Everyday Food Contamination
Posted on | February 13, 2009 | No Comments
Tainted peanuts have been making news recently, but most people don’t know that filthy food is nothing new in this country. In fact, it’s got a clearly legislated modus operandi written by the FDA, a booklet called the Food Defect Action Levels. In the Times this morning, the Op-Ed page talks about the shocking guidelines issued by the F.D.A. and disects some of the more icky pearls of information. Continue Reading Everyday Food Contamination
Mercury in High-Fructose Corn Syrup?
Posted on | January 27, 2009 | No Comments
Photo by: bionerd
Readers of this site likely already know that high-fructose corn syrup is something to avoid, but just to put any lasting doubts to bed, the Washington Post published an article today that cites two recent studies by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy that found mercury contamination in the sweetener and also the processed food where it was eventually used. Continue Reading Mercury in High-Fructose Corn Syrup?
The Salmonella-Peanut Butter Rabbit Hole
Posted on | January 25, 2009 | No Comments
Photo by: SouthernPixel
By now you’ve probably heard that peanut butter is the latest food to be contaminated with the deadly Salmonella bacteria. As of today, it has killed seven people in four states and infected another 406. I’m not sure how the crisis in food production is better illustrated than with dead bodies, but I assume this latest crisis will not move the USDA or the FDA to any change in their safety guidelines. Most likely, the system in place that allowed this contamination to happen in the first place will be left alone, business as usual. Continue Reading The Salmonella-Peanut Butter Rabbit Hole
The Best Food Films of 2008
Posted on | January 22, 2009 | No Comments
Photo by Darren Hester
Treehugger has an interesting post up this morning entitled “5 Food Films That Deserved an Oscar Nod“. These films, according to the site, should help consumers “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.” Indeed. Plus, movies are an entertaining way to build your knowledge in this area, as long as you don’t get too caught up in the cinematic drama of it all.
They even have preview clips embedded into their post - now that’s service! The five films are: Continue Reading The Best Food Films of 2008
Tags: food fight > food films > king corn > our daily bread > the world according to monsanto
Food News of the Day
Posted on | January 20, 2009 | No Comments
Photo by Jonah G.S.
The Ethicurean has a rumor up today that Joy Philippi, former president of the National Pork Producers Council, and CAFO owner may be on a shortlist of candidates for a position as an Under-Secretary of Agriculture at the USDA. Not only that, but Dennis Wolfe, the same former Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary who sided with Monsanto in their bid to ban information about rBGH on milk is also on the list, leaving the food blogosphere horrified to say the least. My question is though, who says these two are close to an appointment? Come clean with your sources Ethicurean, otherwise it’s all hearsay.
In the Des Moines Daily Register, Neil Hamilton, one of the candidates Food Democracy Now! proposed for Secretary of Agriculture is telling critics of future USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack not to despair. The paper reports, “Hamilton said he is “very confident that whether it’s a year, two years, or four years, that most of the people” who signed the Food Democracy Now! petition “will be impressed and pleased” with Vilsack.”
U.S. Food Policy gives a very excellent summary of the USDA’s recent release on the legalities of using the words “Naturally Raised” on meat products. Unfortunately, the USDA seems to think that cloned animals and those raised in CAFOs are as natural as can be. The blog also notes some fear, “the new label will undercut the USDA Organic certification and/or farmers pushing to establish sustainable raised meat.” Also included are the results of a Consumer’s Union study on what the public believes “naturally raised” should mean. Among the highlights, 78% believe the animal should not be cloned, and 68% believe the animal should not be confined.
Tags: dennis wolfe > Food Democracy Now! > joy philippi > naturally raised > neil hamilton > USDA
Will Food, Inc. Give the Nation Indigestion?
Posted on | January 18, 2009 | No Comments
Even though it doesn’t open in wide release until June 30th, progressive eaters like me are already hoping Robert Kenner’s documentary about the food industry, “Food, Inc.”, will change the way people think about food the way “An Inconvenient Truth” did for the environment.
The film has already collected good buzz since it premiered at the Toroto Film Festival, though the graphic scenes in slaughterhouses and Confined Animal Feeding Operations, better known as CAFOs, have made plenty of critics squirm in their seats. Variety says, “‘Food, Inc’ is a civil horror movie for the socially conscious, the nutritionally curious and the hungry…’Food, Inc’ does for food what Jaws did for the beach”. For a full review of the movie, check out this reaction from the L.A. Times. Continue Reading Will Food, Inc. Give the Nation Indigestion?
The Sustainable Dozen Campaign
Posted on | January 16, 2009 | 1 Comment
Tom Vilsack isn’t exactly what the sustainable food organization Food Democracy Now! had in mind when they proposed a list of candidates for President-Elect Obama to consider for the next Secretary of Agriculture. But not to be deterred, they have now set their sites on influencing picks for the eight Under-Secretary positions, who might just have more influence on day-to-day operations since they are the management muscle behind the department.
Continue Reading The Sustainable Dozen Campaign
Tags: Food Democracy Now! > petition > Under Secretary of Agriculture > USDA
Food Safety Crisis No Bailout Will Prevent
Posted on | January 16, 2009 | 1 Comment
Photo by: Szczur
Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director of the Center for Food Safety has an article on the HuffingtonPost today on how budget cuts and weaker regulations imposed during the Bush Administration are conspiring to cause “an inevitable food safety disaster”. He says, “For two years, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) - reduced to a shell - has been beleaguered by one food safety failure after another. An examination of government records earlier this year showed FDA inspections down by more than 75 percent.” Continue Reading Food Safety Crisis No Bailout Will Prevent
First Vilsack Confirmation Hearing Goes Off Without a Hitch
Posted on | January 15, 2009 | No Comments
Photo by: kimberlyfaye (back, catching up)
A number of sources report this morning that Tom Vilsack had a very smooth hearing yesterday’s hearing in the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry Committee and is all but certain to be confirmed as Secretary of Agriculture. Continue Reading First Vilsack Confirmation Hearing Goes Off Without a Hitch
Inside Cargill’s Cash Machine
Posted on | January 14, 2009 | No Comments
Photo by Steven Rees
In the WSJ today, the paper presents an inside look at Cargill, which just posted a 25% growth in year over year earnings during the last quarter, and explains with fascinating detail how the company’s vertically diversified portfolio of businesses allows it unparalleled information that it uses to reap huge profits. The paper reports Cargill “has wide-ranging interests, buying and selling wheat and corn, chartering cargo ships and structuring complex derivative investments for hedge funds. Its customer list ranges from McDonald’s and Coca-Cola, to Egypt’s grain ministry.” This sprawling empire allows it to out-maneuver just about everyone because it has access to information first and is often in a unique position to profit when one market turns sour.
Continue Reading Inside Cargill’s Cash Machine
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Food isn’t just food anymore, it’s a lightning rod at the center of business, wellness, politics, and labor with hungry people like you and me caught in the middle. Stumbling Epicures covers the intellectually delicious news and events of eating in the 21st Century.
