[New World Disorder] Safe Food: An election issue

Got safe food? Read on before answering. This election the issue of
safe food is...on the table.

"Carol Tucker Foreman, director of the Food Policy Institute at the
Consumer Federation of America, said that since Bush took office,
"there has been a message from USDA that they would give the benefit
of the doubt to the industry... Bush administration officials at USDA
have consistently made clear they do not believe meat processors must
be held accountable for the safety of meat coming off the end of the
line. Since November 2001, the undersecretary for food safety has
denigrated pathogen testing and zero tolerance. Both the industry and
government have put profit ahead of public health." - Molly Ivins,
from http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?ItemID=13933
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"I am especially fond of a U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection
memo that drew the following reaction from the Government
Accountability Project: "Feces is feces whether it's fibrous or not.
... The USDA is abandoning the zero-tolerance standard for fecal
contamination and replacing it with a new standard: 'wholesome unless
there is gross contamination.' It's impossible for this standard to
coexist with the agency's claim that it makes decisions based on
science." - Molly Ivins, from
http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow/molly1804.cfm
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Bush Administration Mad Cow Disease Prevention Report Card, June 22,
2004, from
http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:myo805fTu94J:www.agobservatory.org/library.cfm%3Frefid%3D31808+bush+and+mad+cow&hl=en

Prepared by: Center for Food Safety, Consumers Union, The
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Foundation, Friends of the Earth, Government
Accountability Project, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy and
Public Citizen

Testing All Cattle 20 Months or Older for Mad Cow Disease - Grade D

Allowing Beef Producers to Test Their Cattle for Mad Cow Disease - Grade F

Ensuring That Feed Restrictions Prevent Mad Cow Disease - Grade D

Keeping All Downer Animals out of Food and Feed - Grade B

Implementing a National Animal Identification and Tracking System -
Grade C

Increasing Surveillance for Brain-Wasting Disease in Humans and
Requiring Mandatory Reporting of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease - Grade D

Establishing USDA Mandatory Recall Authority for Contaminated Meat -
Grade D

Implementing Country Of Origin Labeling As Required by the 2002 Farm
Bill - Grade D

Following its Own Rules - Grade F

Providing Opportunities for Public Input on Mad Cow Prevention - Grade D

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"On Food Safety, the Bush Administration is Out to Lunch", Center for
American Progress, June 23, 2004
from http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=98617
Excerpt: "Unfortunately, our food-inspection system has significant
holes. Every year, contaminated food sickens 76 million people,
resulting in 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths, according to
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Stronger safeguards
and tougher enforcement could significantly reduce this risk. However,
food manufacturers have steadfastly resisted increased oversight, and
the Bush administration has declined to take them on. On the contrary,
food manufacturers have been allowed to call the shots."
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"BUSH ADMINISTRATION STALLS ACTION ON BSE FEED PROTECTION UNTIL THE
LAST MAD COW COMES HOME", July 9, 2004, from Consumer Federation of
America at http://www.consumerfed.org/071304_cfa_on_interim_rules.html

Excerpt: "The Bush Administration has repeatedly stated that U.S.
citizens have nothing to fear because the U.S. instituted early and
effective protections against feed contamination. Therefore, any BSE
infection in the country would be self-limiting. However, in January
the Secretary of Health and Human Services acknowledged the need for
additional protection. It is these protections that have now been
shelved for the foreseeable future. If the feed ban is not as
protective as asserted, then the public and animal health are not as
safe as the Administration has argued.
"For the foreseeable future, calves can still be fed cows' blood. Cows
can consume poultry waste that may contain poultry feces and spilled
feed that may be infected with the BSE agent. Cows consuming these
products may become infected and subsequently infect humans. While the
risk of human disease is small, the results of vCJD are catastrophic.
The disease is always fatal. The decision to delay is inexplicable and
irresponsible."

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from http://www.johnkerry.com/pdf/vision.pdf
John Kerry and John Edwards believe that all Americans share basic
environmental "rights"

including:

. the right to breathe clean air;

. the right to drink safe water;

. the right to eat uncontaminated food;

. the right to live in communities free of toxins; and

. the right to inherit and enjoy America's abundant natural resources
and open spaces.

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From http://www.johnkerry.com/pdf/pr_2004_0703.pdf

More Inspections. John Kerry believes more inspections of cattle that
are exhibiting signs of a neurological disease, adult cattle dying on
farms, and non-ambulatory cattle must be done. These inspections
should include not only the meatpacking side but more coverage to
ensure that the 1997 feed ban on ground bone meal is not being
violated. John Kerry will increase the testing and inspections overall
and enhance the BSE surveillance program so that all suspect animals -
particularly downed animals - are analyzed.

National Tracking System to Make Diseased Livestock Easier to Track
and Contain. John Kerry will implement an aggressive timeline for
establishing a national tracking system that would make diseased
livestock and meat easier to track and contain. This is critical not
only to human health and public health but it will also help minimize
any economic impacts.

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