Food safety and related illnesses are hot topics for midterm debates

Debates leading up to midterms can be messy, and this year, those debates are becoming a food fight — about grocery prices, which is a more typical debate, but also about whether it's safe to eat those groceries.

Cyclosporiasis ravaged lettuce supplies and stomachs this summer. Thousands of pounds of meat were recalled alongside ever-changing beef import regulations. And as Stephanie Armour for KFF reports, some food safety scientists blamed outbreaks on federal cuts to public health.

"Democrats have come out on the offensive, saying voters worried about the safety of the U.S. food supply should oust Republicans in the midterm elections," Armour writes. "The Trump administration has countered by accusing Democrats of scaremongering over food safety to score political points."

There have been 200 food recalls this year, similar to recalls this time last year. But this year's recalls are part of a broader trend with total recalls up by 21% since 2021. Epidemiologists say a better measure of safety is how many people are getting sick.

 
"Concern about food safety has especially taken hold now, public health leaders say, because the administration is portraying itself as a safety crusader while cutting staffing and funding for federal agencies responsible for surveillance and inspection," Armour writes, noting how the cyclospora outbreak made it harder for people to consume fresh foods, which has been the recommendation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

What does science say about health risks from widely used glyphosate on U.S. farms? An expert weighs in.

Unlike soybean and corn farmers, wheat growers don't
 routinely use glyphosate. (Photo by H. Shedrow, Unsplash)

Despite thousands of lawsuits and some scientific studies linking glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup, to serious human diseases, the compound remains the most popular herbicide for farmers worldwide.

In the U.S., where Roundup is the most commonly used herbicide, many consumers have questions about the health risks glyphosate may pose. According to epidemiologist Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, writing for Your Local Epidemiologist on Substack, the most pressing questions are: "Does glyphosate cause cancer? And how much exposure is actually risky?" She provides some background and details about what "the scientific evidence actually says."

Like many chemicals, natural and synthetic, the dose determines toxicity. "So, at what dose is glyphosate poisonous? The LD50 in rats (the dose that kills half the test animals) is around 5,600 mg/kg body weight," Jetelina explains. "Table salt is roughly 3,000 mg/kg. By that classic measure, glyphosate is less acutely toxic than salt."

Still, many people who work on farms or live near farms may be regularly exposed to "a lot of glyphosate," Jetelina writes. "Among the general public, there are many questions about low-dose, cumulative exposure from multiple sources over long periods."

Correlation maps that show the number of non-Hodgkin lymphoma cases in counties that spray the most glyphosate seem to point to a relationship between the two. Jetelina adds, "But correlation alone doesn’t establish cause, which is why animal and human studies matter."

Food and Water Watch graph via Your Local Epidemiologist

Tests on rats, which have often been cited as the most alarming, and observation testing on humans, indicate the same thing: "At very high exposure levels, there may be some cancer risk," Jetelina explains. "But that’s about as far as the science currently takes us."

The U.S. EPA, the European Food Safety Authority, Health Canada, and regulatory agencies in Australia and Japan have "all concluded that glyphosate is 'unlikely to be carcinogenic to humans' at realistic exposure levels," Jetelina writes. Those regulatory bodies looked at "how much glyphosate people actually encounter and asked what is the probability of harm? Your actual exposure is what determines your actual risk."

In daily life, an average American would be hard-pressed to consume enough glyphosate to do any harm. To exceed EPA's herbicide residue limits, a "150-pound adult would need to eat roughly 50 pounds of oats every day," Jenelina writes. Organic certification doesn't allow synthetic herbicides, so in practice, most herbicides can be avoided by purchasing organic foods.

For farm workers who mix and apply glyphosate, Jenelina advises using personal protective equipment consistently to prevent unnecessary exposure. People who live near farms can help protect themselves from spray drift by "knowing your local agricultural calendar and keeping windows closed during application are the first steps."

Community journalists can help hunters avoid chronic wasting disease risks

Chronic wasting disease distribution in North America as of April 2025. (USGS National Wildlife Health Center map)

As deer and elk hunting seasons open across the U.S. and Canada, community reporters can help prevent the possible spread of chronic wasting disease, which has affected 36 states and four Canadian provinces, writes Joseph A. Davis for the Society of Environmental Journalists. "Journalists can do a lot to help hunters understand how to minimize any risks."

Chronic wasting disease is caused by the replication of abnormal brain proteins, known as prions, that clump together and cause brain damage. All hoofed ruminant mammals, such as mule deer, white-tailed deer, red deer, elk, bison and moose, are susceptible to contracting the disease.

So far, no humans have contracted CWD, but scientists haven't been able to prove or disprove whether the disease could be spread to humans by direct contact or by consuming meat from an infected animal.

"Many states have programs of one sort or another to help hunters safely handle the animals they kill," Davis adds. 

Community journalists who investigate and report on the disease in their community and publish prevention tips can also help reduce CDW risks, according to Davis. His story ideas include:

• Has CWD been found in your state? Where, how and how often? Contact your state wildlife agency for more information.
• Are there captive deer populations in your state? Deer farms are often available to hunters, and CWD incidence seems to be higher in such areas. Visit some and talk to managers, hunters and neighbors.
• There are businesses that process killed deer into specific cuts or frozen meat. If any are near you, discuss CWD safety with managers and customers.
• Are there labs in your state that check deer carcasses for CWD? Discuss with them how to mitigate the risk of CWD.
• Find local deer hunting clubs and discuss CWD with them. 

