Page 143 - How to Be a Conscious Eater - Making Food Choices That Are Good for You

WHAT YOU CAN DO
At the grocery store, use a plastic bag or other barrier to grab and
wrap raw animal products—fish, shellfish, poultry, red meat—
even though they are already wrapped in plastic. Keep them
separate from other foods in your cart and refrigerator. Store
them toward the bottom of your fridge so juices don’t drip onto
other foods, especially uncovered produce.

When cooking, handle raw meat with caution. Wash your hands
with soap before and after touching it. (No need for antibac-
terial soap—the FDA concluded it’s no more effective than
regular soap.) To avoid cross-contamination, use a designated
cutting board and knife for raw meat. Be sure to cook meat
sufficiently, because even bacteria that can’t be taken down by
antibiotics can be thwarted by enough heat from your oven,
slow cooker, or grill. Soon after cooking, store leftovers in the
fridge.
Support better practices at the supermarket. Thanks to both con-
sumer demand and policy pressure, the poultry industry
especially has made huge strides to reduce its reliance on
antibiotics. For example, Perdue and Tyson, two of the largest
US producers, have eliminated antibiotics from their broiler
chickens entirely. In part because cows and pigs take longer to
raise than chickens and turkeys, progress in the beef and pork
industry has been slower, but gradually things are moving in
the right direction. To ensure responsible use of antibiotics by
the producers behind the meat you buy, look for the following
third-party certification labels:
“Animal Welfare Approved”

“American Grassfed”

“Certified Humane Raised and Handled”

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