Annotated Bibliography
From "Farm to Table"
12/6/10
From "Farm to Table": Microbiological Foodborne Illness and the Regulation of the Beef Industry.
Huur, Melind M. April 27, 2004
www.leda.law.harvard.edu/leda/data/634/Hurr_redacted.html
This paper basically explains the regulations in place to oversee the beef industry. It explores the different processes and practices used in the production and distribution of the meat that is availble to consumers.
Ms. Hurr also goes on discuss the pathgens and illnesses and their conseguences when regulations fail or most notably are not enforced. She also probes the costs of thses illnesses to both the consumer and the businesses involved.She then explores the steps that different agencies have taken to rectify the situation as she cites theirfailures as well as successes. In the final part of her paper she explores what the government and these agencies can do to futher improve on the quality of meat processing and distribution.
USDA Orders Largest Meat Recall in U.S. History
Brown, David. “USDA Orders Largest Meat Recall in U.S. History.” The Washington Post on the
Web 18 Feb. 2008. 2 Dec. 2010 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/17/AR2008021701530.html
This article discusses the largest meat recall in the U.S. in the state of California. Due to the fact that the company did not prevent sick animals from entering the food supply. The total amount of meat that was recalled from this particular recall was 143 million pounds of beef. The article goes on to state that the recall made by the USDA was made exactly three weeks after they received a videotape showing “egregious violations” of federal animal care regulations by the employees of Westland Meat. It states that veterinarians were not brought into to inspect the animals brought to the factory and other violations made by this company.
USDA- United States Department of Agriculture
USDA. 2010. http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Home/index.asp
Through this site you can find any information you need about meat. This site provides sources, details, responses to questions, and anything else you might need when investigating the meat process. From the USDA site you may ask questions to experts and they will respond. You are also provided with articles and information relevant to the times. Along with this however you are given the rules and regulations that meat companies must follow to correctly process your meat.
Major Meat Recalls In the US 1888-2000
Google. “Major Meat Recalls in US.” Time Line List.
<http://www.google.com/search?q=major+meat+recalls+in+US+timeline&hl=en&prmd=b&tbs=tl:1&tbo=u&ei=
QKn7TPXKMMKqlAftnYyNBQ&sa=X&oi=timeline_result&ct=title&resnum=11&ved=0CD4Q5wIwCg >
This source provided the meat recalls that occurred between the years of 1888-2000. It allowed us to see that since people have become aware of contaminated meat and laws have been put into place to prevent it recalls have not slowed. The recalls that are shown, display multiple types of meat products that have had different reasons to be recalled.
Good, Clean, Fair: The Rhetoric of the Slow Food Movement by Stephen Schneider 12/6/10 Schneider, Stephen. (2008) Good, Clean, Fair: The Rhetoric of the Slow Food Movement. College English 70.4, 384-401.
Stephen Schnieder writes about a man named Carlo Petrini who founded "The Slow Food Movement." The principals of this movement's are that people need to rethink how and what they eat and must be consicious of how that food is produced and distributed. The three concepts involved are Good, Clean, Fair Food. Good meaning that tasty food retains its cultural and geographic origins. Clean means that the food is produced in a way that is respectful to the environment and promotes regrowth and not death of the planet. And Fair means that food will be prodeced fairly with an eye on social justice and that workers are paid fair wages and treated well.
Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation: Why the Fries Taste Good (Excerpt) 11/27/10 Schlosser, Eric. "Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation: Why the Fries Taste Good (Excerpt)." 26 March 2010. pbs.org. 26 November 2010 <pbs.org/pov/.../fastfoodnation_01.php>.
This is the story of Schlosser's visit to J.R Simplot and his potatoe plant in Aberdeen, Idaho. This is the site that provides the frozen french fries for McDonald's food chain. At sixteen Simplot began potatoe farming and eventually turned it into an empire. The plant runs 310 day a year, 24 hours a day turning potatoes into french fries and making Simplot one of the richest men in the united states.
In 1941 Simplot discovered a way to turn onions into powder that he would later call gold dust. Then in the mid forties he and his chemists devised a way to flash frreze french fries and by 1953 they were selling all across the United States. The decreased cost of frozen french fries appealed to McDonald's because the profit margin soared and they struck a deal with Simplot in 1965 that was sealed with only a handshake.
Featured Article: Talking Turkey 11/23/2010 http://www.sustainabletable.org/features/articles/thanksgiving/ (nd) 11/23/10
This article reiterates the problems of mass producing meat for human consumption. 99% of turkeys raised in the US are known as the "Broadbreasted White" or the "Large White." Like other mass produced animals theses birds live in horrible conditions. Cramped and fed grains and antibiotics, the breasts on these birds are so large they can't reproduce naturally. Artificial insemination keeps this breed alive. Without this process they would be extinct in one generation. Groups like Slow Food USA and Heritage Turkeys are attempting to re-introduce breeds that lived years ago. Again it is suggested that you buy from local well known farms where you can see ho
The Pleasures of Eating by Wendell Berry 11/23/2010 Berry, W. (1990) The Pleasures of eating. In What are People for? North Point Press.
In his article, Wendall Berry argues that the American consumer has become passive regarding how and what we eat. We have massive obesity and health problems in this country because we have let big companies dictate what we eat. We have lost sight of where our food comes from. I for one can say that beef tastes differently that it did even 20 years ago. The way that our food is produced is slowly killing us. Instead of looking for that fast fix for dinner, we need to grow and prepare our own food as much as possible. He also states we should eat locally to insure freshness and history of our food intake. He believes if we really knew how pur food was produced and the enethical politics involved perhaps we would become advocates for humane treatment of animals that are to become our food.