Davis also makes the following suggestions for sources:

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Although compromised under the Trump administration’s Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the CDC is supposed to track public health threats. It still offers levelheaded and science-based info on CWD.
• USGS National Wildlife Health Center: This important lab in Wisconsin exemplifies the U.S. Geological Survey’s expertise in sound science, with extensive resources on chronic wasting disease.
• State wildlife agencies: A good place to start looking for local facts and advice, as well as safety programs. For a list, start here or here.
• National Deer Association: This hunters’ group advises people about how to minimize CWD risks.
• USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service: The job of this unit within the Agriculture Department is to identify and control animal diseases, such as CWD. 

Quick hits: Radioactive shrimp; soybean farmers seek deal; tractor pulls; veggie-flation; 515-mile lightning strike

Radioactive shrimp were recalled as a precautionary
measure. (ABC video graphic)

Earlier this week, the FDA issued an urgent recall for Indonesian shrimp sold at Walmart that may contain radioactive materials. "Certain Great Value raw frozen shrimp products sold at Walmart are being recalled due to possible contamination with Cesium-137, a radioactive isotope," reports Erin Keller of the Independent. FDA shrimp recall details are here.

With their fall harvests almost ready, American soybean farmers sent the Trump administration a letter asking for a trade deal with China. "China, the world's largest soybean buyer, is turning to Brazilian cargoes amid trade tensions with the U.S. and ongoing negotiations," reports Leah Douglas of Reuters. "The country has not pre-purchased soybeans from the upcoming U.S. harvest, an unusual delay that has worried traders and farmers. . . . China bought 54% of U.S. soybean exports in the 2023-2024 marketing year, worth $13.2 billion."

Langford's tractor pull has increased in popularity since
beginning in 1946. (Photo by Zach Jaworski, NPR)

Annual tractor and truck pulls have grown into major events for some rural communities. Little Langford, New York, hosts its tractor pull for two days every August. "Spectators gather on wooden bleachers flanking a long dirt runway, forming an arena that seats 4,000 people — more than the surrounding area's total population," reports Zach Jaworski of NPR. Richard Love, one of the officials at this year's Langford pull, told Jaworski, "It's non-stop action and it's just kind of a big party here." Jaworski adds, "This event in Langford has been held annually since 1946."

After U.S. Department of Labor agents zeroed in on the Marino family farm in New Jersey and uncovered a paperwork violation, they shackled the family's business with administrative red tape, fines and a ruling from a DOL court. Finally, after years of litigation, "a panel of independent federal judges unanimously ruled DOL’s actions in violation of the Constitution. . . and the Marinos were vindicated," reports Chris Bennett of Farm Journal. But the DOL's damage remains -- the Marino family farm that operated for 125 years is gone. Joe Marino told Bennett, "I never thought honesty and facts wouldn’t matter in America, but that’s what happened."

Chart by Axios, from Bureau of Labor data

As U.S. consumers watch the prices for essentials continue to fluctuate, produce costs could become the next budget worry. "Wholesale prices for fresh veggies soared by a record amount last month, foreshadowing a possible spike at the grocery store soon," reports Ben Berkowitz of Axios. "The Producer Price Index for July rose at the fastest clip in three years, far more than economists expected. . . . Per Bureau of Labor Statistics data, it's also the largest monthly increase ever recorded in a summer month (June-August), in figures that go back to 1947." 

A visualization of the megaflash that extended 515 miles, roughly the distance from Dallas to Kansas City, Mo. (Photo by Michael Peterson, GTRI via The Wall Street Journal)

The raw energy released in an average lightning bolt could power a small town for an entire day. With that in mind, consider the energy released during a recently detected lightning flash that zipped along the Great Plains in 2017. It was a "record-setting strike that lasted more than seven seconds and stretched 515 miles, from eastern Texas almost to Kansas City, Mo.," reports Eric Niiler of The Wall Street Journal. "The massive size of the megaflash, which touched ground in five states in 2017, was revealed by a new analysis of satellite imagery from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. . . . The average lightning strike is between 2 and 10 miles long."

Another food recall? U.S. food supply diversification created 'many more points' where food can be contaminated.

The listeria outbreak in Boar's Head meat caused 10 deaths
and sickened at least 61 people this year. (Boar's Head photo)

In the past six months, the number of reported food-borne illness outbreaks and food recalls in the United States has started to feel like a daily occurrence. And as the list of tainted foods grows from deli meat to onions to ground beef, many American consumers are wondering which foods are safe. Emily Schmall of The New York Times reports on "what the data on food safety actually shows."

A more in-depth look at U.S. food system data reveals a complex system with some documented safety improvements and plenty of room for improvement. Schmall explains, "By some measures, the food supply has become safer in recent years: We now have better testing systems that make it possible to detect contaminated food sooner and recall it faster, which means that outbreaks are now often smaller. It’s also easier to detect foodborne illnesses and link them to specific outbreaks. . . . Still, there has been less progress than experts had hoped to see by now."

Part of the country's food safety dilemma comes from the system's complexity and the sheer number of countries and suppliers involved. Schmall reports, "More products and ingredients are now being imported, and food is more frequently grown, manufactured, packed, and distributed by separate companies. A longer and less integrated supply chain means there are many more points at which the food can be contaminated."

The American public isn't wrong; recalls have increased. In fact, "recalls have nearly doubled between 2012 and 2024, though the Food and Drug Administration lumps food and cosmetic recalls together," Schmall writes. "Some of this increase may be because of better testing. Not all recalls involve pathogens, either." 

While the constant barrage of food recalls has left many Americans thinking U.S. regulators cannot ensure that the food supply is safe, the FDA has funding constraints that limit its ability to inspect more foreign food facilities. "The FDA physically inspects less than 1% of food imports," Schmall explains. "That gap in oversight was illuminated last year when applesauce pouches that contained lead-tainted cinnamon sourced from Ecuador sickened hundreds of children across the United States."

