Hold the bun

I don’t necessarily frequent McDonald’s or other fast food restaurants, but when I am forced to, we do “drive through” on occasion. My how the times have changed in fast food. I remember 12 years ago when we stopped at a McDonalds in Alton, IL and ordered a Big Mac with no bun. The kids behind the counter could hardly figure out how to pull this one off. Last week in Indiana, we did the same thing and the kid working didn’t even flinch. So I asked if they commonly got orders for Quarter Pounders without the bun? The young lady informed me that, “Oh yeah, we serve hundreds a day like that”.

Mark my words, it won’t be long until the burger is offered on the menu without a bun. But a bigger question should be asked here. Sugar, potatoes and wheat are all produced by United States farmers. So how do we promote one diet without harming some producers? We must present the facts and let the consumer choose.

Without being negative to carbohydrate producers, I must tell you that the new image of meat consumption is a welcome change and we must take advantage of this opportunity to get the truth presented about the importance of a balanced diet including the consumption of meat.

This week the Kansas City Star has an article that talks about the consumer shift, is it real and lasting? Click here to read entire article but this is excerpt.

Atkins diet fires up the beef industry

Stinson Morrison Hecker attorney Jim Marsh recently peered up from the all-meat “Atkins platter” at Danny Edwards Famous Kansas City Barbecue downtown.

“I don't have an Atkins plan in front of me, but I've been following the basic diet for the last four or five months,” Marsh said. “I've lost 20 pounds, I can still eat beef, and I haven't given up my cocktails, so it's definitely OK by me.”

“You can speculate on how much of it is attributable to Atkins,” James Mintert, Kansas State University said. “But I do think there's been some kind of underlying shift among consumers about beef versus some other products they consume, a recognition on their part that it's OK to eat beef.”

Antibiotics the real story

Finally, I found a doctor that will admit that the main cause of antibiotic resistance in humans is human error. He does inject one line saying that also contributing to the problem is animal agriculture, but he squarely places the blame on the incorrect prescription and consumption of antibiotics. Here are the take home parts but by clicking here you can read the entire thing from the The Scotsman in the UK.

Antibiotics may be useless in a decade

ANTIBIOTICS could be rendered useless in little over a decade because over-prescription is leading to increased resistance from disease, a leading expert has warned.

Prof Hugh McGavock, a specialist in prescribing science, has claimed that an antibiotic crisis could lead to thousands of people dying from previously treatable illnesses by 2015.

Prof McGavock, from the University of Ulster, said that increasing resistance to such drugs could lead to surgical procedures being stopped because the antibiotics needed will be rendered useless. He added that, while many patients may be prescribed antibiotics when they do not need them, they also exacerbate the problem by failing to take their medications correctly.

This means that, because the course of antibiotics is not completed, killing off the bacteria, the bacteria are able to build up a resistance to it.