tagged w/ U.S. Food System
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The Tennessee Department of Health is investigating a confirmed case in Roane County of an always fatal, very rare brain disease and a second suspected case.
Only four cases of the baffling Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease were recorded in the state last year.
Relatives of the recent victims say the odds of two cases within the same county diagnosed at about the same time are astronomical. They are questioning whether their loved ones died of a variant of CJD linked to eating beef infected with "mad cow disease."The Tennessee Department of Health is investigating a confirmed case in Roane County... more
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Now that this year's Oscar nominations are out, debate will rage about which films deserved it, which actors should have received a nod, and who should (or shouldn't) win. While these food films flew under the Academy's radar, at least when it came time to nominate, that doesn't mean they all didn't deserve a nod, or at least a closer look.
If you watch all of these films you'll understand where our food system stands today, a little bit about how it got that way, and you'll have some insight into what it might look like in the future. There's a scary, uncertain future built on greed and there's a bright, progressive future built on community. I reckon we end up with the latter, and I hope these films help you make choices to become a part of that future.
Follow link for the list, including a clip from each film.Now that this year's Oscar nominations are out, debate will rage about which... more
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AFTER a decade of exporting its genetically modified crops all over the world, the US is preparing to block foreign GM foods from entering the country - if they are deemed to threaten its agriculture, environment or citizens' health, that is.
The warning was given to the US Department of Agriculture, which polices agricultural imports, by its own auditor, the Office of Inspector General (OIG): "Unless international developments in transgenic plants and animals are closely monitored, USDA could be unaware of potential threats that particular new transgenic plants or animals might pose to the nation's food supply."
The OIG expects the number of GM crops and traits, and the number of countries producing them, to double by 2015, raising the risks of imports of GM crops unknown to the USDA.
The report urges the USDA to strengthen its links with countries where research is exploding, such as China, India and Brazil. China, for example, is ready to launch the world's first commercial GM rice, but it has yet to be approved by the USDA. Problems will arise, says the OIG, when new GM products enter the US undeclared - the USDA would be unprepared to test or even identify them.
The OIG cautions against blocks on imports that could be seen as trade barriers, however. In 2006, the World Trade Organization ruled in favour of the US, arguing that the European Union's stringent regulations on GM crops were anti-free trade.AFTER a decade of exporting its genetically modified crops all over the world, the US... more
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A clever little analogical letter to Monsanto....the evil bully on the playground.
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The CBC's national news takes a look at how GM crops are being monitored in Canada.
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That's the great connection we all share. It doesn't matter where you live, or your occupation, financial status, IQ, sex, height, weight, color--every few hours you are going to sense a feeling of hunger. Only air and water have a more immediate connection to human existence than food...and water trumps food by only a few days.
Yet almost all of us take what we eat for granted. Hungry? Got a few bucks? Within five or ten minutes, most of us can eat until we no longer feel the need to eat.
But think for a moment about what we're eating. Think about where the food you eat originates. Think about who produces it, how it's produced, and how we access it. Think about how much you actually know about the food you eat.
Do you know who grew the food you ate yesterday? Do you know how fresh it was? Did you really know if it was safe to feed you and your family?
The fact is, very, very few of us can answer those fundamental questions about the U.S. and global food supply. And it's outrageous to me that the knowledge of what we're all eating is so esoteric.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, over 80 million Americans are sickened every year from food borne illnesses. Name the food product and Google for a recall, and you'll likely find many. Peanut butter, carrots, spinach, pot pies, strawberries, ground beef, the list is very long. And scary.
Whether we realize it or not, eating is a risky business. But who cares? Our industrialized food system is controlled by a handful of giant corporations; they decide what we eat, and they care... about how much money they make. Look, you can't buy what isn't on the shelf, and food from local, family farms are very rarely on the shelf.
Try to find an instance of a recall of tainted food from a small or mid-sized family farm. Use whatever search engine you like.
The bottom line is that the U.S. system of allowing oligopolies to control vast market shares of almost every industry in our country has made it possible for a few conglomerates to control what we eat. Over 80% of all beef slaughter in the U.S is controlled by four corporations, for example. And it looks like 2007 will be a record for ground beef recalls from E. coli. Oxfam America writes that large corporations control 98% off all chickens slaughtered in the U.S. A 2007 Consumers Reports finding showed 83% of chickens tested harbored salmonella or campylobacter. Trust me, it goes on, and on, and on.
So why is it that nothing seems to be getting done about food safety, food security, and most importantly, food sovereignty? Why aren't our leaders addressing this issue? I mean think about it: other than air and water, what is more important?
What's Obama's position? Hillary's? Edward's? The rest of the pack?
Doesn't it seem odd that we spend billions on wars roads, bridges, schools, police, etc., and so little on food and food safety, security, and sovereignty?That's the great connection we all share. It doesn't matter where you live,... more
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