Student-1 initial post,
I believe that my food is relatively safe and that I have taken measures to further ensure that it is safe. For example, I am a vegetarian because I learned about parasites and other diseases that can result from poorly cooked meat (apart from the environmental effects of the livestock industry). I always wash my fruits and vegetables as soon as I get home from the grocery store and then again right before I eat it. I make sure to keep foods in their proper places and in air-tight containers and clean up after cooking so no crumbs are left around my apartment. I haven’t seen any rodents where I live but I know that they are in neighboring apartment buildings! I don’t always think about where my food comes from when I buy it unless I’m at a farm stand- but I should probably think about it more. I think the greatest threat to our food supply would be pesticide and antibiotic use. I know that pesticides can be overused and harmful if we don’t wash our food properly. I also know from the module that antibiotic use in livestock can lead to microbial resistance which can have effects reaching beyond our food supply. To address these problems, I think research into what pesticides are currently used is important and alternatives should be researched. Maybe there are other ways to protect our food supply that doesn’t lead to accumulation in the environment. Or, there are ways to grow crops in a safer way so that they cannot be contaminated (I’m not sure what that would be though!). I also think that educating people on food safety is extremely important. People should know that their food comes from all over the world- so they should always always wash it at home, even if it looks clean! People should also be taught about how to store food properly and how to cook without cross-contaminating (ex: not cutting vegetables on the same cutting board as meat). If people are able to take control of their food safety, we might be able to prevent illness from improper practices.
Student-2 intial post
I consider our food fairly safe given the amount of regulations in place in the United States. The US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) mission is to protect the public health by ensuring safe food products. The FDA monitors food produced in the country, conducts inspections, sampling, and recalls, maintains an Adverse Event Reporting System and Reportable Food Registry, and published guidance for the public. In addition to the FDA, the US Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Services (FSIS) uses evidence-based policies to maintain safe meat, poultry, and egg supplies in the US. Aside from larger regulatory bodies, I think that I was taught a lot about food safety growing up. I have a parent that works in the food industry and cooks frequently at home. Lessons taken from my father influence my food choices every day.
The greatest threat to our food supply is the environment/climate change. I don’t think many people understand the impact that a lot of our food production has on the environment. The rate we are going at right now is not sustainable, especially considering the steady increase in world population. Many crops like wheat and maize have had a decline in production due to extreme heat and droughts. Sustainable agriculture practices are not widely adapted yet and many countries will face challenges balancing their food supply in coming years. Addressing these problems is a much larger conversation about how we address climate change. It will take a world wide effort and several changes to all industries (transportation, manufacturing, etc.) to make significant impact on the climate long-term.
Resources:
https://www.fda.gov/Links to an external site.
https://www.fsis.usda.gov/Links to an external site.
