Americans risk exposure to anti-parasite drugs and banned antibiotics in chunks of years-old, potentially rotten meat after a controversial friend of Melania Trump's was invited for a meeting at the White House, according to a new analysis.
Eric Schlosser, the author of “Fast Food Nation," penned an opinion piece for the New York Times on Monday in which he strenuously warned Americans to avoid President Donald Trump's 660 million pounds of inexpensive "mystery meat."
"They’re small chunks of frozen meat that could have been kept in cold storage overseas for years," wrote Schlosser. "They are the quintessence of generic industrial meat, imported here to be subsequently processed in massive grinders that combine pieces of tens of thousands of cattle from multiple countries, mainly into fast food hamburgers."
Schlosser argued that the mysterious source of this meat presents a risk because of the problematic processing practices of meat exporters abroad.
Beef from Uruguay was found to be tainted with an anti-parasitic drug and Argentinian beef has repeatedly tested positive for a banned antibiotic that can cause serious blood disorders, Schlosser reported.
Those countries have nothing on Brazil, the world's largest beef exporter.
"In 2017, the Brazilian federal police raided nearly 200 meatpacking plants after allegations that government inspectors and politicians were being bribed to allow the sale of contaminated beef," Schlosser wrote.
"Rotten meat treated with ascorbic acid and other chemicals to mask the contamination had been sold to hospitals and schools in Brazil and also been exported."
In August, Trump announced the U.S. United States would allow up to 300,000 metric tons of imported ground beef into the country, without a usual tariff, for the next 90 days — claiming it would lower prices for American consumers.
But Schlosser argued that the economics aren't going to pan out for American cattle ranchers or consumers, but meatpacking companies and fast food chains.
This is why Schlosser issued a stark warning to his readers.
"If you want to eat a hamburger, I suggest going to your local butcher shop, rather than the supermarket, ordering cuts of American beef, and asking for them to be ground on the premises," he wrote. "Otherwise, there’s really no way of knowing what’s in your meat, or how many international borders it crossed to reach your plate."
So why did Trump cut this problematic deal?
Schlosser has an interesting theory: it came from a White House meeting between Trump and Joesley Batista, the owner of meatpacking giant JBS, who was jailed in Brazil for paying $186 million in bribes to almost 2,000 politicians.
"Mr. Batista gained the White House meeting last November...because of his friendship with Melania Trump," wrote Schlosser. "Not long afterward, JBS got approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, a privilege the company had sought for almost a decade."