It's What's in Our Food, Stupid

Europe is struggling to locate the source of a brand new strain of E. coli that is antibiotic resistant and lethal. More than one theory blames the common practice of giving antibiotics to perfectly healthy animals as a likely cause. This use of antibiotics has come under fire before as the scientific and medical communities have repeatedly warned of the fast approaching day when "super bugs" will end the miracle age of antibiotics once and for all. In the meantime, savvy consumers are advised to choose their meat from antibiotic free sources. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wendy-gordon/food-antibiotics-_b_871780.html?ir=Green

Of course this article says nothing about vegetables often providing the source of E. coli outbreaks.

Our Republican Congress continues to equate "deregulation" with "jobs" and agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration with "job killing" regulation. This at the same time that corporations prove every day of the week how devastating to our environment, health and safety their actions in the absence of meaningful oversight can be.

Americans are accused of causing their own obesity and diabetes with poor food choices. Agri-business bombards the air waves with commercials insisting high fructose corn syrup is just the same as processed sugar and nothing to worry about. Last week I saw that the popular brand of potato salad I was purchasing listed high fructose corn syrup as one of its top ingredients. What is that about? When I make potato salad from scratch, I do not add either sugar or corn syrup. Why should I? It tastes delicious without them.

Definitions of what is organic have been twisted by agri-business to include products consumers would not consider organic if they knew how they were produced. Food dyes and flavorings labeled as "natural" are sometimes "natural" petroleum or chemical products. "All natural" fruit drinks sold for small children frequently contain HUGE amounts of sugar or high fructose corn syrup and bear little or no resemblance to fruit juice.

Even folks who conscientiously read the labels can be fooled by the list of ingredients. Perhaps the best rule of thumb is to select products with short ingredient lists that contain no words you do not understand. Reduced or low sodium canned goods often contain HUGE doses of sodium. Reduced or low fat products frequently contain high levels of sweeteners. As regulation and oversight decrease, label reading becomes more critical. Of course we are then assuming the labels are accurate. Without oversight, can we rely upon that?

Next time you hear a politician talk about "job killing over regulation" ask yourself who is contributing to his campaign and how product safety can be maintained without oversight. Might not be a bad time to read Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, the book that started the whole food safety movement over 100 years ago.