Susan Mayne, who served as the FDA's director of food safety during the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations, told Schmal, "The FDA functions as a food safety cop on the beat. But the ultimate responsibility for making things safer really comes from the food industry.”

Is sewage sludge used on farms and golf courses in your community? Tips for journalists to investigate issues.

A sewage sludge treatment tank in Scottdale, Penn.
(USDA photo, Lance Cheung via Flickr CC)

It may not sound pretty, but looking into sewage sludge disposal practices can be a story that helps your community's health. "There was a time when the Environmental Protection Agency renamed toxic sludge as 'biosolids,' and journalists went along with it," reports Joseph A. Davis of the Society of Environmental Journalists. "As we are becoming aware of more and more toxic chemicals, it is hardly a surprise that we are finding them in sewage sludge. The surprise is that some farmers are spreading them on their fields."

The multiple contaminants within sewage sludge are a health threat to humans and the environment because PFAS or "forever chemicals" can be present in sludge; however, sludge pollutants can also include "heavy metals like lead, other toxic organics like dioxins, PCBs, pharmaceuticals whose names you can’t even pronounce," Davis explains. "The problem gets much harder when you realize there are thousands of individual PFAS chemicals. Not to mention all the other chemical families."

The problems with sludge, even when treated, or labeled "biosolids" remain extensive. EPA rules may not be enough to keep people and nature safe because current rules "allow — some say encourage — sterilized, dried sludge to be spread on fields, golf courses, etc," Davis writes. "The big question is whether harmful chemicals are getting into people’s food and water."

Davis offers the following story ideas:

• Where does your sewage go when you flush the toilet? Talk to your local sewage treatment agencies and ask them what they do with their sewage sludge.
• Ask who takes the bulk of processed sludge from your local agencies? There may be companies who distribute it in large quantities to farmers, golf courses, etc., who apply it to land. Talk to them. Talk to their customers.
• The EPA has to review its 'biosolids' rules every two years to see whether they should be updated as new contaminants come to light. What do local sewage officials and environmental advocates think about the EPA’s performance?
• Some disposal of sewage sludge on land requires a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (water pollution) permit. Check the permit database for permittees. Check the EPA’s ECHO enforcement database for violators. Talk to permittees and permitting agencies.
• Does your local sludge go into the retail market? What companies and brands sell it? Ask for their test results on chemical contamination. Figure out what they didn’t test for.
• Talk to groundskeepers or managers at local golf courses. Do they use sludge products on their courses? What can you learn about the run-off situation?
• Go to meetings of local garden clubs and community gardens. Or visit on-site. Ask members what they do, especially with vegetable gardens.

Reporting resources:

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: The agency sets the standards for land application of sludge.
• Local sewage treatment agencies: You can find them in the EPA’s ICIS-NPDES database using SIC code 4952.
• National Association of Clean Water Agencies: The NACWA is a lobby and professional group of municipal sewage treatment agencies.
• Center for Food Safety: A nonprofit group that advocates for food safety.
• Regional biosolids groups: Find some listed here.
• Food & Water Watch: A nonprofit environmental advocacy group that follows the sludge-agriculture issue.
• Water Environment Federation: A professional and scientific organization whose members work in the sewage and water industries.

A rural town in Virginia highlights the economic stress and uncertainty that unfolds when its biggest employer closes

The CornerStone Crossroads mart used to serve about 100
Boar's Head employees a day. (CornerStone ad photo)

Update: On Sept. 13, the Boar's Head website announced the indefinite closure of its Jarratt, Virginia plant. The company also included their decision to permanently discontinue making liverwurst. Christina Jewett and Teddy Rosenbluth of The New York Times report, "Union officials said the plant’s 500 workers would be given severance and offered relocation."

The Boar's Head plant in rural Jarratt, Virginia, remains closed after a national listeria outbreak, including nine deaths, was linked to the facility. "For years, the plant was seen as a stable, albeit difficult, place to make a living in the town of roughly 600," reports Eduardo Medina of The New York Times. Jennifer Blake of WWBT News in Virginia reports, "The Boar’s Head production facility [was] the largest and most common source of income for [Jarratt] residents."

The financial domino effect isn't limited to Boar's Head employees. "CornerStone Crossroads, a convenience store and restaurant, has had a drastic decline in customers," Medina reports. "When the plant was fully operating, CornerStone Crossroads would serve. . . about 100 plant workers every day. . . Now, it’s mostly just a handful of construction workers who stop by."

Some Jarratt residents "expressed remorse that a major employer in town had sickened so many people in several states," Medina writes. Russell Lewis, whose mother worked for Boar’s Head decades ago, told Medina, "I’m surprised, I’m disappointed, I’m sad so many people died from it . . . . From what I know from people who have worked there, it’s hard work. You’re basically in a refrigerator."

Other residents are simply anxious for the plant to reopen. Blake reports, "Despite the unhealthy findings, one resident says having that plant open is necessary." He told Blake, "People depend on Boar’s Head. I wish they could get it together and find out (what) the situation is that created the problem because a lot of people depend on it. I mean look around, there are only farmlands. It’s the only productive place in Jarratt as far as employment wise.”

In total, Boar's Head recalled seven million pounds of product and "says it won't reopen until they are 'confident that it meets the standards our customers expect and deserve,'" reports Cameron Thompson of WTVR News in Virginia. "It added employees are undergoing additional training and they are partnering with global food safety experts." Meanwhile, the residents of Jarratt await the plant's reopening and hopefully, a return to lines at the CornerStone Crossroads eatery.

Opinion: Listeria outbreak linked to a Boar's Head plant is an example of why regulation without consequences fails

The Boar's Head deli-meat listeria outbreak that left nine people dead and many others sick may have been surprising to some; however, as Zeynep Tufekci points out in her opinion for The New York Times, perhaps "Americans should also pause to ask, 'How does this not happen all the time?'. . . Department of Agriculture inspection reports from a Boar’s Head plant in Jarratt, Va., make it clear that the failures are inexcusable."

