How confident are you that the food you eat is safe?
(PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Hungry? You won't be after you hear this.
The massive, nationwide egg recall is only one reason to question the safety of our food supply.
550 million eggs have been recalled in 22 states... and the government says the related salmonella outbreak has made about 1,300 people sick.
Still hungry? There's also a nationwide meat recall.
Zemco industries in Buffalo, New York has recalled about 380,000 pounds of deli meat - which was distributed to Walmarts across the country. The meat may be contaminated with listeria - which can potentially kill you.
Next up: Fish. Officials in Louisiana say that as many as 15,000 dead fish and other marine animals were found at the mouth of the Mississippi River outlet into the Gulf of Mexico.
They say the fish kill doesn't appear to be directly related to the BP oil leak. But there are lingering questions about the effect of those millions of barrels of oil on all sorts of seafood, including shrimp, in the Gulf.
When it comes to farming, there are ongoing concerns about the use of use of fertilizers, pesticides, and growth hormones.
This is an area where the government is supposed to protect us. The United States Senate has been sitting on a food safety bill that was passed by the House for more than a year.
The present food safety law is 70 years old and is so weak that the food and drug administration can't even authorize recalls... instead the government has to wait on companies to do it themselves.
The pending law would give the FDA recall authority; and would create stricter rules for mandatory inspections. Both are sorely needed… but senate majority leader Harry Reid apparently doesn't agree.
Here’s my question to you: How confident are you that the food you eat is safe?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Bill writes:
This from an ex-food plant manager of many years. The majority of what you and I eat is very safe. The laws are not the problem, it is the inspection people and how they are trained. Some, like in any profession, do a great job; many others are just lethargic and can be manipulated by plant management. Companies do NOT try, or wish to hurt anyone. But when profits are the driving force, then these incidents can occur. We need laws and policies enforced correctly and with judicious oversight.
John in San Antonio writes:
No confidence whatsoever. The crowd that insists government should not regulate business is reaping the benefits of this failed policy as are the rest of us. Factory farms, controlled by big corporation executives, have taken over our food supply and we now have an abundance of extremely low quality food. No problem though, big Pharma is standing by with the remedy.
Anthony in New Jersey writes:
Soft, obese, over-indulgent Americans can't wait to find a new reason to be fearful. Why don't we all spend our vacations this year in Haiti and Pakistan? We can have fun finding potable water to drink and morsels of food to consume. We people only see life from a privileged position and don't see the world for what it is. A few spoiled eggs don't compare to the hardships billions of people suffer every day.
Allen in Georgia writes:
Careful, Jack, in today's climate of smaller government we don't want to imply that the government should be doing more than they are. Let's just leave it to the private business capitalist folks and they will do a much better job of keeping our food safe than the government could ever hope to do....or so they say. I'm thinking about going back to raising my own chickens and eating poke-salad, like I remember when I was growing up.
Jeff in Minnesota writes:
If you prepare and cook food properly, it is safe. If you take shortcuts or do not cook it correctly, you will have a higher risk of getting sick. We have created a world where there are so many safety nets, that people have forgotten how to protect themselves and expect the government to protect them. As a result, a large percentage of our society ends up getting themselves in trouble.
K. writes:
First, cheap oil and gas. Now, steak and eggs. American traditions falling one by one. Another gravestone on the path to third world status. Gotta love the global economy.
@jackcafferty on Twitter
If you buy produce that is organic and locally grown, if you buy cage free eggs and chickens, if you buy grass fed free range beef: yes it is safe. If you buy food that is mass produced, nonorganic, chickens given antibiotics and grown in cages, beef fed corn on feed lots that stand in their own feces which causes E-Coli O157:H7 then probably not. Everyone in America should watch Food, Inc for further descriptive details.
"Very confident! I do all my own cooking. I never eat fast-food. Never eat out at all. You should poach your eggs or boil. I do very little fried foods. Goulash is good food."
I'm confident about death and taxes...... and corporate america's ability to ruin anything it touches. And we know it touches FARMS
I think our food supply is the safest in the world! Some people complain about the antimicrobials used to kill the growth of bacteria in food, or the use of steroids to grow meatier animals, and make plants produce more and larger fruits and seeds. So what if it leads to antibiotic-resistant bacteria? So what if the steroids makes us larger as well? And so what if we glow in the dark? What's the problem???
Not at all, but what can we do about it? Our food comes from corporations that complain they have too many rules and regulations to follow, yet they poison us daily. Its bad enough when major corporations demonstrate they cannot be trusted, but when they go after the very food we eat in the name of making a dollar....
If you think major corporations and financial insitutions are trustworthy, then vote Republican this November. If yout hink we still have a ghost of a chance of getting our nation back, vote Democratic.
Not confident enough that I want to go in to a slaughter house or a factory farm to get a closer look at what goes on. Nor do I want to watch the staff prepare my food at a restaurant. Ignorance is bliss.
It is a shame however that the public is not more concerned with how the animals are treated. Future generations will be appalled that we allowed these innocent creatures to be raised and "harvested" in such Hellish conditions before they graced our dinner tables.
Dear Mr Cafferty: The animals supplying our food are not being treated humanely and therefore if a farmer is more interested in "the bottom line" he will keep his chickens in inhumane housing such as : when the chickens have no access to sunlight and room to move around and God knows what else they have to endure. I saw the warehouse conditions on TV for these poor chickens . Horrible! No wonder the chickens are sick and we are also getting sick. Do they not have any open farmland in Iowa to let these animals live a normal healthy life? I'm really sad and angry over this. Thank You for listening , Ruth M Houston
I am more concerned about the chemicle preservatives used in our food than I am with some virus. Because the preservatives are in everything. A virus may be in a small percentage. But, in the end it's not about being healthy, it's about finding a sickness that won't get you arrested.
