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The negative impact of globalization and food trading
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Importing US Food Risk
Imported foods in the U.S have tripled in the past decade. This has made it difficult for regulators to inspect the safety of all products that were consumed in America. A great percentage of the food bought in America come from abroad. Close to eighty percent of active pharmaceutical ingredients and finished drugs come from nations outside America. Importation of foods from outside countries pose a great risk on the health and lives of both animals and individuals in the U.S. according to a research carried out on the risks associated on food importation, it was discovered that a certain number of animals and people in America die while others suffer from serious infections obtained from some imported foods. In 2008, there were some reported cases where cats and dogs were stricken by tainted pet food while people died from contaminations in certain drugs. In both incidents, the ingredients were found to have been imported from China (In Curtis, 2013).
In response to this, the Public Health Security through the Bioterrorism act directs the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to take additional measures to protect the public from all terrorist attacks on food supply and all other food related emergencies. FDA is the food regulatory agency of the department of Health and Human Services and has the mandate to receive prior notification of food that is imported, including animal feed, in the United States. Prior notice of import shipments give chance to the FDA, through the support of the U.S Custom and Border Protection to focus on import inspections with much effectiveness and help protect the state’s food supply against acts of terror and all other public health emergencies. The FDA food safety act was signe...
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...tories. FDA is therefore developing a program to accreditation of the laboratory as part of implementation actions (Edelstein, 2009).
The government has lounged a website on food safety that provides the latest food safety alerts and recalls from both USDA and FDA (Gale et al., 2009). Applications can be downloaded through phones to enable people get the recalls by going to the specific website. Imported food has posed great risks to the U.S citizens while certain organizations have developed strategies for ensuring food safety for all Americans. Several measures have been taken to ensure that all imported foods match the safety standards of foods manufactured in the U.S. consumers and health care professionals have been encouraged to report all side effects or medication errors realized from the use of both the approved and unproved food and drug substances in U.S
Nestle, Marion. Safe Food: Bacteria, Biotechnology, and Bioterrorism. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2003.
Approximately two to four million animals have been used in safety tests. Safety tests are conducted with a wide range of chemicals and products, including drugs, vaccines, cosmetics, household cleaners, and packing materials. This raises issues such as the ethics and humaneness of deliberately poisoning animals, thus harming them, for the sake of marketing a new cosmetic or household product.
The Meat Inspection Act of 1906 was an attempt to regulate the meatpacking industry and to assure consumers that the meat they were eating was safe. In brief, this act made compulsory the careful inspection of meat before its consummation, established sanitary standards for slaughterhouses and processing plants, and required continuous U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection of meat processing and packaging. Yet, the most important objectives set by the law are the prevention of adulterated or misbranded livestock and products from being commercialized and sold as food, and the making sure that meat and all its products are processed and prepared in the adequate sanitary and hygienic conditions (Reeves 35). Imported meat and its various products are no exception to these conditions; they must be inspected under equivalent foreign standards.
In 1997, approximately 35 million pounds of ground beef was recalled by Hudson Foods because a strain of E. Coli was found in the food. However, by the time the beef was recalled, 25 million pounds had already been eaten. Schlosser notes that the nature of food poisoning is changing. Prior to the rise of large meatpacking plants, people would become ill from bad food in small, localized arenas. Now, because meat is distributed all over the nation, an outbreak of food poisoning in one town may indicate a nationwide epidemic.
Almost every angle of the food industry can be considered dangerous. It is dangerous to make the food, as a meatpacking job is one that is viewed as having abnormally high risks; however when the food is handed over a counter on a tray or prepared in a family of four’s kitchen, it poses a huge risk to humankind. Foodborne illnesses are all too common and almost everybody has the possiblity of contracting a foodborne illness. These are life threatening diseases that need to be monitored and regulated; therefore the enforcement of government regulations in the fast food industry could potentially save many lives that are lost annually due to the numerous factors that need regulation.
