Larry King Beef Debate

On his show Monday night, Larry King held a spirited discussion about the dangers of eating meat in light of The New York Times’ front-page article about Stephanie Smith’s paralysis from an E. coli-infected hamburger. Patrick Boyle, president and CEO of the American Meat Institute, said E. coli most likely will never be eliminated from raw meat, but incidence rates of the bacteria are generally low and outbreaks can be eradicated through proper cooking practices. However, Bill Marler, Smith’s lawyer and an expert on foodborne illness litigation, said cooking and handling ground meat is difficult, which is why these high-profile infections occur. Dr. T. Colin Campbell, co-author of The China Study, argued “the closer we get to a whole foods, plant-based diet, the healthier we are going to be on all accounts.”