This is a previously unpublished section written in response to the presentation of a lobbyist who presented to class on election eve 2012:

… Mr. Howard then took a moment to ridicule the “outrageous fine” levied upon a restaurateur whose refrigerator was storing cheese at 40 degrees. Especially deft was his technique of planting the idea that the food product was about to be, “put on a grill” (obviating the need for refrigeration to begin with?).

During calendar year 1999 seventy-five million people became ill from food related poisoning and another 5,000 died – in the United States alone.

In between full recuperation and death from food-borne bacterial infections are a host of permanent and/or chronic effects.

Stephanie Smith, a 22-year-old children’s dance instructor, ate a bad burger manufactured by the Cargill Corporation, contracted an E. Coli infection, had to be placed in a medically induced coma for nine weeks, didn’t die, and can no longer walk due to paralysis from the infection. Her medical condition indicates that she will require multiple kidney transplants. Ms. Smith’s medical bills are in the millions of dollars.

Bacteria grow most rapidly in the range of temperatures between 40 ° and 140 °F, doubling in number in as little as 20 minutes.

There is a lot more to be said about the topic of food safety – all of it based on scientific fact, and common sense. What is missing are ADDITIONAL regulations to keep bits of glass, complex organic compounds, heavy metals and more – out of our food supply chain. New laws with revenue-creating penalties and enforcement are required for new hazards foisted on an unsuspecting and trusting public by multinational corporations who use every manner of deception to increase their profit margins while minimizing their accountability.

Back to Mr. Howard and his introduction….

Peter Terezakis
ITP, Tisch School of the Arts
New York City