2008 Woodie Awards
Column: Local produce less noxious
Stephanie Keno
Issue date: 11/2/06 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 2 next >
by Stephanie Keno
Daily Lobo columnist
Popeye may have saved the spinach industry from collapse in the 1930s, but a savior for the 21st century has yet to come forward.
As our country's agricultural sector becomes dominated by corporate producers, more consumers are becoming increasingly susceptible to noxious diseases such as E. coli. While the inspection of one 30,000-acre farm may be more easily performed than inspections of 10 3,000-acre farms, what is convenient for the federal government is not necessarily good for you, me or our families.
We were warned several weeks ago by the Food and Drug Administration to throw out any fresh spinach that we might have stashed in our crispers, which also included certified organic spinach. Shortly thereafter, there was another FDA recall, this time on lettuce. It has been determined that the E. coli-infected spinach and the suspect lettuce were products of a major food company, Natural Selection Foods, which was irrigating its crops with E. coli-infected water.
So, who should be held accountable for the mass distribution of a deadly disease to our dinner tables?
Sadly, a problem with the nature of unfettered capitalism is that businesses that are able to obtain a competitive advantage often do so at the expense of health, sanitation and the environment and are rewarded with profit. Therefore, businesses - especially large businesses that do not interact with their buyers directly - need to be regulated by an authority that acts in the buyers' best interests. However, it would seem the regulatory commission that oversees our nation's food production and distribution is falling short of protecting our best interests.
Caroline Smith DeWaal, director of food safety for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, revealed during a phone interview on National Public Radio on Sept. 24 that the inspection of produce production is much less intensive than the inspection of meat processing and packaging. The U.S. Department of Agriculture inspects meat plants and slaughterhouses on a daily basis, but produce, which falls under the FDA, is only inspected if contamination is suspected in a particular crop.
Daily Lobo columnist
Popeye may have saved the spinach industry from collapse in the 1930s, but a savior for the 21st century has yet to come forward.
As our country's agricultural sector becomes dominated by corporate producers, more consumers are becoming increasingly susceptible to noxious diseases such as E. coli. While the inspection of one 30,000-acre farm may be more easily performed than inspections of 10 3,000-acre farms, what is convenient for the federal government is not necessarily good for you, me or our families.
We were warned several weeks ago by the Food and Drug Administration to throw out any fresh spinach that we might have stashed in our crispers, which also included certified organic spinach. Shortly thereafter, there was another FDA recall, this time on lettuce. It has been determined that the E. coli-infected spinach and the suspect lettuce were products of a major food company, Natural Selection Foods, which was irrigating its crops with E. coli-infected water.
So, who should be held accountable for the mass distribution of a deadly disease to our dinner tables?
Sadly, a problem with the nature of unfettered capitalism is that businesses that are able to obtain a competitive advantage often do so at the expense of health, sanitation and the environment and are rewarded with profit. Therefore, businesses - especially large businesses that do not interact with their buyers directly - need to be regulated by an authority that acts in the buyers' best interests. However, it would seem the regulatory commission that oversees our nation's food production and distribution is falling short of protecting our best interests.
Caroline Smith DeWaal, director of food safety for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, revealed during a phone interview on National Public Radio on Sept. 24 that the inspection of produce production is much less intensive than the inspection of meat processing and packaging. The U.S. Department of Agriculture inspects meat plants and slaughterhouses on a daily basis, but produce, which falls under the FDA, is only inspected if contamination is suspected in a particular crop.
Anonymous posts are no longer allowed. They will not show up.
You must be logged in to post!
Be the first to comment on this story