| Feb. 4th, 2008 @ 08:32 pm Pork: the other gray matter |
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Feels:: geeky
Okay, I know puns on that old, busted pork-lobby advertising line have been done to death, but I couldn't resist. You see, I've had pork brains on the - well, on the brain all day.
I wrote about it in greater depth here, so if you're interested in a little immunology and epidemiology, or some social commentary, check it out. The short version is that, while I'm not a vegetarian and I don't advocate you become one, you should certainly stop eating slaughterhouse meat because modern meat raising and packing practices are abominable. I'm not just talking about the well-being of the animals, either; from start to finish, the modern meat industry is monstrous. It's bad for our environment, our economy, its own workers, consumers, and, of course, the animals.
This particular story, though, I found intriguing because of its strangeness. Apparently a new neuroinflammatory affliction has struck down a few slaughterhouse workers, and, after some puzzlement, doctors were able to trace it to accidental inhalation of aerosolized pig brains. Take a moment to read that again; I'm sure it'll take just a few seconds to really grasp it.
The pig brains are, you see, blown out of the pig heads with pressurized air, causing some of the brain matter to spray into the air, where the undertrained, underprotected, and often illegal workers are exposed to it. Since pigs and humans are close in a lot of ways, the body's natural immune response to the pig brains also happens to target the victim's own neural tissue. This results in brain inflammation and bad, bad times. Having taken a certain amount of coursework in immunology, I found the whole thing grotesquely fascinating. You probably just find it grotesque.
Another aspect that's really interesting, though, to me, is the constant, repeating tale of the unintended and almost completely unpredictable consequences of attempting to simplify or manipulate complex natural systems. I'm not saying that as a moral, mind you; I don't think that progress, particularly not scientifically-based progress, is a bad thing. I just think that overzealous application of certain aspects of progress should be tempered with both caution and a healthy dose of ethics.
And I think you should avoid slaughterhouse meat. You do not want to know what goes into your pork chop. Trust me. |
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