Eating Dangerously Read online

  11. American Association for the Advancement of Science, “Statement by the AAAS Board of Directors on Labeling of Genetically Modified Foods.” Last modified October 2012.

  12. Food Safety Department, World Health Organization, “Twenty Questions on Genetically Modified Foods.” Accessed January 2013. http://www.who.int/food safety/publications/biotech.

  13. Food Safety Department, World Health Organization, “Modern Food Biotechnology, Human Health and Development: An Evidence-Based Study.” 2005. Accessed January 2013. http://www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/biotech/biotech_en.pdf.

  14. AAAS, “Statement.”

  15. Ibid.

  16. Patty Lovera, assistant director, Food and Water Watch, interview by Michael Booth, January 2013.

  17. Andrew Pollack, “Crop Scientists Say Biotechnology Seed Companies Are Thwarting Research.” New York Times, February 19, 2009. Accessed August 2013.

  18. Richard Brenneman, “Professor Ignacio Chapela Wins Bitter UC Tenure Fight.” The Berkeley Daily Planet, May 24, 2005. Accessed August 2013.

  19. Doug Gurian-Sherman, senior scientist, Food and Environment Program, interview by Michael Booth, February 2013.

  20. Mark Bittman, “Buying the Vote on G.M.O.’s.” New York Times, Opinionator, October 23, 2012.

  21. Pollack, “Crop Scientists Say Biotechnology Seed Companies Are Thwarting Research.”

  22. Terry Etherton, head of the Department of Animal Science, Penn State University, interview by Michael Booth, January 2013.

  23. Lynas, “Lecture to Oxford Farming Conference.”

  24. Patricia Hunt et al. (Letter from twenty-one concerned scientists), “Food Labels Would Let Consumers Make Informed Choices.” Last modified 2012. http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/2012/yes-labels-on-gm-foods.

  25. European Commission, “Rules on GMOs in the EU.” Accessed March 2013. http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/biotechnology/gmo_labelling_en.htm.

  26. AAAS, “Statement.”

  27. Hunt et al., letter.

  28. California Right to Know, “Media Briefing: Narrow Loss; Movement Victory—What’s Next for GMO Labeling?” Last modified November 2012. Accessed April 2013. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/07/idUS214455+07 -Nov-2012+PRN20121107.

  29. Stephanie Strom, “Genetic Changes to Food May Get Uniform Labeling.” New York Times, January 31, 2013.

  30. Jerry Hagstrom, “Senators Offer Amendments to Ag Appropriations Bill.” AgWeek, September 12, 2011. http://www.agweek.com/event/article/id/19068.

  31. Center for Food Safety, “Genetically Engineered Fish, Food Safety Fact Sheet,” January 2013. Accessed August 2013.

  32. Josh Schonwald, The Taste of Tomorrow (New York: HarperCollins, 2012), 207.

  33. William Muir et al., “Possible Ecological Risks of Transgenic Organism Release When Transgenes Affect Mating Success: Sexual Selection and the Trojan Gene Hypothesis.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 96, 13853–56, November 23, 1999.

  34. Brady Dennis, “Genetically Altered Salmon Are Safe, FDA Says.” Washington Post, December 21, 2012.

  35. Conservation Council, Alaska Marine et al. “Opposition to Approval of AquaBounty Genetically Modified Salmon.” Last modified September 2010. Accessed April 2013. http://www.akmarine.org/ge-salmon-fishing-sign-on-letter.

  36. Etherton, interview.

  37. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, “Animal Cloning Risk Assessment.” Last modified October 2009. Accessed April 1, 2013. http://www.fda.gov/Animal Veterinary/SafetyHealth/AnimalCloning/ucm055516.htm.

  38. Etherton, interview.

  39. U.S. FDA, “Animal Cloning Risk Assessment.”

  40. Michael T. Osterholm, “Foodborne Disease: The More Things Change, The More They Stay the Same.” Clinical Infectious Diseases 39, no. 1 (2004): 8–10.