USDA inspectors issued "repeated citations for noncompliance with crucial rules like avoiding dripping or standing water (which can facilitate listeria growth)," Tufekci writes. The number of citations, which recorded everything from dead 'cockroach-like bugs' to black mold spots, means little if companies face zero consequences for dangerous conditions. "So far, there have been no enforcement actions against Boar’s Head in the past year, despite these reports. It is unclear what penalties, if any, the company will face."

Section of USDA non-compliance reports from the Boar's Head plant in Virginia. (USDA via NYT)

This outbreak should remind Americans that while food regulations can seem overbearing, keeping mass-produced food safe is not easy. Listeria is a particular concern for inspectors because the deadly bacterium "can survive refrigeration and freezing," Tufekci adds, "Our food is kept safe quietly, day after day, because of extensive regulations born of experience and science. Eagle-eyed inspectors who notice even the tiniest bit of misplaced raw meat can save lives."

This listeria outbreak and deaths are extreme examples of what can happen when companies don't comply with USDA safety regulations. But it is a reminder that "regulations don’t work without accountability," Tufekci writes. "When companies shirk their responsibilities, swift consequences should kick in, before someone dies or falls ill." For now, that is not the case. Instead, Boar's Head is facing numerous lawsuits from people who fell ill or from the loved ones of those who died from eating listeria-tainted Boar's Head meat.

As dairy cows enter the U.S. food chain, many will be tested for the bird flu virus, aka, H5N1

Dairy cows will be the focus of new slaughterhouse
testing for bird flu by the USDA. (Adobe Stock photo)

The Department of Agriculture will boost its bird flu or H5N1 response to U.S. dairy and beef livestock infections by "expanding bird-flu testing of beef entering the food supply," reports Leah Douglas of Reuters. In May, the agency tested 109 beef samples from "dairy cows sent to slaughter and found bird flu virus particles in one cow's tissue sample. Older dairy cattle are often slaughtered for ground beef."

Dairy cows will be the focus of most slaughterhouse testing. "Nearly 200 herds in 13 U.S. states have contracted bird flu since March after the virus jumped from wild birds to cows, according to USDA data," Douglas explains. "Eric Deeble, deputy undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs, said the USDA is confident with the current level of bird-flu testing conducted by the nation's dairy farmers."

Meanwhile, dairy operators and workers are at increased risk of contracting H5N1. To date, 13 poultry and dairy workers have contracted bird flu since April, and workers who might be exposed to infected animals need to wear personal protective equipment.

To further address the virus' presence across the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration is "talking with states about the plausibility of additional nationwide raw milk testing," Douglas reports. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is "working on expanding its surveillance wastewater testing to H5 viruses in advance of the fall and winter flu season."

According to the USDA, U.S. beef and dairy products are safe to consume.

Wild pigs are a seemingly unstoppable pestilence, but their threat could become exponentially more dangerous

Feral pigs eat crops and degrade water quality wherever
they invade. (Photo by Adam Dixon, Ambrook Research)

When feral pigs invade the countryside, they go hog wild eating farm crops, tearing up the ground, prolifically reproducing and spreading diseases to other animals and humans. As if that scourge wasn't enough, federal officials are preparing for the possible arrival of African Swine Fever in wild hogs and its possible spread to domestic pigs and maybe even humans. The concern is so viable that officials and stakeholders have completed simulations to prepare for ASF, reports Michael Crowe of Ambrook Research. "For two days, groups discussed the ins and outs of emerging pig diseases like African Swine Fever and the potential for feral hogs to help spread them."

Highly contagious and deadly for all pig breeds, ASF cannot spread to humans yet, but its travels across the globe make it a human health and pork industry concern. "Researchers have warned the animals can serve as a reservoir that can spill over into domesticated herds. This makes feral pigs not just a damage concern, but a food security issue," Crowe writes. "It’s one of the top threats to U.S. pork production, which exported $7.7 billion of product in 2022."

Should ASF be detected in the United States, the protocol is simple: shut all pig operations down. Crowe explains, "A single infected domestic or wild pig could lead the Department of Agriculture to pause all live pig and semen shipments for 72 hours to try and contain it, a massive stoppage considering we have a million hogs on U.S. roads every day. And being shut out of international trade, even temporarily, is a serious concern."

Kevin Morgan from the Office of Health Security, part of the Department of Homeland Security, told Crowe, "We need to get better at shared awareness across borders because these types of emerging pathogens — there’s no line on a map that they respect. . . . We need to be on the same page on surveillance and early warning." Crowe reports, "Beyond building connections, officials are also looking to help producers protect their herds at a local level."

Currently, the USDA’s Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service is "running active ASF surveillance across 12 states — the entire U.S./Mexico border and the Florida Gulf Coast," Crowe reports. But there is no way for officials or scientists to predict how people will react. 

Consumer response to eating beef during the mad cow disease crisis serves as an example. Pig farmer Paul Klingeman Jr. asked Crowe, "How many people are going to think they might get this if they eat pork?"

Drinking raw milk might have a cult following, but it contains harmful pathogens that make people sick

Pasteurized cow's milk is safe and nutritious
to consume. (Photo by Suvrajit, Unsplash)

Advocates may tout raw milk as nutritionally superior to pasteurized milk, but little research supports their claim. The risks involved in raw milk consumption outweigh any possible benefits, write Juan Silva, Joel Komakech and Mandy Conrad for The Conversation, a journalistic platform for academics. "Despite an ongoing outbreak of bird flu in dairy cows, the popularity of raw milk has only risen. . . . Since cattle can shed viral material into their milk, not only can pathogens end up in milk, but at least three farmworkers reportedly contracted H5N1. . . . Farmworkers can get sick by handling infected animals or their byproducts, such as raw milk." 

