Hungry for More

Cheap hamburger patties can kill you.

Most won't. But if you want a burger and have the money to buy something better, perhaps you should spend it. Because evidence has been mounting for years that factory-processed burgers can be a ticket to a fell lottery. The losers - tens of thousands every year - face sickness, or even death.

The deadly E. coli strain that killed two and led investigators to a Chautauqua County meat plant this week has only dramatized what food activists like Michael Pollan have been saying for years: Cheap food carries costs that American eaters blissfully ignore. And the government agencies charged with keeping consumers safe are no match for the political muscle of the meat business.

A recent New York Times story concluded that "eating ground beef is still a gamble. Neither the system meant to make the meat safe, nor the meat itself, is what consumers have been led to believe."

Now, food contamination can come from other sources. Outbreaks have been traced to spinach, and scallions. But by far, the biggest culprit, making the most people sick or worse, is factory ground beef, the Times reported. You could argue that the overall numbers are not huge, I suppose, but tell that to the parents of a kid in the hospital with food poisoning.

There's good news for burger lovers, though. Avoiding the dark lottery is simple. Unlike factory patties, beef freshly ground by local butchers or supermarkets has not been routinely linked to E. coli contamination. It's made from better meat, handled in smaller amounts, and sold more quickly.

Nothing is guaranteed not to make you sick, but fresh ground beef is relatively safe. You can also make it yourself with a meat grinder, or pulse cubes of trimmed chuck in a food processor a few times.

If you're interested in ordering non-factory meat from local meat producers, check out our list.

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