Found A Peanut

Remember that song, Found a Peanut? Where you find it, eat it, it was rotten, got sick, called the doctor, died anyway? Yeah. Who knew it could be a morality lesson?

At least 8 people dead, hundreds sickened, from salmonella-tainted peanut butter that was distributed to manufacturers of everything from toddlers nutrition bars to ice cream. And now, the worst news of all: it should have come as no surprise to the owners and management of the plant in Georgia, because they not only knew their plant was riddled with salmonella (among other things), they actively tried to sell the paste they made that they knew was contaminated. Aside from there being a special place in hell reserved for those folks, there is now a call for a criminal investigation into the plant. At the minimum, these people deserve to be charged with negligent homicide for the people who died.

It's time for us to remember our past: Upton Sinclair wrote a book in 1906 that exposed the meat packing industry in our country, The Jungle . At that time, the conditions within the plants themselves, the sanitation of the meat, and the treatment of the workers themselves were all beyond today's ability to comprehend. Rotten meat was sometimes dyed red and sold to unsuspecting customers, the filth was unchecked, and no one was paying attention. The publication of his book led to legislation requiring sanitary conditions in factories and also led to great reforms within the labor movement.

Currently, the FDA has no ability to shut down manufacturers who do not meet minimum cleanliness standards. That needs to change, immediately. If a city can padlock the doors on a restaurant for unsafe food conditions, why can't the FDA? They have no ability to call for mandatory recalls of unsafe products, either, though mostly producers agree because the liability is so high once word gets out.

It is incredible to me that we can no longer even feel safe about purchasing peanut butter for our children without the fear that it could have a bacteria that comes from animal's intestinal tract. One of the products affected by the voluntary recall was labeled "organic". I guess, if you count poop, mold and deadly bacteria as an organic substances. We can't rely on manufacturers to police themselves, no more than we can rely on Wall Street, mondo corporations and lenders to do so. And frankly, there's no better place to start than the safety of the food supply.

As an aside, this whole food chain supply issue is a large reason why our family subscribes to a CSA farm. The bulk of the meat and eggs we eat is from the farm: pasture-fed beef, heirloom pork, and truly free range chicken and eggs. Nutritionally, these products are far superior to what is sold in the grocery store - "elevated concentrations of beta-carotene and a-tocopherol, increased levels of omega-3 fatty acids, a more desirable omega-3:omega-6 ratio, and increased levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA)". The theory suggests that in part the conversion from family farm to factory farm has contributed significantly to heart disease in this country because the natural sources of these critical fatty acids have evaporated.

An old friend once told me he became a vegan after reading The Jungle in junior high. Read if for yourself, and while I don't advocate veganism (because it's twigs and berries and life is too short for that), it wouldn't hurt for you to think about where you food is coming from and, more importantly, where it's been.