  41. Robert V. Tauxe, “Food Safety and Irradiation: Protecting the Public from Foodborne Infections.” Emerging Infectious Diseases 7, no. 3 Supplement (2001): 519.

  42. Osterholm, “Foodborne Disease: The More Things Change.”

  43. Bill Marler, Marler Clark, “Pros and Cons of Commercial Irradiation of Fresh Iceberg Lettuce and Fresh Spinach: A Literature Review.” Last modified December 2008. Accessed April 1, 2013. http://www.marlerblog.com/uploads/file/ProsandConsIRR.pdf.

  44. Lisa Shames, U.S. General Accounting Office, “Federal Oversight of Food Irradiation.” February 2010. Accessed April 1, 2013.

  45. Lovera, interview.

  46. Bill Marler, food safety attorney, Marler Clark, Seattle. Interview by Michael Booth, December 2011.

  47. Beth Weiss, corporate communications director, Omaha Steaks. Interviewed by Michael Booth, February 2013.

  48. Schonwald, Taste of Tomorrow, 263.

  49. Jennifer Kuzma and Peter VerHage, Nanotechnology in Agriculture and Food Production: Anticipated Applications. Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, September 2006.

  50. Ibid., 9.

  51. Food and Water Watch, “Unseen Hazards.”

  Chapter 9

  1. Information on each pathogen in this chapter is gleaned from a variety of books, medical journals, expert interviews by the authors, diagnostic materials for medical professionals, federal agency food safety materials, and other works. A selected bibliography for this chapter includes: American Medical Association and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention et al., “Escherichia coli O157:H7 Infection, Patient Scenario,” Diagnosis and Management of Foodborne Illnesses (2004); U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Employee Health and Personal Hygiene Handbook (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government, 2005); American Medical Association and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention et al., “Listeria monocytogenes Infection, Patient Scenario,” Diagnosis and Management of Foodborne Illnesses: A Primer for Physicians (2001); Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Shigellosis: General Information.” Last modified 2009. Accessed December 2012. http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/divisions/dfbmd/diseases/shigellosis; FoodSafety.gov. FDA, USDA/FSIS, CDC, “Food Poisoning: Shigella.” Accessed December 2012; American Medical Association and American Nurses Association et al., “Acute Hepatitis A, Patient Scenario,” Diagnosis and Management of Foodborne Illnesses: A Primer for Physicians and Other Health Care Professionals (2004); Benjamin Silk, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Listeria: Food Poisoning’s Rare but Deadly Germ.” Last modified 2012. Accessed December 2012. www.cdc.gov/listeria/definition.html; Dr. Charles Patrick Davis, MD, MedicineNet.com, “Salmonella Poisoning.” Last modified 2012. Accessed December 2012. www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=85146; DynaMed. EBSCO Publishing, “Salmonella ileocolitis.” Last modified November 26, 2012. Accessed January 2013. www.dynamed.ebscohost.com; DynaMed. EBSCO Publishing, “Norovirus Infection.” Last modified December 5, 2012. Accessed January 2013. www.dynamed.ebscohost.com; Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Salmonella.” Last modified April 2012. Accessed January 2013. www.cdc.gov/salmonella/general/index.html; National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Division of Viral Diseases. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Norovirus.” Last modified May 2012. Accessed January 2013. www.cdc.gov/norovirus/index.html; Aron J. Hall, “Noroviruses: The Perfect Human Pathogens?,” Journal of Infectious Diseases (2012). Accessed December 2012. 10.1093/infdis/jis251; Aron J. Hall, DVM, Division of Viral Diseases, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, interview by Michael Booth, December 2012; Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “E. coli.” Last modified August 2012. Accessed January 2013. www.cdc.gov/ecoli/general/index.html; Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, “Staphylococcal Food Poisoning.” Last modified June 2010. Accessed December 2012. www.cdc.gov/nczved/divisions/dfbmd/diseases/staphylococcal; Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Campylobacter.” Last modified July 2010. Accessed December 2012. www.cdc.gov/nczved/divisions/dfbmd/diseases/campylobacter; DynaMed. EBSCO Publishing, “Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli infection.” Last modified March 2012. Accessed January 2013. www.dynamed.ebscohost.com; DynaMed. EBSCO Publishing, “Campylobacter enterocolitis.” Last modified July 2011. Accessed January 2013. www.dynamed.ebscohost.com; Michelle Barron, MD, division of Infectious Diseases, University of Colorado Hospital, interview by Michael Booth, March 2013; Louis M. Bell, MD, Mary Lou Manning, RN, Jane Brooks, and Marion Steinman, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Guide to Common Childhood Infections (New York: Macmillan, 1998); Carol A. Turkington, Protect Yourself from Contaminated Food and Drink (New York: Ballantine Books, 1999); Nicols Fox, It Was Probably Something You Ate (New York: Penguin Group, 1999); Morton Satin, Food Alert! The Ultimate Sourcebook for Food Safety (New York: Facts on File, 2008); Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Giardiasis Frequently Asked Questions.” Last modified July 2012. Accessed January 2013. www.cdc.gov/parasites/giardia/gen_info/faqs.html; Food and Drug Administration, “Bad Bug Book: Foodborne Pathogenic Microorganisms and Natural Toxins Handbook, Clostridium perfringens.” Last modified 2012. Accessed January 2013. www.fda.gov/food/foodsafety/foodborneillness/Contaminants/CausesOfIllnessBadBug Book/ucm070483.htm; Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Toxoplasmosis Frequently Asked Questions.” Last modified June 2011. Accessed January 2013. www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/gen_info/faqs.html; Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Clostridium perfringens.” Last modified July 2011. Accessed January 2013. www.cdc.gov/foodborneburden/clostridium-perfringens.html; Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “CDC 2011 Estimates: Findings.” Last modified October 2012. Accessed February 2013. www.cdc.gov/foodborneburden/2011-foodborne-estimates.html.

