Nutrition Wonderland

GMOs: Does Regulation Ensure Safety?

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

The public's biggest concern when it comes to GMOs is their safety. There are a lot of misconceptions about genetic engineering. When pressed on science of GMOs, I have often heard people fear that the genetically modified material in the foods they are eating will somehow mutate their DNA too. While logically it sounds like that makes a bit of sense, scientifically its nonsense. So how do we test for and ensure that GMOs are safe? Allow me to introduce you to the complex world of genetic technology regulation. Image credit: kevin dolley on flickr.

Can Biodiversity and Agriculture Coexist? How Super Metrics Made Wildlife Enemy #1 on the Farm (Day 4)

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

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Think back to a time before agriculture existed. Hawks pounced on squirrels, coyotes chased field mice and bison roamed the Great Plains. Then came Homo sapien. As super hunters, we first decimated the populations of any large animals we found in Africa. It's from that background we begin to examine a tough question – can biodiversity exist in a world of monocrop staples like corn and rice, amphibian crushing pesticides, and food safety protocols that explicitly make farmers keep sterile fields free of small animals? The answers are varied from those we have spoken to on the Nutrition Wonderland Tour of America.

Food Safety – The Small Farm Perspective on HR 2749

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

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We have heard from some small farmers that the provisions in the latest Food Safety Enhancement Act HR 2749 will cause them great hardship. We asked a small farmer to outline the problems to educate our audience. Below is the opinion of one of these farmers.

JBS Swift Beef Recalls 400,000+ Pounds of Beef, E.coli 0157:H7 Outbreak in 13 States

Friday, June 26, 2009

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JBS Swift has voluntarily recalled 42,000 pounds of beef packaged in late April from 13 states at the request of the USDA after fears of another e.coli 0157:H7 outbreak. This news comes only one week after last Friday's major Nestle E.coli 0157:H7 outbreak in cookie dough. The USDA has classified the outbreak as a 'Class I Recall' which is the highest level of severity their FSIS division applies to any recall. Follow the read link to get the whole story (thanks to JC Westbrook of Flickr for the nice shot).

Nestle Cookie Dough Recall, Suspected E.coli 0157:H7 Outbreak in 26+ States

Friday, June 19, 2009

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Nestle USA today tacitly confirmed in a press release early reports that Nestle Toll House brand raw cookie dough was giving many people E.coli 0157:H7 infections by voluntarily recalling their entire line of products. Early reports from Bill Marler, food safety litigator, and a press release from the state of Colorado gave indications that a current rash of E.coli 0157:H7 cases across the country were tied to eating raw cookie dough (but this has still not been confirmed). (Image provided by NestleUSA)

Food Safety Enhancement Act (HR 2749) Advances Out of Committee

Thursday, June 18, 2009

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June 10th marked a historic day in food safety as the Food Safety Enhancement Act (HR 2749) moved out of subcommittee for a vote in the US House. UPDATE: It has now formally also moved out of committee for a real vote on the House floor.

Food Safety – The US Policy Dimensions of HR 875 and HR 759

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

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With the recent spat of recalls surrounding pistachios and peanut butter in the US, there has been a large response from the public to better safeguard the food supply. Here we review some of the options currently being discussed against the wisdom of some leading food safety professionals.

Book Review: Safe Food by Marion Nestle

Monday, March 30, 2009

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In our continuing report on the state of food safety in 2009 America, we review Marion Nestle's authoritative work on the subject entitled, Safe Food: Bacteria, Biotechnology, and Bioterrorism. While the book debuted back in the early 2000's, we felt that, with the recent peanut butter scare, it was time to revisit this work – so let's start with a little hypothetical posturing in regards to peanut butter.

Food Safety – The Recent History

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

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The early part of 2009 has witnessed one of the largest food contamination cases in US history. The Peanut Corporation of America had a salmonella outbreak in one of their factories, contaminating the majority of peanut-butter containing products in the United States. Here, we review the recent history of food borne illnesses and how they relate to the consolidation of the food industry.

Tag Archive | "foodsafety"

GMOs: Does Regulation Ensure Safety?

Can Biodiversity and Agriculture Coexist? How Super Metrics Made Wildlife Enemy #1 on the Farm (Day 4)

Food Safety – The Small Farm Perspective on HR 2749

JBS Swift Beef Recalls 400,000+ Pounds of Beef, E.coli 0157:H7 Outbreak in 13 States

Nestle Cookie Dough Recall, Suspected E.coli 0157:H7 Outbreak in 26+ States

Food Safety Enhancement Act (HR 2749) Advances Out of Committee

Food Safety – The US Policy Dimensions of HR 875 and HR 759

Book Review: Safe Food by Marion Nestle

Food Safety – The Recent History

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