Recall shows dangers of meat consumption

Last week's recall of 18 million pounds of ground beef by ConAgra, the nation's second largest meat processor, should be a wake-up call for all consumers: Federal meat inspection is not adequate to ensure a safe meat supply.

The recall was occasioned by a high incidence of infection with a deadly strain of E. coli bacteria. The bacteria are introduced by fecal contamination of the carcasses and can cause bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramps, kidney failure and death.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimate that some 80 million Americans a year suffer from food-borne illness. As many as 90 percent of chickens contain Campylobacter, 5 percent of cows carry the lethal strain of E. coli and 30 percent of pigs are infected with toxoplasmosis. Egg consumption is a leading cause of salmonella poisoning.

How many illnesses and deaths will it take before Americans consign meat consumption to the garbage heap of lifestyle history along with smoking and drug addiction?

Laurelee Blanchard
Haiku, Maui

Crash victim lived with faith, humility

On Monday, close to 900 people packed onto Aiea United Methodist Church grounds to both mourn the death and celebrate the life of 18-year-old John Siofele.

John died last week when the car he was driving struck a city bus. It was widely reported on television, radio and in the print media that alcohol was in his bloodstream at the time of the accident.

While this information makes a tragic situation even more poignant, it was, unfortunately, the last "news" the public heard about John.

He deserves better than that. In fact, none of us should be known or remembered solely by one of our mistakes -- even our most costly ones.

John was a young man of integrity, humility, gentleness, joy, friendship and a deep faith. That is what we came to celebrate on Monday. That is what this state has lost by his death.

James A. White
John's pastor, Aiea U.M.C.

Beautiful trees fall victim to butchers

Auwe!

What they did to the monkeypod trees at the airport is typical of how tree trimmers have always butchered our trees here, just short of killing them. It all boils down to saving money, not trees. There should be a law against it.

Many beautiful trees have been cut down since the 1960s: gracious palm trees around the Kamehameha statue cut down by trimmers without verifying who called in the job (it apparently was a prank); a beautiful monkeypod in a grocery store parking lot taken over by litigation; the banyans at One Kalakaua that developers transplanted, but only one survived; and so on. A housing complex on Kalakaua Avenue has just had all the full shade trees in the area severely topped (butchered) because they required "too much maintenance."

We desperately need a tree law here like they have in Seattle: No cutting down or needless topping, but pruning properly. Pretty soon all the tourists will go to Seattle because of its lovely trees and beautiful environment, while Waikiki and the airport become hotter, dustier and uglier due to treeless areas of cement structures.

Again, auwe!

Suzanne Teller

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