  Chapter 10

  1. Michael Doyle, director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia, interview by Jennifer Brown, March 2013.

  2. David Lineback, senior fellow at the Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at the University of Maryland, interview by Jennifer Brown, March 2013.

  3. Jeff Nelken, food safety coach, interview by Jennifer Brown, March 2013.

  4. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “Prevention of Salmonella Enteritidis in Shell Eggs during Production, Storage, and Transportation.” Federal Register 74 (Thursday, July 9, 2009). Accessed April 17, 2013. http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2009-07-09/pdf/E9-16119.pdf.

  5. William Neuman, “U.S. Rejected Hen Vaccine Despite British Success.” New York Times, August 24, 2010.

  6. Ibid.

  7. Michele Jay-Russell, program manager and research microbiologist at the Western Center for Food Safety at the University of California, interview by Jennifer Brown, March 2013.

  8. Michele Jay-Russell and Michael Payne, “Are Free-Range Eggs Safer?” CNN, August 26, 2010. http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/08/26/jay.russell.payne.eggs/index.html.

  9. Dan Hale, professor of meat science at Texas A&M University, interview by Jennifer Brown, March 2013.

  10. Cargill Press Release. Last modified August 3, 2011. http://www.cargill.com/news/releases/2011/NA3047807.jsp.

  11. Mike Martin, Cargill Meat Solutions, interview by Jennifer Brown, March 2013.

  12. CDC, “Final Report on Outbreak Investigation.” Accessed April 17, 2013. http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/heidelberg/111011/.

  13. CDC, “Final Report.”

  14. Mike Martin, interview.

  15. H. Russell Cross, head of the animal science department at Texas A&M University, interview by Jennifer Brown, March 2013.

  16. International Food Safety Network, “Meat Thermometers, Not Color, Best Indicator for Doneness.” Last modified December 21, 2000. Accessed April 17, 2013. http://foodsafety.k-state.edu/en/news-details.php?a=1&c=27&sc=221&id=20351.

