Our current system of industrial food production, with too-fast processing lines and too-little inspection, makes food safety problems nearly inevitable. Recent outbreaks of E.coli in spinach, salmonella in peanut butter, and melamine in pet food and fish feed have raised awareness of the problem, but not prompted comprehensive solutions from our government.

Read our recent report

Your next hamburger could be bad for your health because carbon monoxide made it appear to be fresher than it is. Despite the potential risks, FDA approved the use of carbon monoxide in modified atmosphere packaging as “Generally Recognized as Safe”. Learn more about this deceptive and dangerous practice in Carbon Monoxide: Masking the Truth About Meat? Click here to read the press release and here to read the report online.

Rather than cleaning up our current system or adopting policies to change the way we produce food, the government usually supports new technologies that claim to treat contamination after it occurs.

For example, the Food and Drug Administration recently approved the use of bacteriophages, or viruses that kill bacteria, on ready-to-eat meat products. The corporation that developed the product claims it will reduce the presence of Listeria on deli-meats or other packaged foods. FDA did no independent testing and approved the product based on a single company-sponsored study. What’s more, the FDA failed to require clear labeling so consumers may not know they are eating bacteriophage treated food.

Bacteriophages are not the only questionable technology FDA has given the rubberstamp. FDA approved the use of carbon monoxide to make meat appear fresher, barely scrutinizes new genetically modified organisms, is poised to allow cloned animals into the food supply, and has done nothing to oversee the recent use of nanotechnology in our food supply. To add insult to injury, the agency ensures that consumers won't know how their food is produced by refusing to require labeling of products made with these controversial techniques.

GMOs in Africa?

Not all is well with agriculture in Africa. In addition to the buffeting from intermittent deluge and drought, the continent is facing pressure to replace its traditional small scale farming way of life with factory-style food production that emphasizes growing more of fewer types of crops, such as corn, cotton, and sorghum, for export around the world. This transformation is being marketed under the guise of helping African farmers produce more food to deal with hunger. Our report, Sowing the Seeds of Corporate Agriculture in Africa paints a different picture by discussing how genetically modified seeds and other industrial technologies threaten African food and farming.