A few years ago, proponents of grass-fed beef brushed off the E. coli threat, saying that grass-fed cows with natural digestive pH levels are not carriers of hardy O157:H7. This no longer appears to be the case.

Our industrial food production system, from a free market viewpoint, works very well. Large corporate farms are always looking for a way to add efficiencies. Instead of tossing out scraps, they can be ground and re-sold as pet food. Or, they can be ground and sold as meat filler.