I feel very confident I shop at Whole Foods. Started in Austin, TX now all over the US.
Austin, TX
I am not confident at all. With all of the corruption everywhere and payoffs the FDA does little to protect the American public. Just like with the egg situation. These farmers did not want regulation or any government intervention. Now massive amount of eggs have been recalled and the current farming practices are being called into question. Why was peanut butter contaminated last year? Do meat inspectors really do their jobs or are they turning a blind eye? American citizens should not have these questions nor the worries. All of Washington needs to be revamped. Obama was supposed to be doing this but he again appears to be more of same. When people finally realize that we are destroying ourselves,maybe they will wake up and do the right thing – simply for our survival.
I guess i've become complacent about the food I eat....only until there is a recall! Now, I'm scared to death to eat an egg!
I am ok with it for the most part but not because of the safety net the government provides because that is a joke. I am ok with it because i am one of the farmers that grows it and i know how hard i work to bring a good quality product to market. I and my family eat what i grow with no worries. I would never send something to market that i would not eat myself.
Very confident, How much and how many different types of food it there available for the american people? Now how often do we have tainted food? I would say the percentage would be less than .001 percent. bad food.
Not very. Again, congress is so preoccupied with their own self interests that they neglect to give the FDA the power and resources to do their job. Nice to know they are so concerned about those they are supposedly representing.
After 8 years of the Bush administration’s dismantling of every conceivable safety program affecting the common folk, I haven’t had any confidence in the last 6 or 7 years. Every thing I put in my mouth I wonder if it will make me sick or worse. And now with Obama trying to top Bush on how bad he can make things for the non-wealthy I don’t feel any better about food or anything else.
No confidence whatsoever. The crowd that insists government should not regulate business are reaping the benefits of this failed policy as are the rest of us. Factory farms, controlled by big corporation executives, have taken over our food supply and we now have an abundance of extremely low quality food. No problem though big Pharma is standing by with the remedy. There probably are still some among us who don't think Washington is owned by the big corporation executives though.
This from an ex food plant manager of many years. The majority of what you and I eat is very safe. The laws are not the problem, it is the inspection people and how they view and are trained. Some, like in any profession do a great job, many others are just lethargic and can be manipulated by plant management. Companies do NOT try, or wish to hurt anyone. But when profits are the driving force, then these incidents can occur. We need laws and policies enforced correctly and with judicious oversight.
Not very anymore. I got China trying to kill me and now come to find out I need to be watching the great USA. Geez...Give us a break.
Not at all confident, Jack. We take every precaution since we have comprimised health now.. (blood cancer).. ostensibly caused by ingestion or invasion of toxic substances.. but no assurances that we can find that the stuff we ingest today is any better.
We need everything the FDA and consumer watch groups can do in this regard.
Bud Tillery Jax, FL
Btw – I did have 2 eggs over easy this morning at my favorite restaurant...and I pondered every swallow...but Restaurant Owners assured me these were "good eggs". Yes, am leery of the food we digest; all the chemicals used to stave insects, etc. One of the keys is to make sure you wash everything thoroughly; you can even use "Dawn" on your veggies and chicken parts for that matter. But what about the chemicals used – we don't see? That's what's – unnerving = the unknown.
Where did I hear they use Arsenic to fatten chickens? How good can Arsenic – be for – anyone / anything?
United States food supplies being sabotaged Some of these companies are feeling the squeeze on the undocumented workers laws.
They want to go up on their prices.
Something crooked is going on greed, and the government is going to let them do it $$$.
Jack,
In the past decade have we staffed the FDA and Dept. of Agriculture with enough inspectors and lab facilities.?
Have we provided them with regulations sufficient to detect and stop bad and unhealthy practices?
No!
What does it matter just a few thousand get sick and the profits are terrific for corporate food production. The trivial fines are just a cost of doing business. Sort of like loosing your non-documented labor which is paid less than minimum wage with no benefits and a threat of deportation if they seek better working conditions etc.
I am quite confident. I know how strict the regulations can be about food safety. Special clean rooms for peanut butter, regular inspections, QC officers. If there is even a whisper of a problem, they can and will shut you down, fine you, and, like the IRS, breathe down your neck over every little thing after that. I do believe these rules were put there to encourage companies to police themselves, but perhaps more is needed as our population grows.
As a residient of Mexico, !00% trust in the food I eat. Always fresh, nothing processed, and well prepared.
Soft, obese, over-indulgent Americans can't wait to find a new reason to be fearful. Why don't we all spend our vacations this year in Haiti and Pakistan. We can have fun finding potable water to drink and morsels of food to consume. We people only see life from a privileged position and don't see the world for what it is. A few spoiled eggs don't compare to the hardships billions of people suffer everyday. Let's suck it up, America, this too shall pass!
The lack of adequate inspection and regulation of domestically produced food is disgusting. For imported food it is outrageous. We should require importers to pay the cost of inspection for food and all other imports.
Careful Jack, in today's climate of smaller government we don't want to imply that the government should be doing more than they are. Let's just leave it to the private business capitalists folks and they will do a much better job of keeping our foods safe than the government could ever hope to do....or so they say.
I'm thinking about going back to raising my own chickens and eating poke-salad, like I remember when I was growing up.
