Safe Food

by Nestle, Marion

• ISBN13: 9780520266063
• ISBN10: 0520266064
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-06-15
• Publisher: Univ of California Pr

Summary

Food safety is a matter of intense public concern, and for good reason. Millions of annual cases of food "poisonings" raise alarm not only about the food served in restaurants and fast-food outlets but also about foods bought in supermarkets. The introduction of genetically modified foods--immediately dubbed "Frankenfoods"--only adds to the general sense of unease. Finally, the events of September 11, 2001, heightened fears by exposing the vulnerability of food and water supplies to attacks by bioterrorists. How concerned should we be about such problems? Who is responsible for preventing them? Who benefits from ignoring them? Who decides? Marion Nestle, author of the critically acclaimedFood Politics,argues that ensuring safe food involves more than washing hands or cooking food to higher temperatures. It involves politics. When it comes to food safety, billions of dollars are at stake, and industry, government, and consumers collide over issues of values, economics, and political power--and not always in the public interest. Although the debates may appear to be about science, Nestle maintains that they really are about control: Who decides when a food is safe? She demonstrates how powerful food industries oppose safety regulations, deny accountability, and blame consumers when something goes wrong, and how century-old laws for ensuring food safety no longer protect our food supply. Accessible, informed, and even-handed,Safe Foodis for anyone who cares how food is produced and wants to know more about the real issues underlying today's headlines.

Table of Contents

Preface to the 2010 Edition	p. vii
Preface to the First Edition	p. xi
Acknowledgments	p. xvii
List of Abbreviations	p. xix
Introduction: Food Safety Is Political	p. 1
Resisting Food Safety	p. 27
The Politics of Foodborne Illness: Issues and Origins	p. 33
Resisting Meat and Poultry Regulation, 1974-1994	p. 62
Attempting Control of Food Pathogens, 1994-2002	p. 86
Achieving Safe Food: Alternatives	p. 113
Safety as a Surrogate: The Ironic Politics of Food Biotechnology	p. 139
Peddling Dreams: Promises versus Reality	p. 145
Risks and Benefits: Who Decides?	p. 167
The Politics of Government Oversight	p. 194
The Politics of Consumer Concern: Distrust, Dread, and Outrage	p. 220
Conclusion: The Future of Food Safety: Public Health versus Bioterrorism	p. 249
Epilogue	p. 277
Appendix: The Science of Plant Biotechnology	p. 299
Notes	p. 305
List of Tables	p. 355
List of Figures	p. 357
Index	p. 359
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.