover and live healthy lives provided they don't go back to their old ways. I TEACH not treat.

One of the strongest animals I've seen is a vegetarian, a Gorilla. Take your pick giraffe (vegetarian), or elephant (vegetarian) or hippopotamus (vegetarian). Meat industry cares about one thing and that's THEIR economic stimulus and not the health of the people. Everyone can quote stats and research etc, but we have to be able to look at the relative results from meat based diet vs. a plant based diet. I loved what Dr. Campell had to say.

Believe me, normal, non-mutated e-coli is not so toxic. It will not kill you.
They have to stop using antibiotics on the animals. They have created a pathogen as dangerous as MRSA and they are willing to serve it up to you on dinner plates.

Larry, Larry, Larry, You are loosing your touch. You came off as very insensitive when asking the Grandmother about her Grandchilds death. My chin hit the floor.

All you vegan's out there... Do you not use make-up or glue as well...because they are made from I believe horse or other animal parts.

I think that not only do we have to be diligent in making sure the meat industry is doing their part to prevent contamination but each and every one of us must be diligent in the handling and proper preparation of meat at home and in the restaurant industry.

Does the CDC carefully look at the way people prepare foods at home because cleanliness and proper cooking temperatures are certainly a major part of preventing e-coli and contamination, in my opinion.

The following is important cooking info for everyone to take heed of taken from the Omaha Steaks website:

'PREPARING GROUND BEEF FOR SAFE CONSUMPTION
Consumers should only eat ground beef patties that have been cooked to a safe temperature of 160 ºF. When a ground beef patty is cooked to

160 ºF throughout, it can be safe and juicy, regardless of color.

The only way to be sure a ground beef patty is cooked to a high enough temperature to kill harmful bacteria is to use an accurate digital instant-read thermometer.

Color is not a reliable indicator that ground beef patties have been cooked to a temperature high enough to kill harmful bacteria such as E. coli O157:H7.

Eating a pink or red ground beef patty without first verifying that the safe temperature of 160 ºF has been reached is a significant risk factor for foodborne illness.

Thermometer use to ensure proper cooking temperature is especially important for those who cook or serve ground beef patties to people most at risk for foodborne illness because E. coli O157:H7 can lead to serious illness or even death. Those most at risk include young children, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems.'

I have not eaten red meat or pork in the last twenty years ...I bench press 300lbs and run 6.25 miles in 45 min every other day ........Red meat and pork are not needed in a person diet......Red meat is a big cancer producer in humans .And pork is directly related to inflamation and stiffing of the joints.....Red Meat is a multi billion dollar a year industry just like the tobacco industry..We all know what the tobacco industry is guilty of.... The meat indutsry should be sued by the states to help pay for new Health plan its only fair they might be responsible for half of the new cancer cases...

I really thought that gorillas in the wild did eat meat.

Of course they only think about their pocket books, the meat industry. Its up to us to educate ourselves and demand decent food.

Guil,

The only thing that differentiates us from animals is that we have the capacity to "reason". If you remember from Biology, we do belong to the kingdom of "animalia".

Arrow,

Of course lions, wolves etc. are going to be somewhat healthy by eating "healthy animals" that eat plant based diets, but they do suffer from heart disease and cancer, whereas herbivores don't.

This whole debate on diet, plant vs meat, good vs bad can all be well explained if you take the time and research the Weston-Price.org site. The information here on health and diet is impeccable.....and backed up by good science. Our National dietary guidelines and standards are currently way out of touch and almost in direct opposition to what is healthy. Gary Taubes research and book, Good Calories, Bad Calories is another source of outstanding information that has been known for years and helps to explain the dynamics of how are misguided guidelines were established.

Everyone has a hidden agenda, and those who don't and really know, are too exhausted to try and change the current political agendas that exist between health and corporate greed. I am going to watch for those studies that your guest, Dr Campbell from Cornell is going to be publishing.

I also believe our diet should not include meat. I was raised eating beef, pork, chicken, and tuna but have since stopped eating beef and pork, still eat chicken and fish. I have several reasons I stopped eating red meat and am moving towards a vegetarian lifestyle: health, environment, and inhumane treatment of animals. Yes, meat tastes good if you've been raised on it... but it totally makes sense that we're not meant to eat animals, and if you make the decision to not eat meat and to be healthy, you will adjust to not eating it. Especially if you cut out 1 meat at a time.

First off, there is no such thing as 100% safety or being 100% healthy. Therefore, no matter how much testing is done to food, problems with bacteria will still be an issue, and no matter how much we workout or eat right, we will all die of something! Yesterday drinking water was a sin, today eating meat is bad, tomorrow walking for 30min will be considered unhealthy.

So exactly what is the problem? There is no form of stability with what we hear in the media so people really shouldnt get all worked up about MEAT! The simple answer to this meat question is this: "If you want to eat meat then eat meat, if you don't then don't eat meat! Workout and have a positive outlook on life! Stop worring about everything!"

If you want to worry about everything you might as well go to the mortuary, pick out a casket and just wait for death to hit ya in the face! Life is short already, enjoy what you have before it's too late!

duffit – The point made about humans not being animals is how each species digest their food. It is silly to compare a human diet to an elephant diet.

Also, the bottom line here is balance. Too much RED meat is not good for you, so mix it up with fish and chicken. Too much vegetables or pasta is also not good because it is difficult to get enough protein.

Also, it is too difficult to get a correct and healthy vegetarian diet because meat has amino acids that help the whole digestive process that is difficult to blend together in a meatless diet.

Yes, the bottom line is that not that we should not all be vegetarian but to eat LESS meat. That is the right balance. One diet is not right or wrong – meat and vegtables and carbs are all good and necessary in balance and moderation!

I am not naive enough to believe that production agriculture or meat consumption will ever (or should ever) be eliminated. E. coli O157:H7 does grow inside of ruminant animals... How did it get inside the ruminant animal... they ate it, off the ground and from the plants they normally eat. It has and will always be present at some level. With that said...
USDA (NOT FDA) has increased inspection programs and awareness greatly over the last 10 years; and the Meat industry has obviously responded as represented by the dramatic decrease in e. coli. This represents the greatest level of reduction we will see from the industry level (though it may drop lower, just not as dramatically).

When will this level of regulation and/or awareness be brought to the retail and consumer Level? This is where the greats strides in inprovement can be made: by retailers and consumers being more aware and cooking or holding product better. This is the end of the "SYSTEM" that needs to be inproved.