Big River boss questions ethanol, E. coli link
of contaminated beef.
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WEST BURLINGTON — The general manager of Big River Resources believes there is a threat of getting “carried away” over new research suggesting cattle fed a byproduct of ethanol production are more likely to carry a dangerous form of E. coli.
“Some of these results, in my opinion, may have gotten blown out of proportion,” Jim Leiting said Wednesday.
The results Leiting referred to came from Kansas State University, where a study found cattle on a diet that included distiller’s grain had twice the level of the E. coli 0157 strain in their hindgut as other cattle.
In a separate study, researchers at the University of Nebraska found cattle given a diet of 10 to 30 percent distillers grain actually had lower E. coli rates than those eating only corn. Cattle fed 40 to 50 percent distiller’s grain, however, had higher E. coli rates.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has launched its own effort to feed a 300-head herd distiller’s grain and monitor E. coli levels. Results from that study are expected later this year.
While E. coli is present in healthy cattle, the 0157 strain is dangerous to humans and has been linked to several recent meat recalls, including one last month by Cargill Inc. involving more than 1 million pounds of meat.
Scientists are emphasizing that more research is needed into the distiller’s grain connection, and Leiting keyed on their doubts.
“From what I’m seeing, even at Kansas State the researchers are kind of discounting this and saying it’s too early to draw any conclusions,” Leiting said.
The American Meat Institute, the industry group representing meatpackers, has the same take.
“The study is interesting, but we don’t know the significance of it at this point in real-world conditions,” said Dave Ray, the group’s spokesperson.
Ethanol and distiller’s grain have been viewed as a marriage of sound business and sustainability.
When a bushel of grain goes into an ethanol plant, it leaves as one-third ethanol, one-third distiller’s grain and one-third carbon dioxide. Selling the distiller’s grain to cattle and hog raisers provides an essential money stream for ethanol producers while shielding farmers and ranchers, to some degree, from higher feed costs brought on by the energy industry’s insatiable hunger for corn.
“Distiller’s grain is a good animal feed,” Kansas State University professor T.G. Nagaraja said in a December release announcing his findings. “That’s why ethanol plants are often built next to feedlots.”
Leiting said most of the distiller’s grain produced at Big River Resources actually gets fed to hogs.
“We view it as a valuable co-product,” he said.
If not for a spike in E. coli cases, there would not be so much attention.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports about 73,000 E. coli infections and 61 deaths in the United States each year. Symptoms include stomach cramps and diarrhea that may turn bloody within one to three days. E. coli can sometimes lead to complications such as kidney failure.
Coming research will concentrate on the “why” behind the Kansas State study, as in why E. coli might be more prevalent in cattle fed distiller’s grain. Nagaraja said the problem could be due to changes in an animal’s gut. The byproduct also may supply a nutrient for the bacteria.
“We realize we can’t tell cattle producers, ‘Don’t feed distiller’s grain,’ ” Nagaraja said. “What we want to do is not only understand the reasons why 0157 increases but also find a way to prevent that from happening.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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