In this section:
The significant corporate consolidation of global food
production has created a food system that values quantity over
quality. Every single decision a farmer, or corporation, makes
about growing or raising a certain kind of food affects the
final product. Cutting corners on the quality of animal feed, waste management, level of training for farm workers, processing methods and distribution all
contribute to the safety of our food. From E. coli in spinach to
mad cow disease in beef, it is clear that
lowering the bottom line, at any cost, creates significant
concerns about the safety of the food that we eat.
How safe is
our food?
While the newspapers report on only a handful of large outbreaks
of food borne illnesses, 76 million Americans suffer from food
poisoning each year.
According to the Center for Disease Control and
Prevention, 325,000 people are hospitalized for food related
illnesses and 5,200 die in that same time period. Only a small
percentage of those illnesses and deaths are a result of known
pathogens.1
Contamination
Most food-related diseases and infections are cause by bacteria,
viruses and parasites that can be transmitted through the food
that we eat. Other illnesses are the result of poisonings from
harmful toxins or chemicals. Some of the most common infections
are the result of three kinds of bacteria: Campylobacter,
Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7.2 However, modern
industrialized agriculture systems create many layers of food
safety concerns.
Significant exposure to pesticides used in fruit and vegetable
production, animal feed and even inside confinement animal
operations has been linked to poisoning, infertility, birth
defects, damage to the nervous system and potentially cancer.3
Likewise, the use of non-therapeutic
antibiotics in confinement meat production
has led to significant concerns about antibiotic resistance ? a
condition that would cause a massive array of diseases and
infections to be untreatable in humans.
Mad Cow
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or Mad Cow disease is another significant
concern in food borne illnesses. Since the disease?s first
appearance in British dairy herds in 1986, BSE has affected
roughly 200,000 cattle, including several in the United States.
BSE in cows has been linked to Variant Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease
or vCJD in humans, which is thought to take up to 30 years to
manifest and has no cure.
Country of Origin
International companies are striving to provide Americans with
food that costs less than American-grown and raised products.
Imported foods make up 13% of the American diet, a number that
has almost doubled in the past decade, and yet those same foods
are not subject to the rigorous testing and inspection of food
that is produced domestically. In fact, only 1.3% of all
imported food (a $70 billion market) is inspected for safety and
quality. With such limited oversight, there is significant
concern about the quality and safety of food imports. For
example, a 2003 FDA report shows that pesticide violations were
found in 6.1% of imported foods as opposed to 2.4% in domestic
foods. Rates of Salmonella in fruit and vegetables
registered at 4% for imported goods and 1.1% for domestic
production.4
Why so
many problems?
With a small handful of multinational corporations controlling
food production, as well as processing, and in some cases
distribution, the competition to produce a uniform product at
the lowest possible cost drives these corporations to push the
limits of safe food production.
Factory Farms
This consolidation is particularly clear in meat, where four
companies control the nation?s beef and pork and almost half of
the broiler (chicken) industry.5 These same companies
are responsible for the evolution of factory farms or animal confinement
operations and high speed processing plants.
The filthy conditions inside a factory farm lead to many
illnesses in confinement animals and further the risk of food
contamination in processing. Adding to the formula of risk,
today?s beef processing plants process as many as 400 animals
per hour in contrast to the rate of 175 an hour from twenty
years ago.6 The poultry industry is no different.
Today?s processing plants can process up to 80 birds a minute.7
With such a significant increase in the speed of
processing, workers are hard pressed to maintain the highest
level of sanitation. While the rate at which animals are being
butchered goes up, so does the rate of contamination: the
percentage of broiler chickens that were contaminated with Salmonella
in 2005 was almost double that of the same testing period in
2000.8
Cattle feedlots, both in the U.S. and Europe, made common
practice of supplementing cattle feed with discarded animal
products, which led to the spread of mad cow disease. While this
practice is currently banned, corporate loopholes and other
violations maintain the risk of exposure.
Food Imports
Food safety issues, however, are not limited to meat. In 2003,
the largest recorded outbreak of Hepatitis A was traced back to
green onions in Chi-chi?s salsa. Over 600 people in the
Pittsburgh area were sickened in the outbreak. The Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) had never before inspected the Mexican farm
that grew the onions. After the outbreak, FDA officials found
many reasons for concern, including dirty runoff from
substandard farm worker housing that flowed directly onto the
fields. Fields were irrigated with a pond that also contained
human sewage and animal manure. Diapers and other domestic waste
items were found in close proximity to the growing fields.9
Lately, critics have focused on food imports from China
after a series of pet food, toy and toothpaste recalls in 2007.