  17. “Public Health Alert.” Last modified August 8, 2011. Accessed April 17, 2013. http://www.co.washington.or.us/HHS/News/strawberries.cfm.

  18. Gretchen Goetz, “Did Deer Cause Oregon’s Strawberry Outbreak?” Food Safety News, August 9, 2011.

  19. Cookson Beecher, “Fresh Produce at Farmers Markets Exempt from New Food Safety Regs.” Food Safety News, January 30, 2013.

  20. Stanford University, “Little Evidence of Health Benefits from Organic Foods, Stanford Study Finds.” Last modified September 3, 2012. http://med .stanford.edu/ism/2012/september/organic.html.

  21. Kenneth Chang, “Stanford Scientists Cast Doubt on Advantages of Organic Meat and Produce.” New York Times, September 3, 2012.

  22. Chiemi Hayashi, “How Hubris Put Our Health at Risk.” CNN, January 17, 2013. http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/08/business/opinion-davos-hayashi-health.

  23. National Resources Defense Council, “Raising Resistance: Feeding Antibiotics to Healthy Food Animals Breeds Bacteria Dangerous to Human Health.” Last modified October 11, 2011. Accessed April 17, 2013. http://www.nrdc.org/health/raisingresistance.asp.

  24. National Resources Defense Council, “Superbug Suit: Court Slams FDA on Antibiotics in Animal Feed . . . Again.” Last modified June 5, 2012. http://www.nrdc.org/media/2012/120605.asp.

  25. National Resources Defense Council, “Court Orders FDA to Address Antibiotic Overuse in Livestock and Protect Effectiveness of Medicine for Humans.” Last modified March 23, 2012. http://www.nrdc.org/media/2012/120323.asp.

  26. Liz Szabo and Peter Eisler, “CDC Sounds Alarm on Deadly, Untreatable Superbugs.” USA Today, March 6, 2013. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/05/superbugs-infections-hospitals/1965133/.

  27. Michael Booth. “CDC Superbug Report Was No Surprise to University, Other Colorado Hospitals.” Denver Post, March 7, 2013. Accessed April 17, 2013. http://blogs.denverpost.com/health/2013/03/07/cdc-superbug-report-was-no-surprise-to-university-other-colorado-hospitals/2811/.

  28. Eat Wild, “Eating Grass-Fed Beef May Lower Your Risk of E. coli Infection.” Accessed April 17, 2013. http://www.eatwild.com/foodsafety.html.

  29. Sarah Klein, attorney at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, interview by Jennifer Brown, January 2013.

  30. Michael Joseph, Mile High Organics founder and chief executive, interview by Jennifer Brown, March 2013.

  About the Authors

  Michael Booth was the lead health care writer for The Denver Post and covered health, medicine, health policy, and politics throughout his twenty-five-year journalism career. He was part of the team that won the 2000 and 2013 Pulitzer Prizes for Breaking News. He has made frequent appearances on commercial and public television and radio, and has won the National Education Writers’ Award, Best of the West, American Health Care Journalists honors, and other awards. He also co-led the coverage of the most deadly foodborne illness outbreak of the past century, the cantaloupe Listeria illnesses of 2011, with Jennifer Brown. Their coverage of the Listeria outbreak became the outline for a congressional committee’s scathing report about what went wrong at the source farm and in the supply chain that sold the tainted melons.

  Jennifer Brown is an investigative reporter with The Denver Post and has covered health, medicine, and health policy for the past decade. She was part of the team that won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News. Brown led the team covering the two-year debate over national health care reform in 2009 and 2010. She has worked at The Associated Press, The Tyler Morning Telegraph in Texas, and The Hungry Hor
se News in Montana, and has won a National Headliner Award, three Katie awards, and the 2013 Best of the West award for investigative journalism. Brown also has covered the Colorado legislature, the 2008 Democratic National Convention, and child welfare reform. She co-led the coverage of the most deadly foodborne illness outbreak of the past century, the cantaloupe Listeria illnesses of 2011, with Michael Booth.