Op Ed

Food Safety; What Are We Really Eating?

By: Mia, SHS ‘25

No matter where they reside in the United States, many people enjoy a home cooked meal. When you open up the package of raw chicken, the average person doesn’t know that it is contaminated prior. Chicken already has salmonella, and it needs to be cooked out. People assume The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) keep our food safe, but we have no guarantees. (There’s issues in the US with foodborne illnesses, carcinogenic dyes, outbreaks from bacteria, and tragic deaths from people eating something contaminated).

 The US doesn’t have enough regulations, and there are too many holes in the “conveyor belt” of food production. The production of non-regulated foods made by companies prioritizing profit negatively effects the obesity crisis; this creates unsafe products that are being sold to the public, but education and awareness of these issues can convey individuals to eat locally sourced, clean foods. 

The public assumes companies are sanitary during production, but unfortunately, (this isn’t the case, food is often tampered with during production and that should be changed), we’re told to deep-clean our produce. It’s evident that companies cut corners to increase profits, risking the health of consumers. Take the 1990 E. Coli outbreak at Jack in the Box restaurants: for example. According to Poisoned: The Dirty Truth About Your Food (Soechtig), Jack in the Box didn’t listen to Washington state law, serving undercooked burgers. Lives could’ve been spared if this mistake wasn’t made. You’d hope this would motivate companies to care more about safety, but it’s not reflected in the 2008 Peanut Industry salmonella outbreak. They allowed birds to poop on the peanuts, and allowed rats that carried salmonella to crawl around the harvested nuts, yet they were still sold. The USDA and FDA went back and forth about how neither programs had the regulations/control to prevent what happened. The only result was lawsuits and jail-time. 

When thinking about food quality in the US, something that comes to mind is the obesity crisis. We are filled with empty calories, preservatives, cancer-causing dyes, and hurtful chemicals you don’t want to put in your body. Look at the results from a weight gain study conducted by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH): “...consumption of processed foods higher in starches, refined grains, fats, and sugars can increase weight gain” (HSPH). These statistics support the cause of the obesity crisis, and that’s why it’s yet to recede in the US. In addition, removing these “lower quality foods” and switching them for produce, white meat, and whole grains costs money (HSPH). After the 1960s, food prices skyrocketed while incomes went down, so the government gave people a “don’t starve” pass. Eat Drink Vote by Marion Nestle determines that people get SNAP benefits, which buys only junk foods (Nestle). By using SNAP as food payment, people are strictly buying junk food, leading to food deserts (areas where healthy foods are scarce), and now everyone is supported to become obese, as it’s what’s being provided for them. 

A better option is to eat locally sourced foods from local farms, rather than mass produced products. This can be hard in the US, but it’s effective in Europe, shown by a USDA study. The study states that, “southern European countries…exhibit high availability of vegetables. They’re the lowest consumers of sweeteners in the EU” (USDA). With climates perfect for produce, they create vast amounts of farming. This surplus creates a culture focused on healthy eating. The study reflects that by saying, “The… fact that there is a distinctive ‘Mediterranean Diet’... with little red meat or sweeteners… research suggests that this diet can contribute to reductions in heart disease.” (USDA) Fish and produce cost more money than red meat and processed grains, which directly impacts the health of citizens in our country as it’s tough to pay for good food AND all of the other life expenses. It’s truly unfortunate, but it’s the way our country works, and that needs to be changed by each and every individual. 

While food quality issues are still prevalent in today’s market, the industries continue to do little to none to regulate food safety. For the safety of you and your family, wash produce, cook meat properly, eat yogurts and fresh grains, and take care of your body by maintaining a proper diet (while also maintaining a bank account). By you supporting local markets/farms, you directly counteract the issues of the food industry, and provide for a cleaner, sustainable, and healthier future.

Works Cited

"The Best Diet: Quality Counts." Harvard School of Public Health, www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-weight/best-diet-quality-counts/. Accessed 1 May 2024.

Garces, Leah. "COVID-19 Illuminates Our Food System's Failure to Protect the Most Vulnerable." Common Dreams, 6 Apr. 2020, www.commondreams.org/views/2020/04/06/covid-19-illuminates-our-food-systems-failure-protect-most-vulnerable. Accessed 1 May 2024.

Mitchell, Lorraine. "U.S. and EU Consumption Comparisons." USDA, www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/outlooks/40408/30646_wrs0404f_002.pdf. Accessed 1 May 2024.

Nestle, Marion. Eat Drink Vote : an Illustrated Guide to Food Politics. New York, NY :Rodale, 2013.

Poisoned: The Dirty Truth About Your Food. Directed by Stephanie Soechtig, Campfire Studios, 2023.

Wakeman Town Farm. www.wakemantownfarm.org/new-page. Accessed 1 May 2024.