Inadequate inspection & regulation of domestically produced food is disgusting. For imported food it is outrageous. We should require importers to pay the cost of inspection for food and all other imports.
You've got to be kidding. After a decades-long series of New World Order and globalization Presidents, too much of our food comes from foriegn countries for the government to ensure safety. Cutbacks at the FDA and failure to incorporate food safety requirements into trade agreements as our food sources have become worldwide, ensuring food safety has become a thing of the past.
If you prepare and cook food properly, it is safe. If you take shortcuts or do not cook it correctly, you will have a higher risk of getting sick. We have created a world where there are so many safety nets, that people have forgotten how to protect themselves and expect the government to protect them. As a result, a large percentage of our society ends up getting themselves in trouble.
Not confident enough that I want to see the nitty-gritty of what goes on in a factory farm or slaughter house. That kind of insider information would turn most of us into vegetarians.
Just as today's generation views our ancestors' tolerance of slavery with disbelief, future generations will be just as appalled with our gross mistreatment of animals. We horribly abuse these innocent creatures at every stage of their existence before they finally grace our dinner tables.
The only thing I am confident about is that we are wrong.
Dear Jack, as a rule I do not live in fear. I take every precaution to wash veggies, cook meat properly and leave the rest to God.
I'm not nearly as confident as I used to be Jack. After the recalls for tomatoes, beef, peanuts, and now eggs, who in their right mind wouldn't be more insecure and cautious. It also shows that the FDA is not doing their job of protecting Americans very well. I suppose it's just another example of governmental incompetency and beaurocratic ineptness which seems to get worse every day. Used to, we didn't worry so much about so many things as we do today. Is that progress? I don't think so.
First, cheap oil and gas. Now, steak and eggs. American traditions falling one by one. Another gravestone on the path to third world status. Gotta love the global economy.
I think the food system is pretty safe. What I worry about though, is the Kool Aid we seem to drink during the elections
About as confident that those in Congress are there to keep us safe from political and economical harm and have our rights of freedom as their first and foremost priority. The real rotten eggs are not in a carton in a supermarket. I worry more about the turkeys in Washington than I do about the chickens in the roost.
Thom Richer
Negaunee, MI
If you ever saw what I sometimes eat y'all would faint.
I'm built up such enormous immunities I'm bullet proof.
I'm not.
With All The Recalls That We're WItnessing And Have Been Witnessing Here's A Hint Jack-Not Very Confident At All, This Is Scary Stuff And We Should All Be Concerned!
Scott Stodden (Freeport,Illinois)
What? Calling for more government intervention into agribusiness? How unpatriotic of you. Surely the market should rule. How confident am I that my food is safe? About as confident as I am that the banks are going to self-regulate.
Very confident. If it comes from another country, especially China or the US, I don't eat it.
Jack:
As an Ohioan I actually look to the wisdom of California. I will regard food as safe unless on the label it says "the State of California has found this food to be carcinogenic". Then I will eat with caution and due diligence, knowing that the Federal Government will sue the manufacturer, fine it, and collect the money over my dead body. Then go to Martha's Vineyard to celebrate "leadership".And that's how I feel, Jack.
Compared to most countries, we still have one of the highest food safety requirements. Do I think some changes need to be made? Sure. Is our system completely broken? Not really. A few recalls doesn't mean that all our food is unsafe.
I've known about the dangers of our food supply for years. It just keeps getting worse. Guess all those people who thought I was an alarmist are paying attention now!
Jack,
I pay a lot for food to try and increase my chance of getting healthier, fresher options and still, I am unsure of exactly how safe my food really is!
Andrew
Dallas-Fort Worth
Texas
About as confident as Harry Reid is competdent
I have been eating the food from my grocery store my whole life and it hasn't hurt me. Just cook your food people.
How confident am I that the food I eat is safe? Now that's funny. We gorge ourselves on foods that we know are bad for us and then freak out that the stuff that is supposed to be good for us may be unsafe? By the time anything gets to my plate, it has been processed and cooked so many times that I doubt anything would live in or on it.
Safe? Are you kidding? The only interest of the vast majority of farmers and food 'producers' in this country is profit, at any cost. We know full well the devastating effects of ingesting pesticides, growth hormones, steroids and the like, yet the government does nothing to stop it. The number and size of food recalls grows by the week, as does the number of people sickened or killed. Letting food 'manufacturers' recall their own products is literally putting the fox in charge of the hen house. Sadly the Agri-business lobby is so powerful that i fear it will take a total disaster in our food chain, costing tens of thousands of lives, before Congress does anything. No, there is nothing safe about most of the food we eat, especially meat and dairy products.
We grow our own veggies and have our own chickens for food and eggs.
If you REALLLY knew what goes into the ground you WOULD NOT EAT any foods in America!!! So many chemicals – but, people must eat and the chemcial/agri buiness people know that fact, don't they??!!
We are what we eat – scary thought....
yes. most of the food we eat is safe. just follow basic, common sense rules like not eating under cook food and buying from creditable companies. but the FDA should be given more power to prevent things like the salmonella outbreak.
The food we eat is like a twinkie appealing to popular taste without any substance
The only food I really feel is safe is the tomatoes I grow in the back yard, and our weather has not exactly been cooperative this year...first floods....then killer heat. I do buy organic leaf lettuce because it absorbs pesticides so quickly.
