Courtesy: Laura Padgett/Flickr
During my TV-news days, I supported the old axiom; it must be a balanced report if we’re getting just as much negative feedback as we are positive responses. I found the same rule of thumb to hold true on Capitol Hill. Good legislation usually means each side had to make serious concessions, inevitably leaving a number of unhappy people to complain about its inadequacies. Perhaps that’s why I’m feeling a little uneasy over the latest developments surrounding the long overdue Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009. After some serious arm-twisting from Big Ag and members of the House Agriculture Committee, the members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously agreed Wednesday to alter the proposed legislation and “exempt livestock and poultry from oversight by the Food and Drug Administration.” I’ve heard a lot of praise for the committee’s bi-partisan approval of the bill, but where are the dissenters? Where is the healthy debate? Read More >
The World Health Organization is poised to raise the pandemic threat level as a deadly strain of the swine virus shows no sign of slowing down, according to a latest Reuters report. The New York Times reports that the number of people killed by the virus has climbed to 149 in Mexico and 8 of the 20 confirmed cases in the U.S. were diagnosed in New York City.
Reuters says the change in threat levels would indicate that the virus has mutated to the point that it is being transmitted from person to person more easily. According to an earlier Reuters report the CDC’s early analysis determined the virus strain, which is designated H1N1 (similar to the “Spanish Flu” which killed tens of millions of people in the early 20th Century) contains DNA from swine, human and avian viruses.
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The media aren’t the only ones paying attention to calls for a sustainable, healthy food system. Last Friday, Michael Pollan was invited to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to vision with them about how their work can support a more healthy, sustainable food system. Planning his visit encouraged cross-Center collaboration (CDC has 7 Centers) which will be necessary for future food systems work. He spoke to a packed house of CDC employees and outside guests (including me) and was firm in pushing the CDC to become a leader in supporting a healthy, sustainable food system. The CDC seemed receptive, as noted in the CDC’s introduction to Pollan: “We at the CDC care, and we want to do better,” and some concluding remarks: “[Pollan's] visit has been the catalyst to pull people together across the Centers, and will leave a lasting legacy at CDC.” Read More >
