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Why didn't Op-Ed author reveal National Pork Board paid for Trichinosis study?

by: LivableFutureBlog

Fri Apr 10, 2009 at 12:24:44 PM PDT

(Anyone else want to write the NYT an LTE over this? - promoted by Jill Richardson)

Having spent the majority of my career as a journalist I tend to be skeptical of almost everything I hear or read. Over the years my "bull-crap" alarm has become quite sensitive and fairly accurate. This morning while reading James McWilliams' "Free-Range Trichinosis" Op-Ed in the New York Times, my alarm went off so loud I think traffic outside my office came to a screeching halt.

There are many parts of the Op-Ed that are alarming, however, for brevity sake I'll just focus on the most glaring offense.

LivableFutureBlog :: Why didn't Op-Ed author reveal National Pork Board paid for Trichinosis study?

Dr. McWilliams claims that a recent study published in the journal Foodborne Pathogens and Disease "discovered" that out of more than 600 pigs tested two free-range pigs "carried the parasite trichinia" (which causes trichinosis) while no parasites were found in pigs raised in confinement. Here's what pegged my meter, Dr. McWilliams never revealed who authored the study, let alone who paid for it. Leaving out the author or funder of a study is common practice in a news release, it usually means the writer is trying to keep something from her/his readers. I'll be honest, I was surprised to see an important detail like that left out of an Op-Ed, especially one written for the New York Times. Turns out, the study's lead author is Wondwossen Gebreyes, associate professor of veterinary preventive medicine at Ohio State University. Guess who paid for it? Yep, the National Pork Board. And if you read the study findings carefully, no where written is the word "carried the parasite trichinia."

The study did find, however, that out of 324 free-range pigs and 292 confinement-pigs, two serum samples from the free-range swine were found to be "seropositive for Trichinella." In laypersons terms, seropositive simply means antibodies for Trichinella were present in the serum. While likely, this does not necessarily mean that the animals carried the parasite.

This is an important misstatement of facts, considering the headline for the Op-Ed and the seriousness of the potentially deadly disease Trichinella can cause. Read the study for yourself, which also tested for "seropostivity" of Salmonella and Toxoplasma.

Read more at Livable Future Blog

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Why didn't Op-Ed author reveal National Pork Board paid for Trichinosis study? | 10 comments

Thank you! (4.00 / 4)

I just read that Op-Ed and my alarm was going of as well, which is why I hoped right over here. The title of his forthcoming book also has colored me skeptical.

Not naming the Pork Board as the sponsor of the study is totally disingenuous. Good catch on the misstatement.

by: Naranjadia @ Fri Apr 10, 2009 at 15:48:05 PM CDT

by: you @ soon

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Thanks for this! (4.00 / 3)

I woke up to an email of a link to this article with the comment "Another hit piece on sustainable ag" - I hadn't looked at it yet, so I'm grateful you had.

"I can understand someone from Iowa promoting corn and soy, but we are not feeding the world, we are feeding animals and soft drink companies." - Jim Goodman

by: Jill Richardson @ Fri Apr 10, 2009 at 16:14:52 PM CDT

by: you @ soon

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antibodies present? (4.00 / 4)

wouldn't that be a good thing, like resistant to or able to fight off? Or is my brain shutting down because it's Friday?

Thanks for the info on the study. Good to have in case I get asked. And I think I'll thaw myself some pork I just got from my rancher {grin}. Marinated southwestern style pork kabobs w/black beans and grilled asparagus sounds just right for a Saturday meal :)

by: nycstray @ Fri Apr 10, 2009 at 17:29:56 PM CDT

by: you @ soon

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Many disease tests (4.00 / 4)

test only for antibodies, because that is less expensive than detecting active bacteria or virus. In some diseases, that is a real problem, because once you vaccinate, you no longer have any way to test for the disease state. Hoof and mouth, for example, is one of these. They have a very effective vaccine, but it is not used in the US because you can't tell afterwards if an animal is infected or merely protected.

As it was, he did a deal with a blancmange, and the blancmange ate his wife.

by: elfling @ Fri Apr 10, 2009 at 18:15:09 PM CDT

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Ok, that's in line with what I was thinking (4.00 / 3)

I was thinking of pet vacs and then testing for resistance so you don't have to keep getting the vacs. Just because my dog tests positive (serum titers), for example, doesn't mean she has rabies/etc . . . There's actually one vac for cats that will have them turn up positive to a general test (infected, not protected test), that in a shelter would cost the kitty it's life. One of the many reasons my house cats are not vaccinated past the general shelter shots they have when I get them.

by: nycstray @ Fri Apr 10, 2009 at 18:49:12 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

I saw that (4.00 / 3)

The biggest flaw of the oped was that he never defined "free range" and never differentiated between the almost CAFOs that qualify as organic and actual grass-fed pigs.

Vote for yourself at www.ni4d.us!

by: rossl @ Fri Apr 10, 2009 at 18:40:27 PM CDT

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Do you know if all pig CAFOs (4.00 / 4)

are all indoors?

this struck me:

The objectives of the current study were to determine and compare Salmonella, Toxoplasma, and Trichinella seropositivity in two swine production systems: outdoor ABF and intensive indoor production systems.

by: nycstray @ Fri Apr 10, 2009 at 18:52:17 PM CDT

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How disingenuous of the author. (4.00 / 3)

I read the piece at work yesterday, between patients, and smelled a rat, not Niman Ranch bacon. Did not have time to do any but the most superficial critical analysis of the op-ed so I thank you for your diligence.

The author makes a really stupid presumption that exposure to parasites is inherently unhealthy, inevitably resulting in morbidity and mortality. He conveniently omits recent striking study results (see Ann Neurol. 2007 Feb;61(2):97-108 and a more nuanced discussion of the the hygiene thesis of disease in http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06...

I believe that a world without parasites, dirt, and micronutrients from whole foods will lead to increasing prevalence of autoimmune and allergic illness. I am no longer a researcher I am not in a position to substantiate these suppositions but the absolute increase in allergy and anaphylaxis in my patients along with the increases in celiac and IBD in my patients and their families makes me hope for reasonable and thorough exploration of the nature of our foodstuffs and these states of illness.

Lazy op-ed. Looking forward to enjoying the shit storm of umbrage and correction that I hope will follow.

by: madaprn @ Sat Apr 11, 2009 at 14:01:57 PM CDT

by: you @ soon

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I'm not a professional researcher (4.00 / 2)

but I've been making a study of recipes that suggest things like salting something, and leaving it in the cellar overnight. That's a lactobacilli fermentation, if I'm not mistaken. The old way of making a pickle.

My guess is that this makes a host of nutrients available through a "pre-digestion," and introduces a host of "pro-biotic" (I really hate that term) to the consumers gut.

I've come to believe the loss of microbes and the first-stage digestion they do, and the loss of bone-based stocks (replaced with meat) are two of our biggest Western-diet problems, right up there with refined sugars and grains with the germ/bran removed.

by: zic @ Sat Apr 11, 2009 at 15:24:54 PM CDT

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How did you determine the funding source for the study? (0.00 / 0)

Just out of curiousity... I looked at the abstract for the study but couldn't find any information about the funding.

Interesting analysis, by the way.

by: boulderhomecook @ Sun Apr 12, 2009 at 00:17:32 AM CDT

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