My mother, however, is a child of the Depression and WWII. She constantly hounds on Victory Gardens and growing our own food. So we do what we can. In our small back yard, we grow tomatoes. However, one of my neighbors, in less space than we have, grew tomatoes, melons, cucumbers, figs, green beans, and grapes. It was amazing. He was also a child of the Depression.
More and more of us are going to end up growing tomatoes on our patios and in our back yards so we can feel safe. Those back yard tomatoes may be what saves us.
Most of the time I really don't think about it. I don't know of anyone who has died but many have become sick. When we hear such information we must police our selves Carefully cook our food properly and store it correctly. We will never be able to fix the problem until government is not in bed with the Capitalist. So it is our responsibility to keep up with the latest recalls. At home I'm confident, eating out not so sure.
Different country, same story. I have NO confidence in our food safety. Factory farms, pesticides, genetically modified foods and corporate mergers have destroyed my confidence in our nation's food. I now buy from local farmers, I eat as little meat as possible, and starting next spring, I'll be growing as much of my own food as possible. I urge others to do the same. Look at your lawns, think of the costs in fertilizers, mowing and landscaping and see the potential for safe and healthy food that lies within it. Its time to bring back that old 'Victory Garden' that our grandparents had during WWII. Don't trust your food??? Grow your own! I'll see you in the garden!
The senate won't touch this. For one thing, it's election time and they're more concerned about getting reelected. They also don't want alienate the food industry... It's those lavish campaign contriubions they want.
In a word NOT, safe or harmless. Now it's eggs. What's next?? And the FDA's hands are tied.
Not confident at all.
And what about the dog food recalled recently because of salmonella contamination? People were warned not to handle the food or allow children to do so.
Is it possible that the chicken feed that the chickens eat is itself the source of contamination?
Not confident at all. It's getting to a point in this country that unless I grow it or kill it myself I'm afraid to eat it.
About as safe as if Palin was in the white House
Jack,
Thanks for asking this question!!! My wife and I have been getting food poisoned more than ever it seems. The food is safe overall, but we don't even know who handles our food or what corners were cut to bring the food to market. Why couldn't the handler initial his or her product packaging and if people get sick, we could track them down faster. The problem is we have too many greedy people and politicians like Harry Reid, who are the real rotten eggs, getting government bailouts. People die and yet there will be no accountability. They should update the system!
I am pretty confident when I eat organically grown food, but these days the chicken and beef found in supermarkets barely even tastes like it should. I used to raise cattle and that meat was very very different without the added steroids, antibiotics and disease! It seems we are being killed slowly by the food we eat and I honestly don't know how Congress even looks people in the eye these days.
Of course our food isn't safe. Who is to insure it? The corporations who make money of it?
Thanks, Jack for giving us news I generally only get on independent news programs.
That's where I heard about the fishkills in the Gulf of Mexico.
Keep it up.
Barbara
Phoenix, Arizona
Once again you leave out a key fact; Republicans have obstructed the legislation. Commercial food lobbyists are fighting amendments to the bill strengthening FDA ability to inspect and severely fine companies violating standards. True Senator Reid has not brought it up. His spokesman point to a draining fight when other issues are more likely to pass.
As a nutritionist told me last month, buy the best food you can. That means organic, non GMO products. Everyone’s mantra should be – pay now or pay later. Your health ten, twenty, thirty years down the road is dependent on the food you eat now. Generations of mindless spraying of our crops with pesticides and GMO seeds are now reeking havoc on our health. Our children are literally the canaries in the coal mine.
here is a glimpse into american garbage people eat "FOOD INC." and the FUTURE OF FOOD documentary..this is why my family and myself try to get as much organic food as possible..we would rather pay more for food than pay a doctor to stay healthy..I really hope you read this on the news...American food to put in simply terms SUCKS! we hardly go out and eat, if you do, we buy minimal amount of food. I'm a pretty good cook "jamaican/caribbean food" How can you eat beef when the majority of us beef is fed purely on corn..i grew up when chicken ran freely – cows roam the pastures, goat left out in the field..sorry i could ramble on, this is something high on my list. got a few people to lower blood pressure just by changing their diets..
Maybe Senator Reid should have to eat some of this tainted food. The reason nothing is done about ordeals like this is because we have incompetent leadership in this country.
My solution is for all 50 states to organize a massive recall of the House and Senate. Maybe, ( I doubt it), all of these idiots will get the message.
OK, we need some laws to guarantee our food safety. But there probably is no money in that for our elected "representatives". And no, if I have to rely on the GOVERNMENT to make food safe, I have absolutely no faith in food safety. And Congress needs to get off their dead butts and pass some laws.
However, why not lay some of the blame not on the need for a 'nanny' law, but on the greedy corporate farms that bypass safe growing/handling to keep the bottom line way up there.
But the people also need to learn that many food borne illnesses might be avoided if the people use better cleanliness and cooking methods!
Not much and we're being more careful especially with current medical problems. It's about personal greed and gain at the expense of us all. The US Senate Jack. Please. Half want what we need in this case which is more government and more enforceable regulations which would have been in place if passed a year ago. The other half wants less regulations and government regardless of the subject. The end result, while Congress pontificates and makes self justifying speeches is sadly the citizens get sick and the weaker or less healthy die. Maybe if the Senators could be required to each make a public statement about how many deaths are acceptable while they continue to fail to do their jobs we might see some action.
If the country of origin were, BY LAW, listed on each product there would be outrage.
For convenience I purchase processed frozen entrees, and I wrote the company directly to inquire. Well, their reply was lame and indicated that they were not required to disclose what products were imported, and from what country.
