Food Inc Documentary
CDC estimates that each year roughly 1 in 6 Americans (or 48 million people) gets sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die of foodborne diseases (https://www.cdc.gov/foodborneburden/2011-foodborne-estimates.html). That means that approximately, 133 people day in a day due to foodborne illnesses. Therefore, health and safety standards need to be raised in the food industry to protect consumers from ingesting E. coli and other dangerous bacteria. In the documentary “Food Inc.”, mother Barbara Kowalcyk shared her story of when her two year old son Kevin died from a strand of E. coli 0157:H7 in 2001. Kevin died because of a contaminated hamburger from a fast food joint. Had there been more inspections and regulations, Kevin and thousands
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“Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 2014 data that showed repetitive motion injuries among beef and pork processing workers were nearly seven times that of other private industries.” (http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/08/11/489468205/working-the-chain-slaughterhouse-workers-face-lifelong-injuries). “More than 150 meat and poultry workers died in that period of time (2004 – 2013) by illnesses and affections linked to their work. The injury rate in this industry is higher than in most manufacturing industries.” (http://www.pulseheadlines.com/workers-safety-slaughterhouses/32674/)
In the past, 18 employees of Monsanto have held a government position. Many other presidents and CEO’s of big slaughterhouses and food processors also hold positions on the FDA and USDA. This means that they have say on how their plants are regulated. For them, it only matters how fast the line moves, not about worker safety or whether the meat is contaminated or not.
There are over 250 different types of foodborne diseases. Some come contaminated from the slaughter house, while some are contaminated through the preparation process. In order to reduce the number of illnesses caused from preparations, the FDA and USDA need to work together to create better programs about how to properly prepare
“Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 2014 data that showed repetitive motion injuries among beef and pork processing workers were nearly seven times that of other private industries.” (http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/08/11/489468205/working-the-chain-slaughterhouse-workers-face-lifelong-injuries). “More than 150 meat and poultry workers died in that period of time (2004 – 2013) by illnesses and affections linked to their work. The injury rate in this industry is higher than in most manufacturing industries.” (http://www.pulseheadlines.com/workers-safety-slaughterhouses/32674/)
In the past, 18 employees of Monsanto have held a government position. Many other presidents and CEO’s of big slaughterhouses and food processors also hold positions on the FDA and USDA. This means that they have say on how their plants are regulated. For them, it only matters how fast the line moves, not about worker safety or whether the meat is contaminated or not.
There are over 250 different types of foodborne diseases. Some come contaminated from the slaughter house, while some are contaminated through the preparation process. In order to reduce the number of illnesses caused from preparations, the FDA and USDA need to work together to create better programs about how to properly prepare