Below are the authors' slightly edited answers to questions about pasteurized and raw milk. 

What is pasteurization? Does it destroy nutrients?
Pasteurization uses heat to kill harmful microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses and parasites. The process "reduces the total number of microorganisms in the product and also inactivates enzymes that could contribute to spoilage. . . . The taste, nutritional value and quality of pasteurized products aren’t significantly affected by the process."

Is raw milk healthier? No. There is little science behind this idea:

• Raw milk does not improve lactose intolerance.
• Raw milk also does not have more vitamins than pasteurized milk.
• Vitamin D is added to pasteurized milk to enhance your body’s ability to absorb the calcium in milk.
• Raw milk is generally lacking in probiotics and has significantly more harmful bacteria.
• Raw milk does not help consumers "gain" H5N1 immunity. No scientific evidence supports that drinking raw milk can improve immunity against disease.

Can consuming raw milk make someone sick? Yes. Unpasteurized milk can contain harmful microorganisms: "Raw milk has been associated with hundreds of foodborne disease outbreaks. . . . A number of outbreaks and recalls related to pathogens in raw milk have already occurred in 2024. In all cases, pathogens in the raw milk that cause human diseases were directly responsible for these illnesses. . . . Some illnesses from the pathogens in raw milk can have serious long-term effects, including paralysis, kidney failure and death."

Is eating products such as cheese or yogurt made with raw milk safe? No. "Only products that undergo a process to inhibit or kill harmful microorganisms may be safe enough to be made from unpasteurized milk. However, the potential for cross-contamination of raw and cooked food as well as the survival of pathogens from inadequate processing is high when products are made with raw milk."

Can pasteurized milk cause illness? "The few reported outbreaks associated with pasteurized milk can be traced to contamination after pasteurization. When handled properly, pasteurized milk is a very safe product."

Final thoughts? Drinking raw milk that contains H5N1 can make a person sick and help the virus evolve into something more dangerous. "People who contract bird flu from raw milk run the risk of transmitting it to other people or animals by giving the virus a chance to adapt and improve its ability to spread between people. This increases the risk of more widespread disease outbreaks."

Rural veterinarians have an unusually tough and unpredictable job; the shortage requires multiple solutions

Ongoing U.S. rural vet shortages can threaten U.S.
food supplies. (Adobe Stock photo)

Rural veterinarian's perfect daydream: Cows never slam their bodies into you. Goats don't dig their horns into the back of your legs while you try to draw blood. And bunnies don't die of fright from routine procedures. Most "patients" get a little treat afterward. . . There's even time for lunch.

Rural vet reality: You work 10 out of 14 days and are on call during off-hours. You're treating colicky horses who require IV sedation alongside ungrateful cows with colds. Your back thighs are bruised and sore because Farmer Joe's goats hate blood draws, and you have to explain to your neighbor's 10-year-old daughter that even indoor bunnies can die of fright.

Given the overall toughness of rural veterinarian practice, it's no wonder the nation is experiencing a significant rural vet shortage. "Speak to anyone in the industry, and they will cite everything from poor mental health outcomes, high levels of student debt, long, often unpredictable hours, physical demands, and difficult clients," reports Lewis Kendall of Ambrook Research. "A recent industry survey found that more than 700 counties across all 50 states are experiencing potential large animal veterinarian shortages."

The shortage has multiple causes and requires varied approaches to be effectively addressed. Oklahoma State University's College of Veterinary Medicine is "piloting a new program that it hopes will help better understand the scale of the issue and offer practical solutions," Kendall writes. "Known as the Center for Rural Veterinary Medicine, the program takes a three-pronged approach: academic research, education, and training for student vets specific to rural environments."

Explaining OSU's philosophy, Martin Furr, assistant dean of clinical programs at the College of Veterinary Medicine, told Kendall, "We need to approach this problem of the rural veterinary shortage in the same way: a scholarly approach, understanding the problems, the dynamics, what is going on, and then developing a strategy to fix it. . . . I would hope that this would be a model for how other universities start to think about the problem and develop their own approaches."

Sarah Wagner spent five years as a large animal veterinarian in rural Virginia before moving into academics, where she is now an assistant dean and a professor of pharmacology at Texas Tech University’s School of Veterinary Medicine. "Wagner has spent a lot of time thinking about the plethora of issues currently plaguing her field," Kendall reports. "She noted that as women make up the vast majority of veterinarians in the U.S., institutional problems like sexism — particularly in rural areas — and the gender pay gap have become increasingly prevalent."

Despite industry organizations working to decrease veterinarians' student debts, rural veterinarian medicine requires grit and dedication that can be tough to find. "Earl Brady, who owns a large animal practice in northern Vermont, told Kendall: "When you’re in school, and you have $300,000 of student debt, you have the option to go work for a small animal clinic and make $120,000 working four days a week with no on-call. Or you go to rural Vermont and start at maybe $85,000 and work 10 days out of a 14-day period and you’re on-call and you’re putting prolapses in in negative degree weather and chasing horses with colic around. It’s kind of a hard sell.”

The rural vet shortage has potential impacts for U.S. food supplies and supply chains. Read Kendall's full article here. 

Lead-tainted applesauce entered the U.S. food system and poisoned children -- here's what parents should know

Cinnamon believed to be deliberately tainted with lead
poisoned more than 400 kids. (Photo by rens d, Unsplash)

Even with multiple safeguards, lead-tainted applesauce entered the U.S. food supply in pouches and poisoned more than 400 children, Christina Jewett of The New York Times reports. "Their median blood lead levels were six times higher than the average seen during the height of the Flint water crisis, the Centers for Disease Control said. . . .The cinnamon in the applesauce was believed to have been intentionally contaminated, possibly to add to its value as a commodity sold by weight."

