Toxin, by Robin Cook
I think most of us know by now that Robin Cook is a terrible writer, but a great storyteller. This time he tackles e.coli and the meat industry. Good for you, Robin!
A reader on Amazon gave him a nasty one star just because he talks about how e. coli is spread – fecal matter- and all the gory medical details that go along with a fatal bacterial infection. Get used to it, mister! Cook writes medical thrillers!
Anyway, I personally loved it as an expose. E. coli is alive and well in all poultry (thus the warnings on how long to cook it raw chicken) and in meat, too. We’ve all seen articles on veggies that carry it, as well, due to dirty or ignorant farmers, or polluted water sources, (so, again, traced back to animals), but in general it’s much more prevalent in meat.
I have to say, his description of a child dying, and the parents’ reaction, was so unlikely, and heartless, I started to laugh. I think he mourns for about 20 minutes. Really, it’s as if the author has never known anyone who died, or cared one whit about it! Worth the read just for this.
Take the drama with some seasoning salt.
