My friends and family are used to me talking to them about the latest studies and research that show a vegetarian lifestyle is a healthier way to eat. I’ve been known to post new research here or to forward scary study results to my friends and relatives. I may annoy them now and then, but they usually understand that I’m sharing this stuff because I care about their health and wellbeing.

So last week I found an article on Rodale’s site about the results of some new studies on the meat, poultry and seafood available in supermarkets. If I weren’t already a vegetarian, this one article probably would have spurred me to it and fast.

Staph and MRSA in Grocery Store Meats

As I reported in another recent post, “5 Convincing Reasons to Become a Vegetarian“, as much as 50% of the meat sold in supermarkets contains some form of staph virus, including the super-strain MRSA. These are flesh eating viruses that kill 19,000 people a year in the US. That’s more than the number of people who die from AIDS!

There’s Weed Killer in Your Meat

Glyphosate, the active chemical ingredient in Roundup, is a now used primarily on corn and soy crops that are engineered to withstand a heavy dousing of the chemical. Nonorganic farmers dumped 57 million pounds of glyphosate on food crops in 2009, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) figures. How does that relate to meat? Meat producers are the biggest buyers of corn in the world, using it to feed their livestock animals. They eat it, and people eat them.

Processed Meats Have Been Declared Unsafe for Human Consumption

In April, the World Cancer Research Fun concluded an exhaustive study on the links between foods and various forms of cancer. In the results, they stated that processed meats (cold cuts, meats in frozen meals, canned meats, beef jerky, bacon etc.) are unfit for humans! This is because of the sodium nitrate levels used to keep these meats looking “fresh”. The article also mentions a study conducted by the University of Hawaii.

A 2005 University of Hawaii study found that processed meats increase the risk of pancreatic cancer by 67 percent. Another study revealed that every 50 grams of processed meat consumed daily increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 50 percent. These are alarming numbers.”

I urge you to pass these articles on to your meat-eating friends and relatives. Some of us chose a vegetarian lifestyle in a methodical and studied way. Others of us heard things like this and said enough was enough. We would warn our friends if they were about to drink poison, so why should we feel uncomfortable sharing news like this?