Dear Editor:
Several hundred people have come down with Salmonella enteritides poisoning, leading to the recall of 380 million eggs from 17 states by the Wright County Egg Company of Galt, Iowa (www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/18/AR2010081805682.html). According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 100,000 Americans suffer from egg-borne Salmonella infections each year. Common symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever.
Salmonella infection is only the most publicized health effect of egg consumption. An average egg contains loads of fat and 213 mg of cholesterol, which are key factors in the incidence of heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes.
Incidentally, those 380 million eggs were the product of nearly 1,500,000 birds suffering for a year in tiny wire-mesh cages that cut their feet and tore out their feathers. Their waste was dumped into a nearby stream, contributing to massive pollution of the Mississippi River and eventually, to a “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico three times the size of the BP oil spill.
The good news is that our local supermarket offers a number of healthful, eco-friendly, delicious egg replacers. More details are available at www.chooseveg.com/vegan-substitutes.asp.
Elmer Leighton