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Well - what do you suppose ended up being the costs of all those thousands of salmonella cases?
The federal government is making it very difficult for the small farms and backyard urban farmers but protects it's criminal corporate farms.
There were plenty of opportunities to shut down these big egg farms and for a variety of reasons but they were given tiny slaps on the wrists.
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Over the last year, I've posted the link to the following article on Iowa Beef Packers (one of the three major beef packers in the U.S.).
I've repeatedly stated that if one is truly against illegal labor then they must stop buying all of the food from companies that hire illegal labor. To not do so, is to support the very thing they claim they are against.
The response from anti-Mexican crowd has always been raft with excuses, and justification for buying these products. They coupled this with how even though they bought these products they weren't supporting illegal labor. (yes, they lie to themselves)
Meatpacking industry has a long history of reliance on immigrant laborer | Greeley Tribune
Only a political baiter would blame the Obama administration for this latest outbreak. Here's a link with a list of food borne illness outbreaks. These food borne illness outbreaks happen because of the conditions of the packers/growers, not because of who is in the WH.
List of food borne illness outbreaks in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
More links on the illegal labor force in the food industry.
From the ultra White state of Vermont:
http://www.immigrationworksusa.org/u...immigrants.pdf
"A Tyson plant in Union City, Tenn., sought workers in Mexico through a classified ad in
El Diario, a newspaper published in Juarez across the border from El Paso. The Spanish-language ad, which ran on Feb. 13, 1999, promised $15,000 to $18,000 a year for work on a poultry production line. The ad was placed by InStaff Personnel, an employment agency based in Dallas that recruited about 500 workers in Texas and Mexico for the Union City plant, according to Keith Phillips, a former InStaff managing partner. "We would not have recruited any Mexican nationals, because we were checking to be certain that [applicants] were legal to work in the United States," Phillips said......"
Victims in the Heartland | The American Prospect
"The government, though, has had little success in stemming the flow of illegal immigrants to food and agriculture companies. Federal raids on meatpacking plants sent many illegal workers back to their countries. But it outraged food companies, who complained of disruptions. Civil rights officials accused the government of harassing Mexicans and others from Central America. And Midwestern politicians sometimes complained that slowing down the work at meatpacking plants increased the supply of livestock and thereby harmed hog and cattle farmers, who had already been suffering from low prices for their goods....."
I-9 Enforcement -- Meatpackers' profits hinge on pool of immigrant labor (http://are.berkeley.edu/APMP/pubs/i9news/profitshinge122101.html - broken link)
If you really want an eyeopener on the food business in America read the following link. It touches on illegal labor and corporate control of our food from seed to shelf. This is sad news for Americans, whether one is left or right.
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ConAgra Inc., is the nation's second largest food manufacturer. It is the only major food company that operates across the food chain -- providing feed, fertilizers and chemicals to farmers and ranchers, trading meat and grain, and producing packaged foods for consumers.
Corporate agribusiness today, from seedling to supermarket, is dominated by such transnational corporate giants as Unilever, Nestle, Philip Morris, RJR Nabisco, Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland...."
9.97.conagra.html
The best shot any of us have at getting the safest food is to buy only from local growers or shop in stores like Whole Foods that focus on organic and/or local growers. They also will supply their shelves with breads from local bakeries, etc.
The rightwing trends toward protection of corporate interest, at all costs. But, if you read any of the links you can see that the corporate food industry does not protect Americans. They predominantly hire illegal labor to cut costs, and their primary focus is not on humane practices in the meat packing industry. Their primary focus is on volume, not value or quality.
The left trends toward supporting local farmers, growers and businessess which helps keep the dollars at a localized level. Buying local also decreases the chance for any nation wide food borne illness outbreaks.
Reading the above links has made me even more aware of how seriously bad the corporate raised and packaged food is in our country. To date, I've bought local and/or organic with some items, but have been sort of nonchalant about it.
I already buy eggs from cage-free chickens. I don't always buy organic eggs, but I always buy cage-free and as local as i can get. I had no concern when this outbreak started. All of our eggs were safe from this outbreak. My frail, 81 y/0 mom now lives with me, and had she of gotten sick from this salmonella outbreak it would have been very serious.
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