Jewell points out that while this type of poisoning is rare, parents need to know how children can be exposed and what lead poisoning symptoms look like.

Lead exposure can happen from drinking water flowing through old lead pipes or lead-based paint often ingested as chips. Fruits and vegetables that grow in lead-tainted soil can also be a cause. Jewett writes, "A study about baby foods found that sweet potatoes had some of the highest levels of lead among the products tested."

The 2023 lead applesauce outbreak was caused by cinnamon added to the sauce in Ecuador. An in-depth investigation by the Times and the nonprofit health newsroom The Examination show "the tainted applesauce sailed through a series of checkpoints in a food-safety system meant to protect American consumers," Jewett writes. "Food importers, which are required to vet foreign food, let the applesauce enter the country."

While lead occurs as an element in nature, it is a neurotoxin that can have devastating effects on brain development. A challenge for parents and caregivers is recognizing lead exposure. "High levels of lead can result in stomach pain, vomiting, fatigue, learning difficulties, developmental delays and even seizures," Jewett reports.

There aren't enough rural veterinarians; new legislation sets out a plan to attract new graduates

Rural America needs more veterinarians.

(Farm Journal photo)

Forty years ago, there were plenty of country veterinarians to care for livestock and other food animals. That's no longer the case and lawmakers are working to address the issue. "New legislation has been introduced to address the critical shortage of veterinarians practicing in rural America," reports Rhonda Brooks of Farm Journal. The bipartisan legislation, the Rural Veterinary Workforce Act S.2829, was introduced this past week as a plan to address the steep decline of veterinarians practicing in rural areas. "A report commissioned by Farm Journal Foundation in 2022, noted that more than 500 counties across the U.S. have shortages of food animal veterinarians." 

The act would provide student loan tax benefits for graduates who choose  rural practice. The break helps "give more veterinarians the opportunity to practice in small, rural communities where their services are needed most," Brooks reports. "This change would reflect similar exemptions provided to medical doctors and other human health practitioners."

The lack of food animal veterinarians isn't just about farmers and animals; it can affect the public's food supply. Cornell University's Dr. Clinton Neill told Brooks, "The decline in food animal veterinarians in rural areas heightens concerns for several risks, including food safety threats, animal disease outbreaks, the potential passing of animal diseases to human populations, and decreasing rural economic growth. In essence, veterinarians protect the whole of the human and animal population, so it is critical that we have a strong pipeline of practitioners to work in rural areas."

Reasons new vet school graduates steer away from rural practice include "high levels of education debt that have outpaced potential earnings, especially in the rural U.S.," Brooks explains. "[The legislation] is encouraging more veterinarians to pursue companion animal practices and work in urban and suburban areas where incomes are often higher."

Legislation sponsors: Debbie Stabenow (D), John Boozman (R), Susan Collins (R), Mike Crapo (R), Kirsten Gillibrand (D), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R), Angus King (I), Amy Klobuchar (D), Jerry Moran (R), Lisa Murkowski (R), Patty Murray (D), James Risch (R), Tina Smith (D)

U.S. consumers throw away 90 billion pounds of food a year; confusion over expiration dates is a big reason

Wall Street Journal graph, from ReFED Food Waste Monitor data

Food-safety people hate "best by" food labels because consumers mistakenly think once a product is past the date, it's longer safe to eat, which wastes tons of decent food, reports Josh Zumbrun in his opinion for The Wall Street Journal. "Food experts broadly agree that the expiration dates on every box of crackers, can of beans and bag of apples waste money, squander perfectly good food, needlessly clog landfills, spew methane and contribute to climate change." No oversight body regulates product "best by" labels. Martin Wiedmann, a professor of food safety and food science at Cornell University, told Zumbrun: "Those dates are not about safety, that's not why they're there, that's not what they're doing. . . For many foods, we could completely do away with it."

Most date labels on food don’t claim that anything is
expiring or unsafe. (Photo by Alexander Cohn, WSJ)

What are they for? "The dates originated as a coded system for manufacturers to communicate to retailers when to rotate stock," Zumbrun explains. "Consumers clamored for information on the freshness of food, and in the 1970s and 1980s consumer-facing dates became widespread, though never standardized. . . . Food manufacturers have tried, largely in vain, to explain that these are mostly general indicators of when food is at its peak quality. Most foods, properly stored, remain edible and safe long after their peak. . . . This misunderstanding is one reason Americans waste a colossal amount of perfectly good food. The Department of Agriculture has estimated that 31% of the available food supply goes uneaten. . . . Retailers discard 43 billion pounds of food annually, consumers a further 90 billion."

Andrew Harig, vice president at the Food Industry Association, a Washington trade group representing food retailers and producers, told Zumbrun, “It’s intended as a sort of consumer guide to be helpful. It’s just that it morphed into less of a guide and more of a rule, and that’s one of the challenges. Food technologists and food-safety people, they absolutely hate these labels.” Zumbrun reports, food-safety experts prefer using just two labels: "'Best if used by,' which indicates the product might not taste quite as good after that date but is still safe, and 'Use by' for those cases where the food might actually be unsafe, such as meat from the deli counter."

