Which I know. But emotionally, I think my parents’ anecdotes weigh the most heavily on me. (This is something I’ve noticed: I pick out particular attitudes I have that are a result of my specific upbringing, and then go on holding those same attitudes anyway.)
It’s not necessarily a mistake to do this, because attitudes are not truly independent of one another. Given your specific genes/environment/attitudes, one particular attitude may work well for you even if it would work poorly for another person. It’s difficult to examine beliefs in any manner other than “one at a time”, but a belief which is wrong independently may be useful given your overall set of circumstances/beliefs.
example: one may be able to get away with substandard food cleanliness if one is vegetarian.
one may be able to get away with substandard food cleanliness if one is vegetarian.
I’m not really sure what that means. A lot, maybe most, of the restaurant contaminated food outbreaks that I read about involve vegetables. For example these involving tomatoes.
Presumably the reason for this is not that meats are inherently cleaner than veggies, but that meats are pretty universally cooked and veggies are often served uncooked.
Vegetables and meats can both be contaminated by pathogens, but differently.
Vegetables are grown in dirt and handled by many people. It is therefore common for small amounts of viruses or bacteria to be present on their skin. And a small amount of (for instance) salmonella can cause disease. To avoid this, one should wash vegetables. Neutropenic individuals may need to cook them, but typically they may be eaten raw.
Meats (and beans, and cooked rice) are a different story. They can not only harbor bacteria and parasites, but may also provide an excellent growth medium. Therefore, meat doesn’t just have to be washed, it also has to be cooked (unless rigorous precautions are adhered to). It also has to be kept cold because airborne bacteria may begin to grow on the meat and reproduce to dangerous levels. Even small amounts of residue may cause this problem.
So when do you wash your cutting board? If you are a meat eater, the answer should be “every time you cook.” If you are a vegetarian, the answer can be “when it starts to look dirty”. A bit of old carrot juice on the board just doesn’t constitute the same health hazard that a bit of old steak juice would.
Which I know. But emotionally, I think my parents’ anecdotes weigh the most heavily on me. (This is something I’ve noticed: I pick out particular attitudes I have that are a result of my specific upbringing, and then go on holding those same attitudes anyway.)
It’s not necessarily a mistake to do this, because attitudes are not truly independent of one another. Given your specific genes/environment/attitudes, one particular attitude may work well for you even if it would work poorly for another person. It’s difficult to examine beliefs in any manner other than “one at a time”, but a belief which is wrong independently may be useful given your overall set of circumstances/beliefs.
example: one may be able to get away with substandard food cleanliness if one is vegetarian.
I’m not really sure what that means. A lot, maybe most, of the restaurant contaminated food outbreaks that I read about involve vegetables. For example these involving tomatoes.
Presumably the reason for this is not that meats are inherently cleaner than veggies, but that meats are pretty universally cooked and veggies are often served uncooked.
Vegetables and meats can both be contaminated by pathogens, but differently. Vegetables are grown in dirt and handled by many people. It is therefore common for small amounts of viruses or bacteria to be present on their skin. And a small amount of (for instance) salmonella can cause disease. To avoid this, one should wash vegetables. Neutropenic individuals may need to cook them, but typically they may be eaten raw.
Meats (and beans, and cooked rice) are a different story. They can not only harbor bacteria and parasites, but may also provide an excellent growth medium. Therefore, meat doesn’t just have to be washed, it also has to be cooked (unless rigorous precautions are adhered to). It also has to be kept cold because airborne bacteria may begin to grow on the meat and reproduce to dangerous levels. Even small amounts of residue may cause this problem.
So when do you wash your cutting board? If you are a meat eater, the answer should be “every time you cook.” If you are a vegetarian, the answer can be “when it starts to look dirty”. A bit of old carrot juice on the board just doesn’t constitute the same health hazard that a bit of old steak juice would.
Definitely something I do.