Baby, Don't Eat Here
Salmonella, Bird Flu, and All the Reasons Food Is Fucked In The US Right Now
It’s a been bad week to be an American who eats food. I started at least ten different versions of this newsletter because the shitstorm just kept coming and I didn’t know where to focus. It’s impossible to keep up with every single horrifying, idiotic, and embarrassing action our current administration is taking against the safety and prosperity of its citizens and the world at large. And yet I try. I want to keep you informed but some of this news is so breathtakingly stupid that I have to stare out a window for 10 minutes after reading each article so that my brain doesn’t start to melt and leak out of my ears. I’m going to give you the quick and very dirty highlights so you can stay safe AND keep your brain intact. We’re going to need every last brain cell we have to get through this nonsense.
First up, dairy is getting dangerous. The FDA announced this week that it is suspending milk quality testing due to staffing cuts. They are also suspending their programs for testing milk, cheese, and pet food for bird flu, other common pathogens, and parasitesnlike Cyclospora. Even if you don’t consume dairy products, this is bad news for all of us who live around other humans. Bird flu has been found in dairy cows in the US for over a year but we’re doing fuck all about it. Refusing to test our milk supply routinely for quality and highly infectious pathogens doesn’t make them go away, it just makes them disappear from accountability and leaves us profoundly unprepared for the next pandemic. It’s the equivalent of refusing to test the pool water and declaring it clean despite the obvious turd floating toward a crowd of splashing children. It’s just so stupid. Molecular testing has found the presence H5N1 genetic material in 20% of retail samples of pasteurized milk products since last March. Obviously, this isn’t the same as finding the virus but it’s not great. We all deserve to know where bird flu is hanging out. Imagine what else we’ll never know is in there because we don’t want to check. Maybe this news will finally get the lactose-intolerant people to put down the cheese. Probably not though.
Speaking of birds, the US Agriculture Department will no longer require poultry companies to limit the amount of salmonella in their products. Yeah, the US is now pro-bird flu and pro-salmonella. Salmonella causes 1.35 million infections in the US each year but we’re trying to get those numbers a lot higher. This reversal in policy is completely unrelated *wink wink*to the $5 million donation chicken producer Pilgrim’s Pride made to the current administration’s inauguration fund. Pilgrim’s Pride is owned by the world’s biggest meat company JBS who also just so happened to get approval this week to go public on the New York Stock Exchange after trying for years. The Brazilian company’s long history of human rights violations, deforesting the Amazon, and blatant corruption had routinely stymied their applications with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission but who cares about that shit anymore? Not the US.
In 2020, the SEC charged JBS and its related companies with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act after they were found to have bribed over 1,800 Brazilian officials in their attempt acquire Pilgrim’s Pride. At the time, Charles Cain, Chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s FCPA Unit said of JBS, “Engaging in bribery to finance their expansion into the U.S. markets and then continuing to engage in bribery while occupying senior board positions at Pilgrim’s reflects a profound failure to exercise good corporate governance.” Simpler times. I won’t venture to guess why a company who loves to bribe sent a bunch of money to the current president and then started getting everything they ever wanted. If you want to read more about JBS, I covered them and their latest business, Wild Fork, last year.
The Wildest Fork
I’m a grocery store fanatic. You would think that after working in them for almost a decade I would’ve had my fill, but no. Not even close. I’ve been known to whip a quick U-turn when I spot a new specialty market or random niche grocery I’ve never been to. I can’t help myself. So when I saw a new market named Wild Fork with bright,…
Lastly, despite the headlines, the one thing the FDA didn’t do this week was ban synthetic food dyes. Sure, RFK Jr. got up in front of a bunch of microphones and said they were getting rid of all the dyes and then called sugar “poison” but that doesn’t make any of it true. The FDA has no formal agreement with the food industry about the dyes because they actually don’t give a shit about this. They announced what they want and are hoping that companies do it because of love. No for real. FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said during this week’s press conference, “I believe in love, let’s start in a friendly way and see if we can do this without any statutory or regulatory changes, but we are exploring every tool in the toolbox to make sure this gets done very quickly. And they want to do it — so why go down a complicated road with Congress?” Ahh yes, I always forget about the power of love when it comes to regulating our national food supply. But hey, the FDA and MAHA got all those good headlines they were looking for so clearly love won.
I know all of this bullshit is overwhelming but understanding what is happening to our food is such an important way to keep ourselves and our families safe. I would strongly encourage anyone who regularly consumes dairy and poultry products to reconsider unless you’ve got some really great health insurance. If you are looking for more dairy and poultry-free recipes, my website has a ton for free and I publish at least 2 brand new ones each month here at Stir the Pot for paid subscribers. Unfortunately, we’ve still got to eat.
Just a reminder, I’ll be in Kansas City on May 1 to host an event to celebrate the release of my bud Mamrie Hart’s new cookbook All I Think About Is Food. It will be a goofy night at Tom’s Town Distillery and I’d love for you to come if you live near by. All the info you need is right here but you can always DM if you have any questions.
Are you changing your dining habits based on what is happening to our food system? Did I miss some food news that everybody should know? Let’s get chatting in the comments!
Michelle
I’ve honestly been struggling to keep it together, and yesterday’s arrest of the judge in Milwaukee sent me spiraling to a very dark place. But yes, getting back to food safety, I already have made a change. I’ve been craving salad but I’m concerned about the safety of lettuce. It’s hard not to feel like we’re heading into an all new and improved Dark Ages.
Thanks, Michelle. Learning from the pandemic, the excellent people at our Washington State Department of Health are using text messaging to reach migrant workers in poultry and dairy operations directly, and are keeping track of bird flu that way. It doesn't make up for the abdication of responsibility by the feds, but it's something.