American society has grown so accustomed to receiving their food right away and in large quantities. Only in the past few decades has factory farming come into existence that has made consuming food a non guilt-free action. What originally was a hamburger with slaughtered cow meat is now slaughtered cow meat that’s filled with harmful chemicals. Not only that, the corn that that cow was fed with is also filled with chemicals to make them grow at a faster rate to get that hamburger on a dinner plate as quickly as possible. Bryan Walsh, a staff writer for Time Magazine specializing in environmental issues discusses in his article “America’s Food Crisis” how our food is not only bad for us but dangerous as well. The word dangerous could apply to many different things though. Our food is dangerous to the consumer, the workers and farmers, the animals and the environment. Walsh gives examples of each of these in his article that leads back to the main point of how dangerous the food we are consuming every day really is. He goes into detail on each of them but focuses his information on the consumer.
In the United States, Food is one of the basic needs of life.We tend to spend tons of money every year to buy food. Consuming food reflects America’s culture in the United States. In America, Fast food is a way to enjoy delicious food made with sugar, fat and salt. It’s impossible to back away from eating good tasting food. Unfortunately, this is leading to major destruction. In the human life, food procurement, preparation, and consumption have devoted to an art form.Spite the terms of “America has a food problem,” it shows that our nation is unable to produce and supply safe, nutritious food in a way where it sustains our global population. Health Issues are a result of over consumption, which lead to portion sizes, and food production.
The remarkable advances in agriculture, medicine, and technology have led to the unprecedented growth in global population over the past 100 years. None of these advances occurred in a vacuum, but evolved within the broad public policy framework in which governments set policies in the area of health, education, and general welfare of its population, imposing strict safety standards (regulations) consistent with best practices. Since food is a primary necessity of life, worldwide governments have a substantial influence on the supply of foods offered for human consumption.
Most of us have enjoyed that hot bowl of Campbell soup after a cold winter day. Did you know you are also enjoying a big helping of monosodium glutamate? Don’t know what that is? Well, you’re not alone. Not many people realize what it is they’re putting in their bodies. It can be quite shocking to read some of the side effects that come along with many common items found in most kitchens throughout this country. It is a common assumption that the FDA has the American people’s best interest in mind. If that is so, why are there so many unknown ingredients in the majority of the food we eat? Some of the additives found in FDA approved food can cause serious health risks. The FDA does not, however, conduct its own testing. It also does not approve product labeling or what is included on the nutrition label. The FDA can should change the way they test and market items that are potentially dangerous. Americans have the right to know just what that is they’re eating.
...s her claim with the help of Terri Lewis who is an FDA physical science technician. Lewis stated that all but 2.5% of the staff in her office are on furlough. Lewis is quoted “Foreign food is imported from other countries every day and with much fewer inspectors it makes the job less secure”.
The public becomes anxious about the food safety for some frequently occurred agriculture products’ safety accidents in recent years. To minimize the hidden danger of
First off, The government of the United States of America is ultimately responsible for keeping our foods safe. Many of the Presidents of the major food companies also obtain government jobs. When a problem occurs with food and a food has to be recalled a change has to be made. Someone comes up with a law to make sure that the problem does not occur again. The government evaluates the law and either passes or denies it. The type of foods that we buy from the grocery store were pre evaluated by the government. I think the reason why most foods are unsafe and are still being obtained by local residents is because the major food companies work and make deals with government so
The third weakness is the fact that food tests, inspections, and the detection of contaminants are taken seriously only after an outbreak of some food-borne diseases, food poisoning, or deaths. The increase in the number of food establishments or outlets such as cold stores, hypermarkets, and supermarkets reported by the Public Health Director has also made inspection and control mo...
Food is a thing of the past. Nevertheless, food safety in China is worse than what you thought; you can never imagine how toxic it is. Although there are a variety of choices of restaurants for us to eat nowadays, many people still choose to eat at home. Not only to save money, but also be sensible about their own health. Think about our situation now, we can constantly buy meat that we think is fresh and yummy, but who knows if it’s healthy and safe?
Food safety is an increasingly important public health issue. Governments all over the world are intensifying their efforts to improve food safety. Food borne illnesses are diseases, usually either infectious or toxic in nature, caused by agents that enter the body through the ingestion of food. “In industrialized countries, the percentage of people suffering from food borne diseases each year has been reported to be up to 30%. In the United States of America, for example, around 76 million cases of food borne diseases, resulting in 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths, are estimated to occur each year.” (Geneva 2)