The vegetable stands of the past are gone, and the produce sections of the grocery stores represent the United Nations.
My confidence is low, and that is a direct result of our producing american farms being nearly non existent. As a consumer I am more apt to read labels, buy brand names, and be a more savey shopper.
The recent egg recall is a classic example of poor government oversight on the local, state and federal levels, and the owner, as many others do, know how to play the game. Shame on them
We are polluting our environment for the financial profit of corporations. Unless the Media informs the public, we are doomed.
I haven't felt confident about our food supply since I learned there was an "allowable" number of rat hairs in hot dogs. Needless to say, I haven't had a hot dog for over 15 years.
Jack, this kind of stuff has been going on for decades. And it's progressively getting worse right before our very eyes. What ever happened to the old-school idea of home gardens like we had when we were kids? At least we knew the food was safe for human consumption and the worst thing I ever ate from our garden was a Spanish radish that ruined my appetite, much like the recalls we are seeing today.
Jack, you are right about everything except one fact which is critical. It is not Harry Reid that refuses to act on the bill passed by the House. It is Mitch McConnell that will not let the bill be voted up or down.
My confidence hasnt been up ever since there was second option to organics. The blame is to us, the consumers, who buy whatever we are offered regardless of the outcomes.
I don't trust this countries food supply, I havent for the the past year. I"ve been buying my food from local farms and food co-ops. Farm raised meat, farm raised chicken and so on. When I first heard about the egg recall I know most of America went to their refrigerator to check out there eggs. Since I bought my from a local farm I just shrugged and went on with my day. Yes, I ate eggs that day from range fed hens from a local farm.
Sharon from Pembroke NH
I have absolutely NO confidence in the safety of our food.
Monsanto is forcing us to eat frankenfood by genetically modifying the seeds for soy, corn, alfalfa and sugar beets so they can make more money and put small organic farms out of business.
Factory farmed beef cattle are fed so much hormones that 7yr old girls are starting puberty all over the country. Male fish in lakes are being feminized from the hormones washing in from run-off...so what's happening to our little boys?
Dairy cattle are being injected with Bovine Growth Hormones (BGH) to make them give us more milk that is laced with hormones for children to consume from infancy.
Poultry are fed hormones and antibiotics to make them plump up faster and lay more eggs.
Can anyone connect the dots? Hormones carry the side effect of weight gain! Why is everyone crying about obesity but doing nothing about what's CAUSING it? Obesity is just a symptom of excessive hormone consumption.
I spend a lot of money on organically raised/grown whole foods but I have no kids to feed anymore.
It frightens me to think of future generations of 20-something yr old women starting menopause because they started puberty in childhood....and boys becoming sterile from over-consumption of the hormones they eat which are disrupting the hormonal development in their little bodies.
What's it going to take to get this message to our government? Let me know....I'll do what it takes!
From Los Angeles, California
I feel very safe about the food I eat because I am Vegan. I never eat animals or products from animals, ie eggs and dairy products. I am protecting myself not only from Salmonella and other bacteria, but also from cancer, heart disease and diabetes. I am helping protect our environment from the #1 cause of global warming: animal agriculture. And I am no longer directly responsible for the torture and neglect of the millions of animals suffering for the sake of a traditional meat based appetite.
I am shocked that CNN reporters have been talking about the egg and other recalls all day without bringing up the fact that just not eating eggs, meat and dairy are proven ways of improving individuals' and the planet's health!
no our food is not safe,it contains dyes,preseratives,nitrates and the list goes on. i buy only organic some i raise myself. i only eat what
"I" cook, i don't eat out. we all wonder why our kids are adhd and so called bypolar its the friggin food. when my grandson eats store bought he totally of the cuff
This is just another example of how not on our side our government really is.The FDA EPA and FEMA are all agencies bought and paid for by corporations.Americans need to wake up and realize that we are on our own the government gave up representing the people a long time ago.
If people weren't so skittish about irradiated food, most of these worries would disappear. Short of that, people need to overcook their food to be safe. Don't rely on the government for things like this, look after yourself.
Harry
Tampa
How confident am I that the food I eat is safe?
Except for the food we grow ourselves, not at all. But, the food is not unsafe because the FDA and the USDA doesn't have enough power. It's unsafe because the FDA and USDA misuse the regulatory powers that they do have to allow such unsafe practices as those found in egg-producing chicken houses. Over-crowded chickens confined indoors, and stacked like cordwood, so that one chicken's feces is another's food, is no way to produce healthy chickens or eggs. The FDA and USDA each have all the power that they need to bring a halt to these practices. Of course, the big agri-corporations are also big political contributors, aren't they?
Not confident at all Jack. This just goes to show you how big business is always putting profit ahead of public safety. We need the FDA to have teeth and be proactive! But I can already hear the propaganda machine framing this issue of increased safety standards and inspections as another "Big Government" intrusion quagmire, it's hopeless.
If we want to be safe, we'll just have to learn to raise our own chickens like we used to and hope that my shar-pei doesn't eat them.
You're going to Love This:
Farmed salmon was found to be polluted with PCB's from the plastic lining.
So I asked the Hawaii State Department of Health and the Federal USDA if the Farmed Shrimp in Hawaii were also tainted.
They told me that they don't inspect fish because fish is not meat.
So, if fish isn't meat, what food group would you consider fish, would it be a fruit or vegetable?
Or is the USDA just a bunch of Turkeys?