Food, Inc. Documentary 11/23/2010 Kenner, R (Producer,Director) and Scholsser, E. (Producer). (2008). Food, Inc.[DVD].
Food, Inc. is a documentary that focuses on the way food is mass produced in our country, for our consumption. Often the process is detrimental to our health, the workers health and the health of plants and animals. Antibiotics are given to chicken, cows, pork, and so on to prevent diseases they are exposed to from being packed together. Plants are treated with chemicals to mass produce which we the consumer ingest. Diseases like E. Coli 157:H7 have experienced huge mutation problems and not just in the cattle or other animals, but from the run off into water supplies for irrigation. This is proving to infect spinach, and apple juice as well. People have died from this disease. The documentary further goes on to state that federal inpections are lacking and the health of Americans is largely ignored by regulators.
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan 11/27/2010 Pollan, Michael. "Our National Eating Disorder." Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. New York: The Penguin Press, 2006. 1-11.
Pollan, Michael. "The Farm." Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural HIstory of Four Meals. New York: The Penguin Press, 2006. 32-56.
This book is about the changes that have taken place in the way Americans and more importantly how that food is mass produced. The chapter I read called "The Farm", is the story of George Naylor and how his family farm has changed since the 1920's. Michael Pollen visited George to conduct an interview and relates to his readers some of the negative effects that new farmng has had on the globe. George tells Micheal that the amount of corn that can be produced has increased from the use of fossil fuels to provide synthetically what the sun used to provide. The corn is all the same and doesn't have to fight for the sun. Another situation that has come from this massive growth of corn is the notable absence of animals. Pollen goes on to say that the US government has played a major role in these changes. And eventho these changes of industrialization has negative effects on society, yield is money so the government will continue to support these programs.
This is the story of Schlosser's visit to J.R Simplot and his potatoe plant in Aberdeen, Idaho. This is the site that provides the frozen french fries for McDonald's food chain. At sixteen Simplot began potatoe farming and eventually turned it into an empire. The plant runs 310 day a year, 24 hours a day turning potatoes into french fries and making Simplot one of the richest men in the united states.
In 1941 Simplot discovered a way to turn onions into powder that he would later call gold dust. Then in the mid forties he and his chemists devised a way to flash frreze french fries and by 1953 they were selling all across the United States. The decreased cost of frozen french fries appealed to McDonald's because the profit margin soared and they struck a deal with Simplot in 1965 that was sealed with only a handshake.
Featured Article: Talking Turkey 11/23/2010 http://www.sustainabletable.org/features/articles/thanksgiving/ (nd) 11/23/10
This article reiterates the problems of mass producing meat for human consumption. 99% of turkeys raised in the US are known as the "Broadbreasted White" or the "Large White." Like other mass produced animals theses birds live in horrible conditions. Cramped and fed grains and antibiotics, the breasts on these birds are so large they can't reproduce naturally. Artificial insemination keeps this breed alive. Without this process they would be extinct in one generation. Groups like Slow Food USA and Heritage Turkeys are attempting to re-introduce breeds that lived years ago. Again it is suggested that you buy from local well known farms where you can see ho
The Pleasures of Eating by Wendell Berry 11/23/2010 Berry, W. (1990) The Pleasures of eating. In What are People for? North Point Press.
In his article, Wendall Berry argues that the American consumer has become passive regarding how and what we eat. We have massive obesity and health problems in this country because we have let big companies dictate what we eat. We have lost sight of where our food comes from. I for one can say that beef tastes differently that it did even 20 years ago. The way that our food is produced is slowly killing us. Instead of looking for that fast fix for dinner, we need to grow and prepare our own food as much as possible. He also states we should eat locally to insure freshness and history of our food intake. He believes if we really knew how pur food was produced and the enethical politics involved perhaps we would become advocates for humane treatment of animals that are to become our food.
Food, Inc. Documentary 11/23/2010 Kenner, R (Producer,Director) and Scholsser, E. (Producer). (2008). Food, Inc.[DVD].
Food, Inc. is a documentary that focuses on the way food is mass produced in our country, for our consumption. Often the process is detrimental to our health, the workers health and the health of plants and animals. Antibiotics are given to chicken, cows, pork, and so on to prevent diseases they are exposed to from being packed together. Plants are treated with chemicals to mass produce which we the consumer ingest. Diseases like E. Coli 157:H7 have experienced huge mutation problems and not just in the cattle or other animals, but from the run off into water supplies for irrigation. This is proving to infect spinach, and apple juice as well. People have died from this disease. The documentary further goes on to state that federal inpections are lacking and the health of Americans is largely ignored by regulators.
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan 11/27/2010 Pollan, Michael. "Our National Eating Disorder." Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. New York: The Penguin Press, 2006. 1-11.
Pollan, Michael. "The Farm." Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural HIstory of Four Meals. New York: The Penguin Press, 2006. 32-56.
This book is about the changes that have taken place in the way Americans and more importantly how that food is mass produced. The chapter I read called "The Farm", is the story of George Naylor and how his family farm has changed since the 1920's. Michael Pollen visited George to conduct an interview and relates to his readers some of the negative effects that new farmng has had on the globe. George tells Micheal that the amount of corn that can be produced has increased from the use of fossil fuels to provide synthetically what the sun used to provide. The corn is all the same and doesn't have to fight for the sun. Another situation that has come from this massive growth of corn is the notable absence of animals. Pollen goes on to say that the US government has played a major role in these changes. And eventho these changes of industrialization has negative effects on society, yield is money so the government will continue to support these programs.
