What does true food safety look like?

Reader Contribution by Staff
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Recent food safety scares have the American public frightened. This year it was salmonella in tomatoes, then peppers. Last year we were scared of peanut butter, spinach, imported seafood and even pet food. And, of course, our megacomplex agribiz system ensures a major beef recall just about every year.

The good news is that this big hot mess has people talking. Activists and policymakers alike are looking for a better way. The bad news is that it looks like the answer to our complicated, industrial mess of a food system is likely to be nothing more than a complicated, over-regulated bureaucracy that stands to hurt all our smallest farmers most.

There’s no better time to join the conversation. (With the Farm Bill shuttered, we have to turn our attention to something … right?) So here are a few good places to start.

* For a refreshing editorial perspective on our food safety system, check out Local Harvest director Erin Barnett’s take in their latest newsletter.

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