Secretary Sebelius Statement at Food Safety Working Group

I found this article, which has a transcript of the statement Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius made to the Food Safety Working Group yesterday. I personally am encouraged that she seems to recognize the importance of prevention over damage control. Her remarks are fairly short and worth the read.

Food Safety Working Group

President Obama's Food Safety Working Group had what I believe to be its first meeting yesterday. I am waiting for audio to be put online, as I missed the live stream, but I want to direct you all to their new website. You can subscribe to email updates, and it also directs to places you can make comments or suggestions for the group to consider. I am working on getting some requests together to submit, and any concerns you would like to see addressed are welcome too. Either submit on your own, or let me know and I will try and include them with mine - or both.

Website

We're running a little behind schedule to get the website up and running, but the prototype looks great! I am working on getting the information together to put on it, and hopefully it will be operational in the next few weeks. More information to come!

BSE and Oprah

This article was actually written about a decade ago, but I think it accurately describes the length the beef industry will go to quiet those who speak out about BSE. I wouldn't call the article unbiased, but it is very informative and goes in-depth about the lawsuit against Oprah after her comments on-air that she was no longer going to eat beef. I found it interesting, and hope you do too.

I am reading the book "Fast Food Nation" Eric Schlosser. I am not finished with it yet, but it is incredibly insightful into the practices of the fast food and meat-packing industries. To the point I am at in the book, BSE has only been mentioned in passing, but still a very interesting read and gives a lot of insight into the food we eat. It is a little graphic at some points, so beware if you have a particularly weak stomach. I also watched the movie based on the book, and the book is much better and more indepth.