7th Grade Example Research Paper.

[Title Page]:
Greasy, Grimy Ground Beef
By: Ben Adkison
Due: Friday, October 29, 1999
For: Science & English
Mr. Breitenfeldt & Mrs. Monforton

Greasy, Grimy Ground Beef
[Remember to double space your paper]
    Hello.  I'm a cow.  Somebody just slaughtered me, and now I am being butchered.  Ouch!  The butcher just cut my large intestine.  Now all the meat in me is infected with E. coli.  At the store someone, named Fred, bought some of my E. coli infected meat.  Mmmmmm, the smell of the freshly lit barbecue that the meat is about to be cooked on, but not cooked enough.  The next thing Fred knows he's being rushed to the hospital.  Finally the E. coli that used to be inside me is dead thanks to modern medicine. [Attention Getter]
    In this paper I will tell you about: 1) what some bacteria can do to your body, 2) how radiation can kill bacteria in your food, and 3) how bacteria get into your food and how to prevent it. [Introduction]
[Body of Paper]:
    When bacteria, such as E. coli, get into your body you get very sick.  [Topic Sentence #1]  Once inside your body E. coli releases a toxin.  According to the December 8, 1997 issue of Science World magazine, the toxin can give you bloody diarrhea.  The bloody diarrhea is caused by bleeding of the large intestine.  The toxin can also cause headaches, fever, and cramps.  Most people get over being infected in about ten days.  Some people have kidney failure and die.
    E. coli can live in hamburgers, lettuce, and apple cider.  According to the "Pathogen Fact Sheet" in Science World magazine, in 1997 sixteen people in Colorado got sick from eating infected hamburgers.  Twenty five million pounds of hamburger were recalled because of the incident.  The meat was traced back to a meat-processing plant in Columbus, Nebraska.  In 1993 two people died and six hundred became ill after they ate hamburgers infected with E. coli, from a fast-food chain.  According to U.S. Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia, two hundred fifty people out of the twenty thousand people infected with E. coli in 1997 died.
    There are other bacteria that can live in your food besides E. coli.  According to Science World magazine, another bacterium is Campylobacter bacteria, which may infect up to 90% of all chickens.  A test in Minnesota supermarkets found that 79% of all chickens were infected with Campylobacter bacteria.  The test also found  that 59% of all turkeys were infected too.  A parasite called Cyclospora made two thousand three hundred people sick, in two years, because of infected raspberries from Guatemala.  Another bacterium is Salmonella, it infects eggs, poultry, and fruits and vegetables.
    Radiation can kill bacteria in your food. [Topic Sentence #2]  The radiation process used to kill bacteria in your food is called irradiation.  According to the Science World magazine article "Food's Bad Bugs," high energy atomic particles are also used to rid food of bacteria.  The radiation destroys the microbes' ability to reproduce.  The U.S. Food and Drug Association (FDA) has approved irradiation for foods like poultry, grains, potatoes, and fresh fruit.  Beef will soon be added to the list of irradiatable foods.  Irradiated steaks are favored by astronauts aboard space shuttle flights.
    Irradiation isn't as good as it seems.  According to Science World magazine, irradiation takes away most of the nutrition in food.  It destroys vitamins A, B, C, E, and K.  Not all nutrition is lost during irradiation.  The food still has some valuable nutrients.  One of the good things about irradiation is that it makes food stay fresher, up to four times longer than usual.
    Some people don't like the idea of eating irradiated food.  Many people think irradiation turns their food into cancer risks.  Michael Colby, director of the national food safety and environmental organization, Food and Water Inc., says the doses of radiation are too small to make food radioactive.  Science World also reports that FDA studies show that there are no health risks in irradiated food.  Even though the FDA says irradiated foods are just fine to eat it will still be a while before the food is out on the market.  At least the astronauts are happy to eat irradiated food.
    Bacteria usually get into your food when it was still living and there are a few simple things you can do to prevent infection. [Topic Sentence #3] Cows and plants usually get infected before they reach the supermarkets.  Science World magazine states that, cows' intestines can contain E. coli.  The intestines containing  E. coli are sometime accidentally cut during slaughtering.  According to James Burton, a researcher at Toronto Hospital, E. coli doesn't make cows sick enough for anyone to notice.  Science World also states that, plants can get infected when infected animal manure is used as fertilizer.  Plants can also get infected when they come in contact with contaminated water.
    There are many people on your side to help prevent outbreaks of dangerous bacteria.  According to the Science World magazine article "Food's Bad Bugs," U.S. government inspectors are helping to prevent food poisoning.  They check animal carcasses for spoilage.  Since E. coli and Salmonella don't give off odors, they can be easily missed.  The inspectors send food samples off to laboratories for analysis.  The results give proof to whether the food is infected.
    There are ways you and other consumers can prevent being infected with bad bacteria.  Inspectors can't make sure every piece of food is safe to eat so you have to do your part too.  Fruits and vegetables should be washed very well.  Meat should be cooked thoroughly.  You can also help maintain clean water supplies so you and the plants you eat don't consume infected water.  Meat Processing plants should be cleaned too so our meat doesn't get infected. [End of Body]
    In this paper I told you about: 1) what some bacteria can do to your body, 2) how radiation can kill bacteria in food, and 3) how bacteria gets into your food and how to prevent it.  In my opinion, you should cook your meat thoroughly.  You should also rinse vegetables well before eating them.  Next time I sit down to that well-deserved steak dinner I might think twice about how well my Mom cooked the steak. [Conclusion].

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