• On average our food travels 1,500 miles from the farm to our plate

• Because of the long distances that food travels, we no longer eat with the seasons and therefore eat produce that does not provide our bodies with all their nutritional benefits

• Grocery stores now boast over 47,000 products to choose from – most of which can sit on shelves for weeks or even months

• In present day, four companies control more than 80% of our poultry and meat production

• 30% of U.S. land is fields of corn, most of which is used to feed cows because of how cheap it is and because it keeps cows fat. All of this despite the fact that cows should only eat grass

• In the 1970s the FDA conducted more than 50,000 food inspections a year, in 2006 there were only 9,000 inspections

• Kevin’s Law, while not currently passed into law by government, would empower the USDA to shut down any contaminated food plants. This would have helped the widespread salmonella outbreak  that occurred recently due to a contaminated peanut facility and could have helped prevent the many who became sick

• 1 in 3 Americans will contract diabetes

• While we have been programmed to think fast food is cheap food,  we will pay much higher health care costs from the consequences of eating this fast food

If you demand good, wholesome food, farmers will deliver. It is up to us to decide what food we want to be putting on our table. Eat in season, eat locally and plant a garden of your own. These are some of the best ways to help yourself be healthy, help your family be healthy, help your environment be healthy and help our animals be healthy, too.

If you are hungry for change, visit www.foodincmovie.com to learn more about how you can take part.

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We are Still Hungry for Change with Food Inc.

Biden co-chairs the Food Safety Working Group along with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. The theme will be contamination prevention.

“The focus is to have a completely different emphasis than we’ve had in the past,” Biden said. “We’re going to make our new priority preventing (food contamination) from happening in the first place.”

The goal is also to tighten up loose regulatory laws. One example of how current rules have been detrimental is the Nestle Toll House Brand refrigerated cookie dough recall that happened this summer. When FDA inspectors toured the company’s plant, the company refused to provide complaint logs and pest-control records. This was perfectly legal under the current rules.

Under the proposed new rules, companies will have to provide the records, according to food safety expert Michael Taylor, senior adviser to FDA commissioner Margaret Hamburg.

Here are the proposed changes, which are immune to political opposition since they don’t have to be approved by Congress:

• Within 90 days, there will be an improved alert system at foodsafety.gov to give consumers access to food safety information.
• New safeguards designed to cut salmonella in raw eggs, E. coli in ground beef and other pathogens in leafy greens, melons, and tomatoes.
• A better tracking system will be implemented to spot the origins of outbreaks.
• Improve the typically bad communication between government agencies that regulate food safety.
• There will be new positions at the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to oversee food safety.

(via: USA Today)

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Government Plans to Improve Food Safety

The documentary-style feature shows how the majority of the food we consume is controlled in the hands of just a few giant food manufacturers whose sometimes deplorable and shocking processing practices have not only been hidden from the American consumer but have had the consent of the government’s two food regulatory bodies, the FDA and USDA.

The movie, which features interviews with In Defense of Food author Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser of Fast Food Nation, is more than just a jaw-dropping expose that graphically shows our food travels from farm (or machine) to fork, but it also motivates all of us to think twice before we order a hot dog at the baseball stadium, grab a box of sugar corn popped cereal or select a few tomatoes from our mass grocer for a summer salad.

As a Variety magazine movie critic commented, “Food Inc. does for the grocery store what Jaws did for the beach.”

What is equally compelling about the movie is that Food Inc. is part of a larger and growing movement to ensure more honesty in how our food is being grown, processed and manufactured. In addition, Food Inc. doesn’t just leave you feeling like the only way to safeguard your health is to grow your own garden, raise your own livestock and hull your own wheat. Accompanying the movie is a comprehensive take-action website that helps you become involved in the Hungry For Change movement. From no longer drinking sodas and other sweetened beverages to reading food labels, eating at home more and urging Congress to pass more food safety laws, Food Inc. empowers us with tools for change that you can start employing today.

Yes, it’s a terrying look into our nation’s food industry but Food Inc. is also an incredibly important movie that is worth every dollar of your $10 movie ticket. But you will probably want to forego the popcorn and post-movie burger and fries.

