Is Our Food Safe: A Consumer's Guide to Protecting Your Health and the Environment
by: Warren Leon, Caroline Smith Dewaal
Topics include: reducing meat consumption, pollution pollution pollution, genetically engineered ingredients, genetically engineered fish, food safety agency, organic label, pesticide tolerances, genetically engineered crops, genetically engineered foods, poultry inspection, eat less meat, poisoning outbreak
From Library Journal
This guide presents the facts and myths about the safety of meat, dairy, seafood, breads, pastas, fruits, vegetables, water, and other food products, whether conventional, organic, or genetically engineered, that we consume daily. Leon, executive director of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association, and DeWaal, director of the Food Safety Program at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a food industry watchdog organization, give commonsense advice on protecting oneself against illnesses caused by contaminated or spoiled food. Focusing on three issues food safety and food-borne illnesses, environmental aspects of food choices, and sound diet and nutrition the book describes the symptoms of food-borne illnesses, the dangers of exposure to bacteria, toxins, chemicals, waste products, pesticides, and other contaminants, and the way these contaminants get into our food supply. The text also explains how to avoid food hazards, what to look for when shopping, and how to cook and prepare food that's free of contaminants. Naturally occurring substances may put consumers at risk as well; to find out more, read James P. Collman's Naturally Dangerous: Surprising Facts About Food, Health, and the Environment. For basic information on food contaminants, this book is solid and well crafted. Irwin Weintraub, Brooklyn Coll. Lib., NY
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Scarcely a day passes without a news story about a foodborne illness outbreak or some event that raises public fear about the safety of America's food supply. The modern-day disconnection between the sources of our food and our consumption habits leaves many people so unaware of food production that they think their food is made by the grocery store the way Ford makes cars. Leon and the other contributors have some very prescriptive advice about what people can do to minimize the danger of foodborne and food-related disease. They advocate awareness of foods' origins and preparation so that people can make intelligent choices. They want people to be aware of dangers that can arise in food production, such as use of dangerous pesticides, antibiotics, hormones, and other chemical additives. The authors also encourage people to eat thoughtful, balanced diets that follow the latest nutritional guidelines lest overconsumption of even safely prepared foods become in itself a health risk. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright American Library Association. All rights reserved
About the Author
Warren Leon is executive director of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association and coauthor of The Consumers Guide to Effective Environmental Choices.
Caroline Smith DeWaal is director of the Food Safety Program at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). The publisher of Nutrition Action Healthletter, CSPI has been working for a healthier, safer food supply since 1971.
Reviews:
Overall, this is a decent "beginner's" guide. However, I found the authors' stance on bioengineered foods to be a little disturbing. Though they attempted to present a balanced view I definitely got the sense that they were in favor of genetically engineered foods. This stance is troubling, given the unknown and potentially disastrous consequences of bioengineered foods. Think of the mammoth butterflies killed by genetically altered corn, rats who developed tumors from genetically altered potatoes. The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and Our World by John Robbins (foreword by Dean Ornish) presents a more thorough chapter on the hazards of genetically engineered foods. Actually, Robbins's eye-opening book takes a more in-depth look at the impact of your food choices on your health and the environment, and covers other topics of related interest such as deceptive advertising by the food industry. And in doing so, he also presents a persuasive case for vegetarianism--his book is fascinating, well-researched, & well-written. If you are truly serious about your food choices, get Is Our Food Safe, and then read The Food Revolution by John Robbins.