Jack, How can you blame Reid alone for this? If Republicans had helped in any way, shape or form on any number of items, instead of delaying and obstructionist tactics on every single bill put to them, maybe there would be some time to get through the incredible backlog of bills passed by the House and stalled in the Senate.
How confident?
Not at all! If you don't grow your own food you have no rightful presumption of safety. Agribusinesses, like all orporations, make cost/benefit calculations about product safety that factor the potential financial downside of death and disease of consumers. Typically, the analysis indicates that the cost of product safety outweighs the potential costs of litigation and awards. The FDA is as weak and ineffectual as other ostensible federal regulatory agencies, even those whose virtual non-existence as a watchdog have recently been exposed. There is a direct cause. The governemnet of the United States is a purchased service. Never has Mark Twain's quip, "There is no native criminal class... except Congress, been more true. Hary Reid, never much of a statesman is emblematic of this phenomenon and a perfect example of a politician who has "been too long at the fair."
Fine. I employ the five second rule all the time and I'm not dead yet. I could live in a constant state of paranoia – eat right, work out, not drink then cross the street and get hit by a bus anyway. 100% of the poulation dies of something.
The only things that matters is profits at any expense. That includes the lives of all US America Citizens. I travel the aisles of the supermarkets in prayer for all the things that we must buy. The only thing that matters is profits, profits, profits. God Help us all.
Safe?! Go into the kitchen of the typical restaurant and you'd never eat out again! But to blame the absence of regulation of the food industry on Sen. Reid or the Democrats is misplaced. Democratic re-regulatory efforts in the Senate have ground to a halt because of the GOP's 'threat' of the filibuster on anything that would regulate the Republican leadership's base: corporate America. Remember, they have been lock-step in their obstruction of ANY regulation of banks, mining companies, insurance companies, et. al. – all in the name of demonizing the rules and regulation that apparently only government can provide.
Max
Laguna Beach, CA
I am VERY confident. Because I buy my eggs, beef, lamb, produce and honey from local farmers I trust. I see the conditions they raise them in, I can even see the medical reports if I wish. They are organic and pesticide free. Not only do I get higher quality food, I help my local economy and small farmers. That is something I can feel very good about!
I've been sticking to the 'Soylent Green' and haven't experienced any problems as of yet. I must confess, it's gittin' kinda bland.
Jack, let's put it this way–I'm not losing any sleep over it. I grew up in the 40/50's and ate dirt, drank from garden hoses, pulled fruit and veggies straight from the tree/bush/ground and eat them raw. I believe that part of the issue today is that people are so protected, from birth, that their immune systems never develop properly, and that leaves them particularly susceptible to any germ that happens along. There is such a thing as too much protection.
You described this BIG problem, right to the " T " . There's been some very important , vital information, issued on the Internet, very recently, with High requests, that people, " Read, " this, .".study "this.. AND, " Practice ", this.. & , " PLEASE pass this unto everyone." The contamination, is so serious, and more so, because, people, neglect to take this caution. The purchase, of Meats.. ( NOT good ) ..the growing of even OUR OWN, vegetables, is NOT safe, & these are a grain of salt, to mention, with all these Problems, that OUR FDA, has pushed aside, like every other, VERY important Issue, they are suppose, to handle. Our country needs a Tremendous, HUGE Roll Over, in this Broken Federal Government . At least it MIGHT be, a start.
Where have you newspeople been all these years? I and others quit
eating chickens 15 years ago because of the inhumane and unhealthy manner in which the chickens are raised and how the egg
factories treat their chickens.. I never eat eggs except from chickens who have be given hormones and antibiotics and who are free range.
Same happened with pork. If you see how inhumane the pigs are treated and the horrific waste pits surrounding them you would know sooner or later a bad health issue would arrise; proved correct when swine flu attacked the world.
If the Federal Government departments and Congress were doing their jobs, our food suppliers would all be fined and closed down; I cannot see how anyone can eat meat that is produced inmass by
people who have no concern for health issues or the animals.
So now you know how this Tennessee person feels about the issue!
Jack,
After all of the food recalls over the past few years, why is the United States Senate holding up a food safety bill already passed by the House over a year ago? What if Harry Reid was only allowed to eat possibly tainted deli meat sold at Walmart? Would he continue to hold up the food safety bill passed by the House? While I'm still fairly confident that the food I eat is safe, my confidence in the Federal Government is going down the tubes. November is just around the corner. Can't wait.
Jack, I do my best just not to worry about it. Obsessing over the safety of my food is like worrying about the state of government (in)action taking place in the Beltway. All I would be doing is setting up a case of high blood pressure down the road.
Jack,
Our food is completely unsafe. I am in my late 40's and every box of cereal, pack of bologna, and peanutbutter sandwich I have eaten in my life has been loaded with poison and or chemical "preservatives". I do know however, that pentions for our officials are 100% safe and guaranteed .
I've been eating for 53 years and only got physically sick once, from a fast food fish sandwich about 20 years ago (I thought I was going to die). But I am sickened by the horribly inhumane treatment and unsanitary conditions that the animals we "farm" for food have to endure before their untimely deaths. If everyone would watch the videos of the sickening way the cows, pigs, turkeys and chickens are treated, we would all become vegitarians. The federal government should have stricter controls. Senators and Congressmen should be forced to watch the tapes.
Well ypu have to use your brain and watch how food is prepared. The FDA can't be everywhere at once.
We have to learn to cook or order our food well done. Some eat their food raw or rare, it turns my stomach.
Don't depend on business to say their food is safe.
Far be it for the Whitehouse to spend more money to hire more FDA workers. That would start a riot with the T-Baggers and their followers.
