The story of the salmonella-tainted peanuts just got a little grosser and a whole lot more absurd. The FDA accused Peanut Corporation of America (the company behind the recall) of selling peanut products they knew were tainted to the federal government’s free lunch program. That means salmonella-laced peanut butter was being sold to the very agency responsible for inspecting the peanut plant. And then that agency gave it to the poorest kids in the nation. Ironic? Try outrageous.
The recall has now touched on every dysfunctional part of our society, education, economy, health and immigration, and is a clear demonstration of why we need to desperately reform our political economy.
This latest development in the peanut saga is a classic example of how we are selling kids short in and out of the classroom. Nutrition and health are often the last things educators have time to worry about, especially in disadvantaged school districts. I once worked in the public school system and enjoyed going to eat lunch with my kindergartners. Often I chose to just sit with them because I couldn’t stomach what they had to eat – most days just a breaded mash of sodium, sugar, and fat given the name “Chicken Patty” with a side of goo.
Having confronted the sad reality of our public school lunchrooms every day it came as no surprise to find that not only did the food look and smell like crap, it was actually tainted with crap. This isn’t the first time either. Last year the meat included in the largest beef recall in U.S. history was found to have gone to poor public schools. Sadly, the free lunch program by design is a wonderful way to make sure each child has enough to eat and a healthy future. This latest development unfortunately, will probably make most parents think twice about using it.
Our food system is screwed up, plain and simple. We are playing a very dangerous game by taking food produced in one place and putting it in everything we eat. We will see more outbreaks like this one. And the consumer hysteria has a domino affect on entire industries. Sales of peanut butter are down 25%. In this economy we need food companies to reform their practices, not go out of business.
Food companies and the federal government will have to restore public confidence in our food supply. Part of that should include strengthening the rights of workers. The lack of real immigration reform is undermining the workforce in American food plants. We are so caught up in debates over legal and illegal we’ve forgotten that regardless of legal status, food industry workers are our first defense against dangerous food. The federal government needs to stop raiding food plants and start inspecting them. And the American public needs to support our workers (immigrant or not) so they have the power to speak out on behalf of our safety. Let’s reform our broken systems now before 500 more get sick.