There Have Been A Bunch Of Contaminated Foods Lately

[gab13by13]

McDonald's onions, Boar's Head, Coctco's waffles and chicken, now a rash of carrots.

There are many ways that our food can get contaminated but one thing that stands out to me is how fast we are able to determine what food was contaminated and be able to quickly issue alerts to publicize to the public about what is contaminated and have the products quickly pulled from the shelves.

We may not have that luxury anymore. Deregulation and cost cutting is coming. I can envision scenarios where many people get sick and die and the cause of their illness is never determined. Life and death just go on until the contaminated food is all eaten up.

Coming to America.

[louis-t]

1. I had a libertarian tell me once

"If thousands of people get killed because of a manufacturer's error, people will just stop buying that product. See, the free market works." My response was "Gee, how very Republican of you to be willing to sacrifice thousands of your fellow citizens for your stupid ideology." I hate these people.

[yardwork]

12. It's such nonsense, anyway.

In third world countries that have no government regulation or safety oversight, the source of illness and death isn't known, so people don't know which products to avoid. Even if they did, all the companies are doing the same thing so it's all unsafe and contaminated.

I've seen the health care systems in some African countries, up close. Americans who voted for Trump have no idea how bad it can get.

[jfz9580m]

21. Thanks yardwork

Your posts are always so sensible and get it so right..

[Farmer-Rick]

19. So the Libertarians want you

To be their taste testers?

Hey, Libertarians, Boar's Head wasn't killing off its customers for a good long while. It was just recently it tried to poison us due to unsanitary processes. So, here's hoping their dirty and unsafe food processes are revealed before you eat their crap.

[Ohioboy]

24. Dead people usually stop buying products

[Blue Full Moon]

31. Decrease the surplus population

Thanos is likely a hero to them.

[Skittles]

37. that's like saying if an airliner crashed and they never investigated why

NO ONE WOULD GET ON A FUCKING PLANE

and that solves.....what???

[Irish_Dem]

2. People take for granted their safety net.

Though out their day, the US government has been protecting them and looking out for their welfare.
Checking their food, air, and water quality.
Ensuring new housing is up to code.
Vaccinating their children.

Regulating workers, professionals, etc to ensure safe delivery of services and goods.

That may soon all end.

People will be on their own.

[gab13by13]

5. My daughter lives in a Pittsburgh suburb and she gets a lot of her food from a local farmer

I also get food from a local market.

I buy a lot of organic food because it tastes better and I am allergic to RoundUp. (sarcasm)

But I see that even organic carrots can get contaminated, and organic foods can have pesticides in them but they're just not supposed to have RoundUp in them.

Sorry to say this to Kamala, but we are going back, way back to another century.

[Irish_Dem]

10. Yes it will be like the US before regulation.

The billionaires want no regulation, it cuts into their bottom line.

Yes people will get sick and die.

China is a good example. There is little regulation and what regulation they do have
is ignored due to rampant corruption and no liability attorneys or way to sue for damages.

So we have a situation where people buy homes and office buildings which literally fall down.
And streets have huge holes that damage cars.
People die from contaminated food.
Research labs sell contaminated research animals to food markets which causes a global pandemic and millions die.
If a person goes to the hospital, the family has to provide most of the patient care, bringing in food, etc.
The list goes on and on but you get the drift.

[Farmer-Rick]

23. Organic vegetables usually get contaminated

By dirty water used to water the fields. Here in the US you have to use potable water to water the fields and if you don't, you have to get your water tested. Mostly they are looking for E. coli.

Organic foods can only have organic pesticides. These pesticides are pretty easy to wash off, and if ingested, won't affect humans. If your organic foods have petroleum based poisonous pesticides, they are Not organic.

My farm was certified organic for several years. They test the crops and the ground for pesticides, artificial fertilizers and weed killer to give you your certification. I stopped getting certified because it costs thousands of dollars every year to get certified. The farmer pays for the inspection.

So, if it is certified organic it should Not have those chemicals in them. But there are always cheaters, cons and liars. You can ask to see their certification. A sample certificate for your state can be found on most state AG dept web site.

[Blue Full Moon]

33. They don't know history.

Streptococcus in raw milk in 1911 and 1922, 70 deaths and 2,400 illnesses.
Typhi bacteria in water from raw sewage had contaminated oysters the deadliest outbreak 1924 to 1925, 150 deaths and 1,500 illnesses.
In 1971 Bon Vivant Vichyssoise cans were contaminated with botulism.

Frivolous lawsuits will not be allowed. They still suffer the someone else syndrome. That won't happen to them.

[Irish_Dem]

35. Americans alive today are spoiled. They have never lived in a fascist or third world country.

They refuse to believe or never heard the stories from their grandparents or great grandparents.

They have never lived in third world or fascist countries.
I have either lived or spent time in both and it is a grim and terrifying world.

[oasis]

3. Say bye bye to OSHA.

[erronis]

27. OSHA has been a prime target for decades.

It'll take decades to undo the harm that trump and his allies will wreak.

[magicarpet]

4. God's Devine Plan,..

Survival of the fittest. The strong should mock and detest the weak.

Jeebuzz told us so.
Amen.

[wnylib]

36. Um, you've got your quotes mixed up.

Last edited Mon Nov 18, 2024, 07:05 PM - Edit history (1)

Darwin spoke of survival of the fittest, not Jesus.

Most people do not understand what Darwin meant by survival of the fittest. He did not mean the richest, smartest, best looking, most deserving, or even the healthiest. He meant whoever was best equipped genetically to survive whatever environmental setting they were in or whatever environmental changes occurred.

In some settings, it was the ability to work cooperatively that enabled pockets of our ancestors to survive.

Jesus taught people to cooperate and look after each other.

