Reading Quiz Week 10

1. What is the connection between HIV and e coli?
E coli is a newly emerged pathogen whose spread has been facilitated by recent social and technological changes, similar to the was HIV spreads and causes AIDS. Both people infected with HIV and cattle infected with e coli show very few signs of illness for years after they first contract the disease. (196)

2. Why have Republican politicians been so intent on weakening the inspection standards for meat? What is the political philosophy behind their efforts?
Republican politicians have been so intent on weakening the inspection standards for meat because higher standards on the meatpacking firms make more work and raise costs for the firms. The Republican party recieves numerous large donations from the meatpacking firms to persuade them to vote to lower the standards. (196) The political philosophy behind their efforts is to appease the meatpacking firms, and in return the Republican party will gain support from employees of the firms, their family and friends.

3. Choose one thing you have learned from the chapters and then analyze its meaning to American society and/or culture.
One think that i have learned from these chapters is that e coli can be very easily spread throughout the cattle because they live so closely. Also that a lot of this harmful meat has made it as far as the grocery store shelfs, or more frequently, local fast food chains. This means that people need to be very cautious when eating at a fast food restaurant becuase you never know where the meat has come from. Also that if a specific restaurant has a bad track record in having meat from diseased cattle, people should not go there regaurdless, because there is a higher chance of them having bad meat again.