Anyone who has traveled outside of the United States quickly recognizes how spoiled we are in America. The selection and quality of foods available from supermarkets, farm stores and street vendors – even online and catalogue opportunities – eclipse the selection at food markets in other parts of the world. Confident – yes, and yes, there are some problems that need to be addressed with pesticides, genetically modified food products. To ramp up FDA inspections and expand government makes no sense. The fact that the egg problem was recognized and half a billion have been recalled underscores the fact that consumers and vendors do a pretty good job of self regulation.
How confident am I that the food I eat is safe?
Except for the food we grow ourselves, not at all.
But, the food is not unsafe because the FDA and the USDA doesn't have enough power. It's unsafe because the FDA and USDA misuse the regulatory powers that they do have to allow such unsafe practices as those found in egg-producing chicken houses. Over-crowded chickens confined indoors, and stacked like cordwood, so that one chicken's feces is another's food, is no way to produce healthy chickens or eggs. The FDA and USDA each have all the power that they need to bring a halt to these practices. Of course, the big agri-corporations are also big political contributors, aren't they?
Linda
Martinsburg, WV
The FDA is not a new story, however I heard you mention the House Majority Leader but not a word about the Party of No, give us a head count on who is holding this up and we will have "The rest of the story".
I heard your comment about food safety regulation and it sounds like you blame Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. How about the Republicans who are fillibustering everything? Reid has to prioritize everything because of the stalling tactics of the Republicans. The Republican approach, summarized by President Reagan in his 1981 inaugural address is "government is the problem". With regard to food safety, efficient commerce, Wall Street regulation, national infrastructure and many other issues, this is the wrong approach. Government isn't always the solution, but it is not THE problem. 30 years of this approach has made the country weaker and no one ever points this out.
Here’s an old American Indian proverb that they gave to the European pioneers and colonists that applies to our government allowing the poisoning of our food source and environment for corporate profit.
"Not until all the birds are gone from the sky,
Not until all the trees are gone from the forests,
Not until all the fish are gone from the waters,
Not until then will you finally realize that you can’t eat money."
Hey Jack,Well giving the
magnitude of the Egg recalled its about time for our Government to stop existing and start living which means applying the damn required regulations inplace effectively rather than been in the pockets of big businesses and start protecting the people they're working for.
I wiish more people would get sick, so the government would wake up: We need strikt laws – for the protections of consumers AND animals. How can food be safe and healthy when it is mass produced by the worst sadists that abuse and torture millions of animals for profit and fun?! Watch the videos about the caged hens and YOU tell me if you'll ever eat an egg from those farms again. Before mass production of eggs and meat etc people were healthier, because they did not consume so much of everything. And the animals could live a decent life till the last day came.
After years of such problems, I believe that it best not to think to much about such things when eating.
Jim, Craig, CO
Jack, America has the largest bread basket on earth,But most of our bread comes from mega farms that would make Upton Sinclair roll over in his grave, in such monstrous operations small and large things are sometimes overlooked that could sicken or kill. i think overall my food is safe, but when your work is ruled by more and not quality.then I dont feel to safe,I would love to shop the local foods like when i was a kid in the 50s 60s, but now the farmers is not as varied as the supermart and ill be eating mega foods until I die
This is something I do not worry about and really give it no thought in my everyday life. In our world today we no longer grow our own food and this is why we have so many people on this planet and the standard of living we do. The trade off is we do no longer grow our own food and cannot control how our food is grown personally. The only thing we can do is pray our government oversights are doing their jobs and when things happen react they accordingly and take steps it does not happen again.
Michael Gonzales,
New Mexico
The food I grow is safe; food I buy, it's a roll of the dice.
Like Daisy @5:28 said, it's all about money. Our safety doesn't figure into that equation, ever.
Again, Washington has their greenback blinders on at the expense of the economical security of our country. Japan. Australia, European Union, and several other countries will not allow many different crops and livestock grown and raised in our country into their provinces. We once had the strongest banks, the leading educational system, strongest automobile industry, steel, and food exporters in the world. We have lost our number one ranking in all categories and now we are losing the position of the largest exporter of certain crops and livestock to the world because of the clouded truth about genetically engineered crops and the hormones, antibiotics, etc used in the production of our food sources. Only the pockets of our huge corporations and the politicians are benefitting. I am sure their bellies are not full of this poison they are feeding the world.
At my house we still pray before each meal.
Just because it looks safe doesn't always make it so. Washing your fruits and veggies only goes so far, its been documented that soap and water only kills 90% of organisms on food, and in some cases it only takes 10 cells of and organism to make you sick. What the sad part about the whole thing is that there are technologies and companies out there that provide solutions to this problem, but the food producers either don't want to admit that they have a possible outbreak of potentially harmful organisms, or they want certain foods to go bad quicker so that they can sell more product. If everyone knew the total truth there would be country wide outrage.
I guess the fact I’m eating and still alive, shows confidence enough.
Not very. Whenever possible, I buy organic, free-range eggs, also grass-fed organic beef. (No harmful added hormones or antibiotics.) Due to "genetic modification" (i.e."unfit for human or animal consumption), corn & soybeans, among others, have been completely eliminated from my diet, unless they are organic. Otherwise, so many foods have been tampered with, that there are few things which are safe to eat these days. Corn always comes to mind, since it a favorite of mine. Corn kernels (seeds) are now all (unless organic, & stated otherwise), LEGALLY implanted with insect poison. If I know something is poisonous, I won't consume it, no matter how good it looks or smalls, or how hungry I am. HOW ABOUT SOME NEW LAWS & RESTRICTIONS? I'm very open-minded, (Democrat), but can bug poison be good for us?