Trump says the fittest are the ones who turn on their own people and take what they want for themselves. Might makes right, whether it is financial might, the might of political power, or the might of physical force. He follows Hitler's playbook on what "race" is fittest.

But Hitler's notion of superiority and who was fittest was disproven. A brilliant scientist of the "wrong race" was visiting the US when Hitler came to power and stayed here for his own safety. He wrote to President Roosevelt about the work of German scientists on a super weapon. We developed the super weapon, not Germany. The whole world benefited from the works of Albert Einstein, especially the US. But Hitler would have killed him as "inferior."

[sop]

6. "Let them eat contaminated cake."

[gab13by13]

9. Post of the day

[Diamond_Dog]

7. I was thinking the same thing, gab13by13.

Our safety, food and drug protections will be greatly diminished because of loosening regulations which we take for granted. Cars, too. Air pollution. Unclean water.

Right wingers don’t even realize how many protections are in already place to make their lives safer and healthier. Probably initiated by some pesky Democrat.

Great post.

[Mike 03]

8. Definitely been concerned about this

The FDA website is extremely important if you are someone who follows recalls or seeks general information about heath related matters. When my mother fell ill earlier this year I was able to go to that website and find out it was related to contaminated cantaloupe. Pet owners use that site to find out if food or treats are being recalled. People who take supplements can find out if their supplements are contaminated. It's really important that people do that work and maintain that list.

[hunter]

20. This worries me a lot.

Business will be booming for sketchy pet food manufacturers under Trump.

Whatever harms from deregulating the human food industry will be a lot worse for pets.

[erronis]

28. Hmmm. Great idea - all those people that died from eating toxic food?

Turn them into pet food.

Wait - I think this is already being done in China.

[hunter]

32. Our Republican party envies the Chinese Communists.

In China any dissident the state finds threatening can be arrested and sent away for reeducation. If the dissident doesn't get permanently disappeared they'll come back singing the praises of the Party.

Here in the U.S.A. our Republican leaders have to overwhelm dissent with media noise and bullshit, which is expensive and inefficient.

[Blue Full Moon]

34. Don't know how many times that I heard that from them.

[yardwork]

11. Yes, the FDA and CDC work hard to keep our food safe.

Trump's appointee RFK Jr promises to do away with those agencies, so we'll be at the mercy of corporations that are already ignoring safety rules. How much worse will it get?

And, as you say, it won't even be known. Nobody will track the deaths or identify the source.

We're headed to being a third world country.

[Ocelot II]

13. Libertarianism at its finest. The Free Market will work its magic.

If some food item makes a lot of people sick, nobody will buy that brand any more. Problem solved. I once taught a college course where one of the topics was safety regulation, and there was a class discussion about how the FAA regulates aviation safety. One of the students insisted there should be no safety regulations at all and the FAA shouldn't exist. She reasoned that if an airline has a lot of plane crashes people just won't fly on that airline and it will go out of business, so other airlines won't make the same mistakes. We did discuss the fact that a lot of people would end up dead in the meantime but the student didn't think that was as much of a problem as too much government regulation; the Free Market will regulate itself as much as necessary. The other students thought she was nuts.

[gab13by13]

14. Yes, that is one scenario

but the other scenario is that people get sick and die from contaminated food and we never find out which food was contaminated.

[Ocelot II]

16. There are many scenarios, all having to do with the GOP's hatred

of any government regulation of anything that might cost a business money. Contaminated food, polluted air, plane crashes - all arising from a lack of oversight. If a plane crashes and there's no NTSB to find out why and no FAA to require safety inspections, it's just the same as contaminated food with no agency oversight to determine what was contaminated or why.

[markodochartaigh]

18. Back in the late 70's

I had government and economics classes in college where students and teachers made the same no regulations argument. It was the generally agreed upon consensus and you couldn't reason them out of it.
This was in Amarillo Texas where judge Kacsmaryk has regulated abortion and lgbtq+ rights.

[CousinIT]

15. CDC does much of this work & FDA. ShitlerEloonJFK may gut those

Then we’re screwed.

[surfered]

17. There's a reason we have safe drinking water, safe food, prescription drug and vaccine efficacy, transportation safety..

and the best national defense. We demanded it of our government and it delivered by civil servants, grounded in science, facts and with well intentioned motives. Now it will either not be done at all or done by fiat, ideology, ignorance or for a corrupt intent.

[Paper Roses]

22. Another recall: Trader Joe's and other stores

Organic carrots! What next? I receive from daily recalls. Although I don't buy "organic" I still check my daily email for updates. www.recalls.gov
If we get Kennedy, anything goes. Keep checking.

[jaxexpat]

25. I've never had a carrot rash but i bet it's bad.

[underpants]

26. 😀 Harvesting carrots. I had no idea.

?si=BhT3siEpQoQX-aon

[jaxexpat]

29. Most crops are harvested by "do-all" machinery these days.

It takes up to three days harvest, per week, from three of those featured here to keep Trump's special orange up to his standards.

You didn't think it was natural, did you? They tried pumpkins and oranges but nothing worked like good old carrots.

[Farmer-Rick]

30. The myth of deregulation

As if NOT checking up on people means they won't try to con or lie to you about what they are selling. As if the market will give immediate punishment to frauds and scams. When clearly scammers just move on to other populaces and hide their identity.

The cost of regulations are difficult to quantify because the price of foods you can trust to not make you sick don't have a price. Not having a populace who are suffering from food poisoning can't be quantified. Not being constantly conned or manipulated, and not being constantly wary of a con, is priceless. The intangible comfort of having safe and trustworthy market products has never been fully monetized.

Using the libertarian approach to wait for the invisible hand of the market to correct sellers of tainted food means that food testers are not just for kings anymore.