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By Jackie Alan Giuliano, Ph.D.
Food can be contaminated at many stages in its life cycle and not just at the meat packing plant. Poor handling by shippers and supermarkets increases the likelihood of contamination, since meat and products containing meat are often kept at warmer temperatures than required. And how many times have we seen stacks of items destined for the refrigerated shelves sitting in the aisles for hours at supermarkets?
Consumers' demand for fast foods contributes to the problem. Dr. Watson said, "The more the food's been handled - because it's been marinated or half-cooked or it has sauce on - the greater the chance that parts of it have been kept too long at the wrong temperature."
Lab workers test for salmonella (Photo courtesy Michigan Water Research Center)
Over 81 million people to get sick each year in the U.S. from contaminated food, with almost 9,000 of these illnesses leading to death. But the March 1998 edition of "Consumer Reports" said that it is believed that fewer than five percent of food poisoning cases are recognized or reported.
Salmonella related illness can affect vast numbers of people. In 1994, it is estimated that 224,000 people across the U.S. had gastroenteritis caused by Salmonella enteritidis bacteria. A mixture used to make ice cream was transported in tanker trailers that had previously been used to haul liquid eggs contaminated with the bacteria. This cross contamination was not detected until the ice cream was made and had been distributed across the nation.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) had attempted to shut down a ground beef plant that did not pass a series of salmonella tests. The plant sued and, it seems, has won. Once again, profit reigns supreme and the health of people everywhere has been jeopardized.
Leadership positions within the U.S. Department of Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Agriculture Department require tremendous technical expertise, and many of the staff have advanced graduate degrees. Yet rarely do the leaders of these governmental agencies have the professional experience to justify their decisions.
For example, the current leader of the U.S. Department of the Interior, Gail Norton, is a lawyer who was the attorney general of Colorado. From 1979 to 1983, she was employed by the Mountain States Legal Foundation, which has fought the Equal Rights Amendment, the Environmental Protection Agency, affirmative action, and equal rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
The head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Christie Whitman, was the governor of New Jersey. She has a bachelor's degree in government and served under the infamous anti-environmentalist James Watt, Interior Secretary during part of the Regan administration.
Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman (Photo courtesy USDA)
Ann Veneman leads the USDA, the nation's food safety advocate. She is an attorney with a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in public policy.
It is odd that to rise to the leadership of agencies, the same professional qualifications required of its workers are unnecessary. The leaders mentioned above wouldn't have been able to get an entry level technical position within their own agencies, yet they can lead them.
Of course, this is true with political appointments throughout the nation. The head of the Seattle Parks Department was the city's budget director and President George W. Bush's current appointee to head the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Sean O'Keefe, was the deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget.
As many cultures prepare to celebrate their fall holidays, giving thanks and preparing for a new year, we should also contemplate the priorities of our government and the interests of those chosen to lead us. We wouldn't tolerate it if our school principles were lawyers instead of educational professionals nor would it be acceptable for a bus driver's only experience with vehicles to have been managing the bumper cars at the local amusement park.
It is time to take our Earth - and our health - out of the hands of the professional administrators, whose agenda it is to insure its profitable exploitation for shareholders around the world. It is time to put our planet it into the hands of those who are qualified to keep it safe for future generations.
RESOURCES
1. Learn about food safety from the Australian Academy of Science at:
http://www.science.org.au/nova/030/
030key.htm
2. The USDA has food safety information at: http://www.foodsafety.gov/
3. Read about a salmonella outbreak at: http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9711/
05/salmonella.outbreak/
4. Read about issues with mass produced chicken at:
http://www.upc-online.org/spring98/
chicken_for_dinner.html
5. The US Centers for Disease Control monitor foodborne illness at:
http://www.cdc.gov/communication/tips/
foodborne.htm
6. Learn about the problems with food inspection practices at:
http://www.whistleblower.org/www/
filth.htm
7. Past Healing Our World commentaries have addressed food safety issues in the nation's slaughterhouses. Check out those articles at:
http://www.ens.lycos.com/ens/jun2000/
2000L-06-23g.html
http://www.ens.lycos.com/ens/may99/
1999L-05-31g.html
http://ens-news.com/ens/feb2001/
2001L-02-23g.html
8. See a guide to keeping your food safe at: http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/schoo
lage/foodsafety.html
9. Better yet, eliminate meat from your diet completely with the help of Earthsave at:
http://www.earthsave.org/
10. Find out who your Congressional representatives are and e-mail them. Tell them it is time to stop approving political appointments and to start demanding appointments that are based on skill. If you know your Zip code, you can find them at
http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/
ziptoit.html. Tell them it is time to end killings like these.
Jackie Alan Giuliano, Ph.D. is a writer and teacher in Seattle. Please send your thoughts, comments, and visions to him at
jackie@healingourworld.com and visit his website at:
http://www.healingourworld.com/
http://ens-news.com/ens/dec2001/
2001L-12-14g.html
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