"U.S. consumers are wildly confused about the labels’ intent. In a 2019 paper, researchers at Johns Hopkins University and Harvard University found 84% of consumers threw out food at the package date 'at least occasionally' while 37% did so always or usually, though that wasn’t what most labels recommended. Over half thought date labeling was federally regulated, or were unsure," Zumbrun adds. "In fact, with the exception of infant formula, the labels aren’t federally mandated and the food isn’t unsafe. Safety concerns usually arise from food that is contaminated or improperly stored. If you care about food safety, Wiedmann advises you to ignore 'best by' dates and just set your refrigerator no higher than 37 degrees. Keeping food too warm is a real safety risk that has nothing to do with an expiration date."

American agriculture remains vulnerable to cyberattacks; some experts see 'previously unimaginable risks'

Unlike industries such as banking, U.S. agriculture is vulnerable to digital attacks due to a lack of internal support -- and attitudes that prevent information sharing and analysis that could fend off hackers, reports Eric Geller for Wired magazine. "In the past few years, cyberattacks on the meat processing giant JBS Foods and the Iowa farm services firm NEW Cooperative have laid bare the industry's widespread vulnerabilities. . . . . New technologies, including advances in artificial intelligence, are creating previously unimaginable risks, overwhelming a workforce not accustomed to dealing with digital security. . . . food and agriculture is one of only a few critical infrastructure sectors that doesn't have an Information Sharing and Analysis Center, or ISAC, helping companies fight back."

Work at a meatpacking plant Getty Images photo via Wired

Geller notes that U.S. agriculture is filled with protection shortfalls that attract hackers, and "Farmers are also vulnerable to more immediate sabotage. The same remote-access technology that enabled John Deere to remotely disable a batch of Ukrainian tractors stolen by Russian forces could let hackers turn off millions of tractors across the U.S. . . . Inside the massive industrial facilities where most chickens are raised and slaughtered, the temperature and humidity are precisely controlled by internet-connected computers. With control of this system, hackers could engineer a catastrophe."

Geller reports, "Today, food and agriculture is one of four critical infrastructure sectors (out of 16) without an ISAC, along with dams, government facilities, and nuclear reactors and materials. . . .Despite being increasingly vulnerable, Marcus Sachs, director at Auburn University's McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security, says the food and agriculture sector still 'doesn't really understand the threat mindset' as well as higher-profile sectors, like financial services and energy, do. . . . the Department of Agriculture has shown 'very little interest' in cybersecurity, says Sachs, who has tried to prod officials into action."

U.S. Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, told Geller, "Agricultural and food security is the foundation of American security. . . . Plenty of folks I've spoken with think there needs to be a dedicated ISAC. . . . Without a stable food supply, society stops functioning." Still, the sector needs to have multiple supports added for protection. Geller reports, "Pfluger's bill, the Food and Agriculture Industry Cybersecurity Support Act, would create new federal resources for companies, require improved coordination between government and industry, and launch a Government Accountability Office review of the sector's situation, including whether an ISAC is necessary."

Meanwhile, "Experts say the government could better use its existing programs to help," Geller writes. "Sachs and his colleagues are even considering helping a coalition of land-grant universities launch an ISAC that would both facilitate information sharing and prepare students to enter the food and agriculture workforce with key cyber skills. . . .Whether or not the sector forms an ISAC, there's widespread agreement that more must be done to counter the growing array of threats endangering these companies and the hundreds of millions of people who rely on them for basic sustenance."

SNAP benefits will end in 32 states; food pantries aim to fill the gap; it may not be possible to meet the demand

Photo by Erin Schaff, The New York Times

Across 32 states, emergency Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits will end in March. The drop in assistance has local food pantries gearing up to feed more families and hoping they will have enough. "Food bank managers fear that demand will spike further in March, when officials roll back pandemic-era increases to SNAP benefits," reports Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez of Kaiser Health News. "The program, administered by the Department of Agriculture, provides monthly stipends to people with low incomes to spend on food. Before 2020, those payments averaged a little more than $200 and were hiked by a minimum of $95 during the pandemic."

"Friends in Service Helping food pantry is known in rural northeastern Nevada as FISH," writes Rodriguez. "The food pantry is one of a few in this city of about 20,000 people. In January, FISH provided food boxes to nearly 790 people. . . Officials estimate FISH families will see a 30% to 40% decrease in SNAP payments as emergency allotments tied to the public health emergency halt in 32 states, including Nevada." Georgia, Indiana, Montana, Kentucky, and South Dakota, have already ended the emergency allotments.

Andrew Cheyne, managing director of public policy for GRACE, a nonprofit run by the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, focused on reducing childhood hunger, told Rodriguez, "We have so many households who simply aren’t going to know that this is happening. They’re going to go to the grocery store and expect to have money in their account and not be able to buy the food they need to feed their families. . . .There’s just no comparing the scale of SNAP to the charitable food sector. It’s simply not possible to make up that difference.”

Rodriquez reports, "In Montana, the expanded SNAP benefits were cut in summer 2021. Brent Weisgram, vice president and chief operating officer of the Montana Food Bank Network, said that reporting from the network’s partners shows a 24% increase in the number of households seeking assistance from emergency food pantries from July 2021 to July 2022. Weisgram said food pantries are not prepared to absorb the impact of the cut to the largest federal nutrition assistance program and are strictly a supplemental resource."

Tammy King, a volunteer at FISH, told Rodriquez, “I feel that everybody who has the power to help is doing everything they can to help us. You just gotta look at your food and say, ‘OK, how long can I make this last and make a difference in someone’s life?’”

States struggle to replace benefits stolen from poor's food accounts; must have plan to use federal funds this month

EBT cards lack security against electronic theft.
(Photo by Robert F. Bukaty, The Associated Press)

Theft of federal benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, "skyrocketed in the spring and summer last year," reports Elaine S. Povich of Stateline. "News reports and law enforcement agencies said the benefits most likely were stolen with 'skimming' devices attached by crooked employees or thieves posing as customers to card processing machines at store checkouts. The skimmers take seconds to install, and law enforcement officials say they are often placed late at night when store employees are distracted. Those devices clone the data encoded on the cards and can also steal PINs."

