[Sidenote: Rare beef unfit for food]
Much has been written as to how, from dis-eased animals, human beings
have contracted contagious dis-eases, especially tuberculosis. The
risk of such contagion has in all probability been much exaggerated.
Flesh foods are seldom taken in an uncooked form, and dis-ease germs
are usually destroyed by the sterilizing process involved in cooking.
The cooking process, however, must be very thorough in order to destroy
dis-ease germs; that is, the heat must be sufficient to coagulate the
proteids. The interior of a rare beefsteak, such as popularly demanded
by the flesh-eater, has not reached this temperature, hence this form of
meat should be condemned on this ground if for no other.
[Sidenote: Trichinosis]
Perhaps the worst form of dis-ease contamination from fresh flesh food
is that of trichinosis. Trichinae are worm-like creatures which have
the first stage of their growth in the flesh of swine, and then become
encased in a cyst or egg-like structure, which, when taken into the
human digestive organs are revived, and the trichinae then bore their
way through the walls of the digestive organs, completing their growth
in the human muscle-tissue. Trichinosis is one of the most fatal of
diseases, but fortunately is not common. Tapeworms owe their origin to a
similar source. There are several species of tapeworms; some have their
origin in pork, and some in beef.