The food scale is tipped toward capitalism. So how can a reactive FDA provide nothing more than after the fact governance.
The mega egg producers identified as cause of the recent recall had it their way up until now (capitalism at its worst). Time for them to pay up, in terms of law suits and getting their production facilities cleaned up.
Steve G.
Randolph, NJ
our food is as safe as how we eat it – those that eat raw food take thier risks unto them selves– we produce more food per capita
than any other country - a change in regs would be good but
as i said dont eat it raw!!!
No way is our food supply as safe as it could or should be. Only when
the government decides to hire and train more FDA Inspectors will we
began to get a handle on the problem.
Very little confidence, but it has nothing to do with Harry Reid. The Senate Republicans sit on every piece of legislation because they don't want the government to function as long as Obama is in the White House. The resulting hardship falls on average Americans, but what do Republicans care?
Jack,
We get what we pay for. The budget cuts and deregulation have a simple outcome: unsafe food supply.
This rule has not changed
I am reasonably sure that our food is safe. Compared to other Nations we have good safety regulations, however we should always practice sensible safety precautions while preparing and cooking our food.....and guess what I am not worrying about it..
Jack: I am not at all confident that my food, water, house or much else is safe. I do not, however, blame it much on Harry Reid. The government has been deprived of much-needed income for far too long. The Republican mantra is "cut", "cut", "cut". At some point, when it's all cutting and no increase in governmental revenues, the roads and bridges collapse, the economy collapses, and our food oversight stinks. Republicans are the masters of the "misdirection play". The vote massive funds (Iraq, Medicare D) without going through Congress, then blame the Democrats for spending money because they think their bills should be properly funded and transparently voted on. Bush used reconciliation as if were his own personal toy, yet no one batted an eyelash. Dems do it?: They're tyrants!
We are well on the way to two classes: The very rich, and the very poor. But rest assured that the Republican fat cats will have plenty of great and tested food to eat, no matter what happens to the rest of the country.
Let the tax cuts for the rich expire. We can't afford them.
Ken Williamsport, PA.
Well with news like this...I think i'm going to vote Republican so that this won't be an issue anymore. with the Republican's love for deregulation, i won't be able to trust any food i eat well into the next decade. Rich people don't have to worry. they can import their food from anywhere in the world so the tainted American harvest will not affect them, and in the end, that's all that matters to Republicans. But i would be pleasantly surprised if any republican senate member tried to get the bill passed.
I only eat organic, farm raised food. That's open range beef, lamb and chicken and farmer's market veggie and fruits! If the government can't promise us a basic need to that is safe, I guess I have to.
Jack,
I'm very confident with what I eat. 90% of the time, I eat at home, (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and cook what I eat. As I always have, I check the date, and thoroughly cook what I buy – that's really about all one can do to be assured of what one eats. However, when eating at home, or in a resturant, this does give credence to why one should Pray over their food – before they eat it.
Gary McCollough
Charlotte, North Carolina
Im from Estonia ,living in USA 10 years .I had first time food poisoning in my life here, in this country.I was sick for 1 month.Food or food substitude?Its a very difficult to get a real food on this country witout all the extras pesticides,chemicals,persevaties....(good food is not a huge portion, unfortunately this is the measurmet here )
First time on this 10 y period I was eating real fruits( in Aspen farmers market!) bottom line if the food will be safe you dont have a overweight population!
Deli meat recall now. Still think all this salmonella/bacteria is a coincidence? To much of it. It smell of "terrorism". But, the government would never level with us.
This is either a shining example of government incompetence in regulating the rood industry or a shining example of the private food industry's incompetence in self-regulating themselves. Either way, I have little confidence in both.
Yes, let's go back to the days when food was burnt to a crisp to ensure
it's cooked. I sure do miss those "Mickey Mantle" eggs!
Jack,
I"ve never trusted the FDA or some foods, especially lunch meats or any processed food. Then there are the slaughter houses. Their meat cutters find a tumor, they cut out the tumor, but what about the roots if the tumor is malignant? I don't trust what some ranchers feed the livestock or the farmers, what they spray on the crops to make them bigger and what they use to kill the bugs.
Almost all food that is processed in any way, has lost nutrition. So what most people think they are getting in the way of healthy food, isn't what they paid for.
Is there anything we, as individuals can do about it? Yes! Do Not buy prepared food in any form and eat healthy.
Dwight in San Bernardino, CA.
I have lived and/or worked in Beijing, Manila, New Dehli, Seoul, Jakarta as well as other "3d world" countries for 15 years. And I feel as frightened here as anywhere else. The danger lies in THINKING we are safe here, when time and again we learn that we are not in fact at all safe, wherther beef, eggs, milk, dogfood, or whatever.
In the other "developing world" people KNOW the food may be unsafe and that they must be careful. In those countries, when someone is found guilty of major food violation, they are either jailed or executed...in months, not decades. In this country, they get $25 milion termination bonuses. A false sense of security is by far the most pernicious. When taken together with the collosal rewards for screwing all of us and/or screwing up, with no accountability, leads to these results and will not change until our incentives and disincentives change. A 70 year old food safety law? Are you kidding? Who do you think is behind THAT decision? Not Republicans. Not Democrats. BOTH, who are on the payrolls of the lobbies...so where does the REAL responsibilty lie? You figure it out!