Author: Jacqueline Zradicka

From foreign objects to bacterial contamination, the growing rates of hazards in processed foods are motivation to eat fresh!

When millions of pounds of food are processed each day, it is not surprising when a contaminant or two finds its way into the food. At minimal levels, these contaminants go unnoticed and undocumented. However, at elevated levels, contaminants can be dangerous or even fatal. Unfortunately, many food recalls do not occur until a number of people have become sick or injured.

2012 had its fair share of recalls and contaminations- notably the alarming arsenic levels in rice that prompted congress to limit arsenic in rice products. 2013 is already off to quite a start in food recalls. According to the U.S. FDA, these foods, among many others, were found to be contaminated:

• Beef lasagna made by Findus was found to contain up to 100 percent horse meat! This discovery prompted a mandatory testing of products containing processed beef by all companies. France and the UK are experiencing similar problems.
• LeanCuisine, distributed by Nestlѐ Prepared Foods Company, has been recalled for a misprinted “best before date”.
• Various dried mushrooms from DZH Imports contain high levels of sulfites that could trigger a fatal reaction in those allergic.
• Frozen Country Fried Steaks became contaminated with foreign particles when a plastic bin found its way into production, requiring AdvancePierre Foods to recall these items.
• Just when you thought natural food stores were safe, Whole Foods and its seafood division, Whole Catch, have recalled products: bagels with cream cheese, the cream cheese itself and sockeye salmon contained high levels of Listeria monocytogenes. A sometimes fatal bacterium, Listeria monocytogenesit can also cause miscarriage.
• Annie’s brand, a company that produces natural and organic boxed and premade foods took their frozen pizzas off shelves because of metal fragments. Metal pieces were also found in bagels by Thomas’, Sara Lee, Publix and Weight Watchers.
• A most recent recall is that of Organic Baby Spinach distributed by Taylor Farms Retail Inc. The spinach was found to have elevated levels of Enterohaemorrhagic E. Coli (EHEC). Symptoms include intestinal distress, fever, and nausea.

The big surprise in this list is the recall by the natural and organic brands. No mass produced food product is safe from excessive contamination, further demonstration that factory farming, organic or conventional, is a health hazard. Corporately produced foods all pose a potential heath risk. The food item is handled too many times by too many people, making it difficult to control quality and safety. Contamination can occur at any point in production, during the growing stage, harvest, processing or shipping. A single item comes into contact with a great many others, spreading contamination rapidly- making the act of investigating the source of contamination a challenge.

Purchasing food from a local farmer reduces the risk of contamination. First, because there is less quantity, it is easier to prevent the introduction of foreign material. Second, because the food is not warehoused for lengths of time with foods from other origins, bacterial contamination from other food sources is not a factor. Reducing the opportunities for contamination helps minimize the risk of particle or bacterial contamination.

With the risk of oral injury, bacterial infections, and other intestinal ailments, it is amazing that we continue to trust our conglomerate food suppliers. At what point do we abandon factory farming and support our local farmers and a healthier lifestyle?

The Super Bowl airing of a Dodge Ram commercial in which Paul Harvey described the noble qualities of a farmer is a glamorization of today’s typical agro-industrial production. It is not a true representation of the majority of today’s farmers.

Decades ago, farmers did possess gentility towards the animals they raised; they were a symbol of land stewardship and environmental awareness. Their passion was to cultivate life for the nourishment of others. The fertility and integrity of the land was a priority; it ensured future success. For the most part, farmers of the past are icons of an era that has been changed as much as the land they plow.

Too many of today’s farmers relentlessly sow a single crop in nutritionally barren land and repeatedly spray their yield with poisonous chemicals. Government subsidy checks are the priority instead of nutritious food. Their focus has shifted from sustainability to maximum profitability, resulting in vast fields of single crops and confined animal feeding operations.

Corporations have taken control of production away from the farmers, placing unnatural demands on the land and animals. These modern conventional farming practices have led to the rise in food borne illness; antibiotic, pesticide and herbicide resistance; genetic erosion of species; and a detachment of a people from their food source.

We cannot, however, lay all the blame on the farmer, or even the government. We, the public, the consumers, carry the majority of the responsibility for this dramatic change in our food production. We have sent a loud and clear message to farming companies, telling them that we approve of gluttony and harsh environmental practices, that we tolerate the plundering of our lands as long as there is a never ending supply of nutritionally substandard food. We tell them this every time we purchase today’s quick, prepackaged meals.

The once intimate relationship we had with our food is in the past, but it doesn’t need to stay there. For the health of our children, the preservation of our land, and the future of our people, we must rekindle our emotional connection to food: where it comes from, how it is grown, and the bonds that it can create among us. Food can once again become a means for celebration and family togetherness. We can take our first step with a return to purchasing fresh, local, wholesome foods.

Many of the qualities of a farmer mentioned by the Dodge Ram ad are maintained by today’s sustainable, heirloom, and organic farmers and ranchers. Their growing ranks are leading a shift back to fresh and local food production. By changing our consumption, we can demand a rise in organic, ethical farming. In turn, this rise in demand will impact food production, driving government policy to provide assistance to alternative, clean, environmentally conscious farmers instead of commodity producers.

God made a farmer, a steward of the land, an advocate for healthy food and humane ranching practices. Across the nation we are seeing a return of this iconic image of the farmer who raises grass fed beef and sheep, free range chickens, and organic crops. We want them to be bold and courageous, to stand against tyrannical corporations that dictate unsound methods of food production. We want them to succeed. But they cannot succeed without our full support—support that comes through our choices each time we buy our food.

Will we continue to use our dollars to support factory farming, GMO foods, and giant food conglomerates? Or will we choose organic? Grass fed? Free range? The choice is ours.