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Food Inc. is Hungry For Change

With names like the Tracing and Recalling Agricultural Contamination Everywhere Act, the Food and Drug Administration Globalization Act, the Food Safety and Tracking Improvement Act, and the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 it’s no wonder there is confusion about what is and is not being regulated, to what extent, and by who. After reading through HR 875, the proposed bill most likely to come to a vote, I can testify that there is not much more clarity to be found in the actual legislation than there is in all the alarmist blogs and email forwarding.

I sought out the help of my cousin who is an Indiana local, organic farmer and reads a lot! He had a lot to teach me and I have a lot to learn. The bills do not specifically regulate or outlaw personal gardens, local farming, farmer’s markets, or CSAs; HR 875 seems to primarily address food products that cross state lines. The other major part of HR 875 is the creation of the Food Safety Agency in addition to the FDA. The FSA would have regulation jurisdiction over food production on farms, including written food-safety plans and increased inspections. HR 759 and HR 814 may be more troubling to the owners of small farms and businesses; however, the wording of the bills is so broad and vague that the room for interpretation is great. It is not surprising that there has been such a buzz of conspiracy.

Monsanto seed company has been accused of promoting these bills, causing much outrage. Although Monsanto is not specifically protected with this legislation, such vague laws have protected their interests in the past. Globally such laws have resulted in deep debt and even mass suicides of small farmers.

Increased regulations can mean an increase in safety; however, if not well considered it will also mean an increase in operation costs and increased time spent in activities not directly related to food production. Making businesses jump through certain hoops can make it impossible for small businesses to succeed. The danger is that only large farms will be self-sustaining. Let me clarify that I am not against safety or regulation. However, other industries have demonstrated that when regulations and methods of regulation are not clearly defined, it can become extremely limiting, especially for smaller businesses.

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Digging out the Truth on Farming Legislation

Obama selects Margaret Hamburg to head FDA.

So, Obama has announced the nomination of former New York City Health Commissioner Margaret Hamburg as FDA commissioner. He’s also selected Baltimore Health Commissioner Joshua Sharfstein as her deputy. The president believes that the food safety system in the U.S. is a “hazard to public health,” and is in bad need of revision.

Obama cited a string of food safety problems in recent years. Some examples include contaminated spinach in 2006, salmonella in peppers and possibly tomatoes last year; and this year, a massive salmonella outbreak in peanut products which sickened more than 600 people and is suspected of causing nine deaths.

The peanut recall was one of the largest in U.S. history, and food contamination cases have tripled since the ’90s.

Underfunding and understaffing at the FDA has left the agency unable to conduct annual inspections at nearly enough of the 150,000 food processing plants and warehouses in the country.

Hamburg’s appointment requires Senate confirmation, while Sharfstein does not.

(via: USA Today)

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Obama Appoints New Leadership at FDA

Food Safety

• Because Super Bowl parties can last for several hours, it’s imperative to keep track of the food you have out for your guests.
• Certain foods (containing mayo, sour cream, meats, etc.) should not be out at room temperature for longer than two hours because you don’t want to enter the “Danger Zone.”
• The “Danger Zone” is when the temperature of food falls between 40°F and 140°F; this zone is when food is most likely to become home for harmful bacteria that will grow and multiply.
• Learn the USDA’s 4 keys to food safety:

  1. Cook- Minimum temperature for poultry is 165°F; ground beef 160°F; steak internal temperature 145°F. Use a food thermometer to ensure meats are safely cooked.
  2. Separate- Don’t cross contaminate; keep raw meat and poultry apart from cooked foods.
  3. Clean- Wash hands and surfaces often.
  4. Chill- Refrigerate or freeze promptly.

Food and Nutrition

For most, Super Bowl Sunday consist of wings, hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza, chips, dip, beer, and other greasy favorites. This year, why not try to make some healthier choices?!

• Do a fruit and veggie tray with a low-fat dip or hummus; or nuts, cheese and cracker tray
• Try grilled chicken breast, or chicken kabobs (protein and veggies!)
• Instead of having food out and eating because its in front of you, listen to your internal cues, make one plate to eat and then snack on fruits and veggies.
• Don’t drink your calories; focus on water instead of beer, cola, etc.
• Grill or bake foods instead of frying.
• Remember portion control; don’t just eat of the bowl!

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Super Bowl Sunday Survival Tips