Buying Locally Grown Food Protects Us from Bioterrorism

Last December, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson resigned his post.  At the news conference announcing his resignation, Secretary Thompson spoke regarding the possibility of a bioterror attack on the food supply, saying "For the life of me, I cannot understand why the terrorists have not attacked our food supply because it is so easy to do."

On Monday, during a session at the Association of Food and Drug Officials' annual conference, a federal food safety official said that school lunches are an attractive target for potential bioterrorists.  She noted the vulnerability of three products specifically: milk, spaghetti sauce and egg substitutes.

Consider this:  McDonald's Corporation is the single largest purchaser of potatoes in the U.S. and uses 7% of all U.S.-grown potatoes each year to make french fries and hash browns.  This amounts to 3.2 billion pounds of raw potatoes.  Each of those potatoes is sent through one of only eighteen processing plants in the U.S. to then be distributed to over 13,000 stores across the country.

That means that a strategic bioterrorism hit in only eighteen processing plants could affect millions of pounds of potatoes in every McDonald's throughout our country. 

I am not talking about this to just bring up gloom and doom statistics.  When we are talking about terrorism, and contamination of our food, it is easy to feel completely hopeless about the situation.  Eating locally grown foods with only a few steps from farm to table is a direct combatant to intentional food contamination.

Who is going to contaminate the garden of the school children at the Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School participating in the Edible Schoolyard program?  Or the schools participating in the Farm to School Program? Who is going to bother to mess with the beef I buy from Ted in Vacaville, or the tomatoes from Nigel in Winters, or the cherries from John in Escalon, or the berries I pick myself in Davenport?  Hitting any of these locations would have such a tiny effect compared to a processing plant which handles 177 million pounds of potatoes a year.

Of course the national folks should be paying attention to security at every step of the food process.  They should be making sure the large farms are protected, that the processing plants and distribution centers are secure, and that there is a strategic safety plan for the trucks carrying our food an average of 1,494 miles across the United States.  But I personally always feel more comfortable when I have control of a situation.  And buying locally grown foods helps me to take back that control.

References:

"Food Safety Officials Tackling School Lunch Threats", Associated Press, Jun 7 05.

"New Rules to Beat Food Terrorism", Associated Press, Dec 6 04.

Leopold Center Issues Locally Grown Food Report

Quality McFacts, McDonald's Corporation official media site

Comments

[Jane]

Oh, the McDonald's list scares me, especially this:
A unique production process leaves each potato strip with its natural flavor, color, and texture. It also retains its nutrients.
Hmm, what is the "unique" process, I wonder. I have to admit I grew up on these fries...

[molly]

Thanks for writing this Jen. I know you have written about and discussed the fact that having "control over your food" - especially for people in urban areas - is a socioeconomic issue. Bioterrorism through food contamination is yet another area where food/social equity/public safety intersect.

[Chef 'em Out]

Excellent post.

[Barbara]

If you want an intimate glimpse at how McDonald's fries are made, pick up and read Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser. I haven't eaten at McDonald's in years, in fact, I don't eat fast food at all anymore because my body won't keep it down, but when I saw "Supersize Me," the most affecting part of it was when he put various hamburgers--one homemade, and several from McDonald's--and a package of fries each in their own bell jar, then watched to see how long it would take for them to decompose.

The McDonald's burgers took an inordinately long time to be attacked by molds and bacteria, but what was terrifying is that the fries -never decomposed at all.-

You think about that. They were in there for over a month, and looked and smelled the same as they do after they cool.

If bacteria and mold won't eat it--I don't want it, either.

[chef 'em out]

I have found that there are local small family farms that raise non-growth hormone, non-antibiotic, free range livestock, but unfortunately, they don't advertise. I have had to seek them out. When I meet them I have told them there is a great demand for their products and asked why they don't advertise, the cite the cost and they are content with the amount of customers that they have.

[FarmGroupie]

What an excellent message! Taking control of what you eat is a huge step to take. Many people don't realize how many aspects of their lives their food touches. When you buy from local small farm and food producers it touches your body and your life, I believe, right down to your soul.

Thanks for posting this. My daughter's school is planning an edible schoolyard and we are so excited to have the values of the local food web taught to those kids.

I think that seeking out local producers is still something of a job. I hope that Local Harvest, Slow Food and other organizations will galvanize consumers and help us all to find the wonderful farmers and producers in our own areas. It's just so important.

[Farell]

Great Story on so many different levels! I’m glad to see that people are starting to recognize that locally-grown products are better.

[Tom]

This website has launched recently which will certainly help local food producers: www.littlelocalfood.com