In the past, the situation was a hardship for benefit recipients because only a few states "reimbursed stolen benefits, according to the American Public Human Services Association. . . . Unlike regular credit or debit cards where refunds are often available when thieves poach funds, EBT cards don’t have those protections. That leaves many victims with no recourse." Povich writes. The omnibus spending bill contains "a federal mandate that allows states to use federal money to reimburse SNAP recipients whose benefits were stolen through electronic card fraud. . . . The federal law also calls on states to increase the cards’ security. . .. States have until the end of February to draw up plans to use federal money they get for the SNAP program to reimburse recipients who were ripped off."

"State legislatures are grappling with how to comply, said the association's senior director, Matthew Lyons," Povich reports. "So far, according to an email to Stateline from a Department of Agriculture spokesperson, no state has yet forwarded a plan to the department. And critics say since the law did not spell out parameters on how to make the cards more tamper-proof, there may still be room for misuse."

SNAP recipients in Massachusetts were particularly hard hit with thefts. Povich writes: "In November, just weeks before the federal omnibus bill passed, the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, a liberal public interest group, filed a class action lawsuit against the state agency that handles the benefits on behalf of SNAP beneficiaries who had their money stolen from their EBT cards. . . . Betsy Gwin, the attorney for the institute that filed suit, told Povich the federal omnibus bill was a 'really, really positive step' and that her group 'has a duty to the clients to fight for justice for them.'”

On average, eating one wild fish or drinking a month's worth of tainted water is equally risky, national study finds

Photo by Michal Dziekonski, Unsplash

PFAS, dubbed "forever chemicals" for their apparently everlasting nature, keep showing up in America's water supply and food chains. New research found that "Eating one freshwater fish caught in a river or lake in the United States is the equivalent of drinking a month's worth of water contaminated with toxic 'forever chemicals,'" reports Daniel Lawler on Physics.org. The study was published in the journal Environmental Research.

Lawler explains: "To find out PFAS contamination in locally caught fish, a team of researchers analyzed more than 500 samples from rivers and lakes across the United States between 2013 and 2015. The median level of PFAS in the fish was 9,500 nanograms per kilogram. . . . Nearly three-quarters of the detected 'forever chemicals' was PFOS, one of the most common and hazardous of the thousands of PFAS. Eating just one freshwater fish equaled drinking water with PFOS at 48 parts per trillion for a month."

"I can no longer look at a fish without thinking about PFAS contamination," David Andrews, a senior scientist at the non-profit Environmental Working Group, a lobby that led the research, told Lawler. Andrews noted that the study's outcome was "particularly concerning due to the impact on disadvantaged communities that consume fish as a source protein or for social or cultural reasons. . . . This research makes me incredibly angry because companies that made and used PFAS contaminated the globe and have not been held responsible."

Patrick Byrne, a pollution researcher at Liverpool John Moores University, who was not involved in the research, told Lawler that PFAS are "probably the greatest chemical threat the human race is facing in the 21st century."

The harm PFAS do to humans is well documented, Lawler writes: "There have been growing calls for stricter regulation for PFAS, which have been linked to a range of serious health issues including liver damage, high cholesterol, reduced immune responses and several kinds of cancer . . . Andrews called for much more stringent regulation to bring an end to all non-essential uses of PFAS."

On-farm slaughter growing in rural Vermont, but depends on services of itinerants; USDA rejects requests to relax rules

Itinerant slaughterers load a quartered beef carcass after an on-farm slaughter.
The meat will be taken to a slaughterhouse to be processed and packaged.
(Photo by Alex Driehaus, Report for America/Valley News)

Since the intense meat shortages and processing-plant closings of the early pandemic, itinerant slaughterers in rural Vermont have become an increasingly popular way for farmers to kill animals for personal consumption, reports Frances Mize of the Valley News of West Lebanon, N.H., and White River Junction, Vt. Now, as a means to ease backlogs in those abattoirs, Vermont livestock producers are looking for ways on-farm slaughter meat could be sold more broadly.

Last year, Vermont's farm and ranch community asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture "to allow meat from on-farm slaughters to be sold in small 'animal shares,' which would operate like community-supported agriculture," which lives on annual subscriptions from consumers. USDA declined, "but before the refusal, and with renewed force since, Rural Vermont, a Montpelier-based nonprofit focused on bolstering community-scale agriculture, has continued advocating that the rules be relaxed so consumers and farmers alike have more choices," Mize reports.

Mize gives readers an up-close description of on-farm slaughter. She attended a kill at the home of farmer who had hired an itinerant slaughterer, and wrote: "Tom Havill’s herd of cattle watched from a hillside as one of their own — secured in a holding pen — lost its life to a single shot fired by Chet Miller," Mize reports. Havill told Mize that he still can’t watch his animals being killed.

Miller told Mize he also has mixed feelings about his work: "It’s not a glorious occupation. I have a lot of people who appreciate me, and my calendar is full of people that need my help. But sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night, and what I’m doing lays heavy on me.” Mize writes, "Some are advocating that the service Miller offers farmers through his work — doing the difficult job, which many of his customers couldn’t do themselves, of killing the animal that they’ve raised — should be reconsidered as a tool toward a more versatile, modernized food economy."

Caroline Gordon, Rural Vermont’s legislative director, told Maze, “People are feeling that the need for more resilient food systems has become apparent. The trust and transparency of our current economic system was called into question during the pandemic. . . .On-farm slaughtered meat allowed to be sold as a product, even within a small market, could alleviate some of the stresses on the slaughterhouses, some of which are booked up for many months."