Growing numbers of organic food and ingredients are imported
from China. Any product bearing the USDA organic label must be
certified by a third party regardless of the country of origin.
However, certification standards do not include routine testing
for pesticide contamination ? something that many advocates
claim could weaken the label in the case of imports from
countries, like China, that have a strong history of heavy
pesticide use.
Eighty-five percent of consumers support a label that
would tell them where their food is grown or raised.10
The 2002 Farm Bill contained such a measure called COOL or
Country of Origin Labeling act which would require the United
States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to label beef, pork,
lamb, fish, fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables and peanuts.
The act was passed in 2002 but has been stalled in Congress
since. It is slated to go into effect in September 2008.
What is
being done to protect our food?
Regulation
The first lines of defense in ensuring the safety of our food
should be the standards set by government agencies and the
regulation thereof. Little is currently being done to address
some of the root issues in food safety, such as the conditions
on factory farms and practices in slaughterhouses ? the primary
focus has been on regulation and response. Additionally, in the
event of a crisis, there are many agencies involved and it can
be difficult to follow and know which agency is empowered to
respond. These agencies include:
- Food
and Drug Administration (FDA)
The FDA is in charge of all domestic and imported food
including eggs and excluding meat, poultry and drinking water.
The agency?s main roles in ensuring food safety are to inspect
food production, review food safety for new products and drugs
and request manufacturer recalls of unsafe food products.11
- Center
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
The CDC oversees the safety of all foods with respect to
individual food borne disease outbreaks.12
- United
States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
The USDA is responsible for the oversight of all domestic and
imported meat and poultry, including processed foods containing
meat and poultry products, and processed egg products. The
agency also inspects animals before and after slaughter,
inspecting meat and poultry processing plants (domestic and
foreign), testing and analyzing samples and seeking voluntary
recalls.13
- State and Local Governments work with federal
agencies to enforce and implement safety standards for fish,
seafood, milk and other foods produced within the state border.
State officials are also empowered to inspect retail
establishments, dairy farms, milk processing plants, grain
mills and food manufacturing plants. States can also stop, or
embargo, the sale of unsafe food products within the state.14
Recalls
Both the FDA and USDA can request a food recall from companies
but cannot actually order one to be implemented. Once a food
recall has been requested by a government agency, manufacturers
can choose to pull the product from circulation or they can
choose not to. Recalls are not mandatory.
Food Processing
In order to support corporate interests of quantity over
quality, government agencies support additional food processing
to minimize risk. For example, the irradiation of meat products will eliminate
some bacterial contaminants but compromises the quality of the
product and does not stop bacterial contamination from happening
after the product is processed and irradiated. Processes like
irradiation are more of a quick fix than a solution to the
problems with industrial farming.
What You Can Do
Do not despair. Independent family farmers are a sure source for
sustainably produced and locally grown food. By buying locally,
you can increase your chances of getting a fresh, high-quality
product. Local farmers may invite you to visit the farm or talk
about any food safety concerns that you may have. Most
importantly, if you buy close to the source, you can help create
local food systems, which are the exact opposite of the quantity
over quality kind of food production that has created many of
these food safety issues. To find a farmer near you, visit the
Eat Well Guide.
Did You Know?
- In 2007, 3 million broiler chickens were fed pet food,
containing toxic wheat gluten imported from China, and then
sold to restaurants and supermarkets all over the United
States.15
- Medical costs and lost wages due to Salmonella
poisoning have been estimated at over $1 billion/year.16
- Only 90 out of 300 import locations have full-time FDA
inspectors on site.17
For More Information
- Food
& Water Watch is a nonprofit consumer organization that
works to ensure clean water and safe food. They challenge the
corporate control and abuse of our food and water resources by
empowering people to take action and by transforming the public
consciousness about what we eat and drink.
- Center for Food Safety
works to protect human health and the environment by curbing
the proliferation of harmful food production technologies and
by promoting organic and other forms of sustainable
agriculture.
- http://www.foodsafety.gov/
is a government website that compiles a vast array information
on food safety, current news and outbreaks, recalls and general
advice.
Page last updated September 2009
Related Information:
Pesticides
Antibiotics
Factory Farming
Slaughterhouses and Processing
Irradiation
Sources
|
