Food Safety in the U.S.- 2 year old boy dies from eating hamburger!

[Daynaof3]

 http://www.foodincmovie.com/about-the-issues.php -This is a link to the official site of the documentary movie Food, Inc. I recommend EVERYONE watch this movie.

In Food, Inc. we meet Barbara Kowalcyk, whose 2 year old son, Kevin, died from E.coli poisoning after eating a hamburger. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 76 million Americans are sickened, 325,000 are hospitalized and 5,000 die each year from foodborne illnesses. Although Kevin's law is not pending in Congress right now, there are other important national food safety legislation pending now for you to support.

Her son died of E. Coli 0157:H7, to learn more about it here's a link:

http://www.medicinenet.com/e_coli__0157h7/article.htm

Veggie Libel Laws- http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Environment/Veggie_Libel.html

The costs of free speech are rising. Thanks to "veggie-libel" laws, speaking about the safety of the food supply may result in a long and expensive lawsuit, a huge damages award or criminal sanctions. Even if the speaker prevails in court, he or she must still bear the litigation costs.

 Learn more about these issues and how you can take action on Takepart.com

10 Simple things you can do to change our food system

 

1)Stop drinking sodas and other sweetened beverages.

You can lose 25 lbs in a year by replacing one 20 oz soda a day with a no calorie beverage (preferably water).

 

2)Eat at home instead of eating out.

Children consume almost twice (1.8 times) as many calories when eating food prepared outside the home.

 

3)Support the passage of laws requiring chain restaurants to post calorie information on menus and menu boards.

Half of the leading chain restaurants provide no nutritional information to their customers.

 

4)Tell schools to stop selling sodas, junk food, and sports drinks.

Over the last two decades, rates of obesity have tripled in children and adolescents aged 6 to 19 years.

 

5)Meatless Mondays—Go without meat one day a week.
An estimated 70% of all antibiotics used in the United States are given to farm animals.

 

6)Buy organic or sustainable food with little or no pesticides.

According to the EPA, over 1 billion pounds of pesticides are used each year in the U.S.

 

7)Protect family farms; visit your local farmer's market.

Farmer's markets allow farmers to keep 80 to 90 cents of each dollar spent by the consumer.

 

8)Make a point to know where your food comes from—READ LABELS.

The average meal travels 1500 miles from the farm to your dinner plate.

 

9)Tell Congress that food safety is important to you.

Each year, contaminated food causes millions of illnesses and thousands of deaths in the U.S.

 

10)Demand job protections for farm workers and food processors, ensuring fair wages and other protections.

[sati769leigh]

Nov. 14, 2009 at 5:46 PM

good post!