the Informer

katiemermaid.com

Just when you thought the healthiest option at Commons was the fruit selection, think again, as Colorado-based fruit producer Jensen Farms has sent out a massive recall on cantaloupes that had been shipped as far as New York and New Jersey.

Tainted cantaloupes have left fifteen people dead in the United States’ second deadliest food borne illness recall in the past decade according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The cantaloupes had been contaminated by listeria monocytogenes bacteria, the cause of listeriosis, which caused 84 to fall ill throughout 19 states.

The ever-increasing number of food borne illness cases in the nation begs the question why isn’t the government stepping in on behalf of the consumer and enforcing stricter policies on large food manufacturers?

Just last February, Cargill Meat Solutions Corp. recalled upwards of 35 million pounds of ground turkey after tests showed traces of salmonella. That outbreak caused 1 death and 111 people to become ill.

There are four main meatpackers in the United States today. Cargill Meat Solutions, Tyson Foods, JBS USA and National Beef Packing Co. LLC. Cargill holds 21 percent of the U.S. market share, with a daily slaughter capacity of 29,000 according to hcn.org.

Cargill is also a leading corn syrup and soybean manufacturer, runs the largest flour-milling company in the world, as well as has cocoa and chocolate processing centers on four continents.

The idea that most of what is available to us at the grocery store is manufactured by a handful of companies is particularly disconcerting, especially when government inspectors seem to miss the most crucial components that lead to the death of hundreds of Americans.

During the summer of 2010 more than 1,600 people were reportedly stuck ill by salmonella found in eggs produced by Hillandale Farms in Iowa. The recall included more than 500 million eggs that had been distributed to 14 states nationwide.

The increasing number of cases of food borne illnesses serves as a wake up call to Americans to not take a back seat to their own health. Be responsible for the nutrients that you put into your body and if you don’t like the way the government and big industry are handling their obvious flaws then take a stand and make a change. That can be as simple as avoiding certain brands that you’re particularly wary of, or changing lifestyles to suit your nutrient goals.

The fall is the perfect season to make a statement towards the large food producers. Instead of hustling to the grocery store to snag your evening meal, take the time to make your way over to the local farmers market. Have a relationship with the food you eat, learn where it comes from, learn about the people that are harvesting it and buy locally.

The benefits are endless especially if you’re interested in giving back to the community you are a part of. The additional cost may seem like a sting in the wallet, however the fresh ingredients will satisfy without the added lbs.

To play into the endless fast food and fat-filled ways that the majority of the United States is forced into is not just hurting us right now but it’s feeding into the cyclical nature of large food manufacturers that are in it for the money, not the betterment of our nation as a whole.