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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Wenonah Hauter, MS, Director, Food and Water Watch, 1400 16th Street, NW, Suite 225, Washington, DC 20036, 202-797-6550, whauter@fwwatch.org

How food is produced determines to a large extent how nutritious that food is and whether it contains contaminants. People have a right to safe, nutritious food. The current industrialized food production system creates many food safety problems. This is especially apparent in industrialized animal food production predominant in the United States and increasingly worldwide. The use of large amounts of antibiotics for the purpose of “growth promotion” poses a hazard not only to the workers in poultry and hog production, but also to the general public as bacteria develop resistance to these antibiotics - often the same as those used in human medicine. These antibiotic resistant organisms have been found in the air of hog facilities and on consumer chicken products. The feed used in animal production is very different from the animals' natural diets. For instance, inclusion of animal parts including brains and other nerve tissue is implicated in the spread of Mad Cow disease. Instead of a natural grass-based diet, most beef cattle are fed a diet of grains that is associated with an increased incidence of toxic E. Coli. Consumers are also being exposed to E. coli and other bacteria because of meat inspection lapses. Consumers have a right to know what is in animal feed, currently considered proprietary information. The voice of public health professionals can help press for better accountability and transparency by food-producing corporations and for increased authority and funding for Federal agencies to ensure that the food supply is safe and nutritious.

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