Buy Local, Live Longer

If you're like me, you're not worried overmuch about food contamination. Sure there's the occasional media flurry about hepatitis spinach or salmonella peanut butter, but these are isolated incidents so there's not a lot of danger.

The pet food recall gave me more reason for pause than any human food scare. After all, the FDA keeps our food safe while pet food is relatively unmonitored.

But a little research into the matter has changed my mind considerably. There are many factors involved in food safety - is irradiation really safe? What kinds of meds are we giving to livestock & what are the consequences? How is my food being fertilized, nourished, handled & shipped?

These are just a few of the major concerns that consumers face. And trying to educate oneself in these matters is pretty overwhelming. But there's one huge safety risk that's largely been ignored: The US is seeing a continual increase in food imports but we lack the ability to inspect most of them.

According to this very informative article in USA Today, the FDA is responsible for about 80% of the nations food supply (the USDA takes care of the rest because it oversees meat & poultry).

Each day, we receive over 25,000 shipments of food from more than 100 countries but the FDA only inspects about 1% of these imports. That's pretty scary, considering that many other countries have far less stringent regulations than the US.

Even more disturbing, this AP story on MSN tells us that of the 1% that are checked, many are found to be "unfit for human consumption." Very scary indeed.

What's a consumer to do? As the Chinese wheat gluten investigation widens, we're learning that even foods considered to be low-risk may be seriously dangerous. The best solution for now at least, seems to be: buy local. Know where your food has come from. Buy locally grown produce & baked goods from your neighborhood markets -- which we should all be doing anyway to support our local economies.

We have the right to eat food that hasn't been poisoned. Manufacturers are probably buying foreign because it's cheaper. But if consumers ask questions & then spend their money based on those answers, manufacturers will be forced to meet a standard of quality to maintain their customer base.

For now, you're not safe if you're eating imported foods. Do some research & ask questions. Spend your money wisely & safely. Only then will we see manufacturers & importers improve their practices enough to make foreign foods truly safe for U.S. consumption.