Investigative journalist Eric Schlosser appeared on Bill Maher’s “Real Time” as a potential messenger of doom, claiming that he may have the inside scoop on the next pandemic.
Schlosser has carved out a journalistic niche by writing about food and its adverse effects on people. His well-known book, “Fast Food Nation,” has sold over two million copies since it was published 15 years ago.
The journalist said that the next pandemic could be germinating in Texas, according to Deadline Hollywood. It was recently discovered that the bird flu in the state had migrated into cows at mega-dairies, and the federal government has not been allowed to test the livestock or its employees.
“The food industry spends more money lobbying than the defense industry,” Schlosser said.
The discovery was made at two dairies, representing the first time the disease has been found in livestock. Last month, the Texas Tribune reported that the bird flu had been discovered by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
The state’s agriculture department has also been monitoring the situation. Other dairies in Kansas and Mexico have experienced similar outbreaks.
However, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said at the time that there was no safety concern to the commercial milk supply. The department said that the milk impacted by the disease is being dumped or destroyed.
Overtime: Eric Schlosser, Douglas Murray, Frank Bruni | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)www.youtube.com
Schlosser noted that the development at the two mega-dairies is a “perfect example of how the public health is being threatened by private interests,” adding that the “food industry spends more money lobbying than the defense industry.”
The journalist said there are a few “enormous corporations” that have taken over the food supply over the past 40 years. “They hide behind these different brands,” he said. “You think there’s a choice, but it’s really the illusion of choice.”
Schlosser said that ultra-processed foods can be rightly blamed for health issues, adding that many of these foods have been engineered to appeal to the human palate.
“What will hurt you is there’s all these chemicals that you’d never have in your kitchen,” Schlosser said concerning the new flavor enhancers, additives, and emulsifiers.
“We keep creating problems with technology,” he continued.
He concluded that it is better to get nutrition by consuming 30 different types of plants rather than taking supplements that have inessential additives.
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