Morning, Christy. Does The Peanut (ha!) know the song “Peanut, Peanut Butter…and Jelly”?

Somehow, I have a feeling that this is going to get much worse before it gets better. Anyone else?

Oh yeah, she knows that one. *G*

OMG! Knowingly sending out poison.

Thanks, Christy. Yet another example of the bad consequences of deregulation and/or the absence of regulation.

Gosh, just this week I finally got around to buying a copy of The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Now I think this will prompt me into finally buying a share in a local CSA group, too.

indubitably

For those interested in these issues, Bev just booked a book salon treat: Marion Nestle from Cornell will be here March 15th to talk about her new book.

“Now they’ve caused a mammoth problem that could destroy their company

And it certainly should be destroyed but there’s always a downside…….in this instance, the low income workers who will no longer have a job. :-(

I’ve decided to expand our kitchen garden plantings as well this summer — more tomatoes, peppers, lettuce and herbs, along with some zucchini, cucumbers, and some other yet-to-be-determined veggies.

Way past time for a thank-you note to you and all the people who work so hard to bring these wonderful authors to the Lake.

*smooch*

Quickly, before you have to leave…epu’d from downstairs, the $$ quote was He’s just another bored millionaire.
Back to current business..G’morning Christy. Just one more bit of really bad news. I stopped giving my kids those gummy things, even the real fruit juice kinds, when my dentist said they were absolutely the worst things for kids in terms of cavities. At first, I got a lot of wah wah, but they got over it. I’m trying to remember what I used as an acceptable substitute.

She has an interesting website
Food Politics

There will now be questions, I’m sure, of negligent homicide given that there have been a few deaths of senior citizens, kids and others with compromised immune system issues. To knowingly send out a tainted product opens the company to a whole host of issues on that score, I’m sure…what a mess.

Boo-yah!! Cornell – home of an expert for every fruit and veggie known and unknown to man. Yay. I’ll have to be there.

And then there are the producers who un-knowingly send out poison. People who are not in complete control of their inputs – which sometimes have ingredients in them from China that are doped.

This plant not only compromised itself as a supplier, but also the industry as a whole. I’ve got a box of peanut butter crackers at home which I threw out, I don’t really care who manufactured them. The entire industry becomes tainted when consumer lose confidence.

Press coverage of the pet food contamination a while ago was better than press coverage of peanut contamination problem in food for human consumption.

That says a lot!
Better lobbyists perhaps? Or something else.

Many sole-crop peanut farmers in south GA. Bloody shame.

Big Lots full of peanut foods last week. Next stop food pantries?

Will there be stricter food safety measures enacted in the coming weeks? We’ll see. Given the rising level of public concern, it’s a good bet there will be something enacted. But will it be in the public’s best interest — or industry lobbyists and trade groups?

now that bush and the republicans are out of office the consumer stands a chance

however we MUST keep their feet to the fire, they will be lobbied and money is hard for them to refuse

Years ago someone told me that pet food was the first to be regulated because animals could not tell owners when they were sick.

If the owners of this company are taken out and the facilities sold to someone who is interested in something beyond profits at all cost the jobs could be preserved.

Poor Georgia is getting some bad press on FDL this morning. /s
First there was BT’s is there a bigger wuss on the planet link http://politicalticker.blogs.c…..criticism/
and now the Georgia Peanut plant.
Where’s Raven? (If you’re lurking, I miss you.)

Hmmm. I’m intrigued by the “lab shopping” aspect of this story. We have a local firm here that does quite a bit of contract microbiological testing. I wonder which side of the “shopping” they were on (that is, did PCA move away from them or toward them to get the result they wanted), if they were involved at all. So far, I don’t see the names of any of the contract labs involved. I’d appreciate a heads-up if anyone sees a name out there.

Thank you Cristy-especially for that FDA link which I forwarded to the daughters and to the wife in the kitchen so none of our babies or big babies (me) get sick.

Truth!

Two things:
First, I wonder to what degree Bush’s appointees to the FDA and USDA are culpable in this tragic scandal.
Second: You will notice that no such thing has happened to organic peanut butter!

When we used to raise livestock and sold them for meat to customers, we used to give every customer a copy of the tag from the feed that we had made from our own formula so that they could see that there were no hormones, no antibiotics, etc. That was years ago – but even we did not know where our mill was getting their supplies from. We eat grassfed now.

Sorry to be OT but when are protests going to occur outside the corporate offices of the traditional media? Watching television or reading the papers one would think the Republicans had won the election. Whether it’s NPR or CBS all you hear are Republican voices whining, complaining and mouthing their mantra of tax cuts.

Bernie did a good job on WJ…..to be followed by ron paul. Talk about going from the sublime to the ridiculous.

The Chinese have announced that two managers at the tainted baby formula plant will be executed. No doubt they are a couple of mid-level lackeys but you must admit it sends a message…

May be an even better question: when are the dims gonna get their talking points polished and send out a few well-spoken representatives for the party who can get the message across? They are totally worthless at message output. :-(

Like all Ds, he didn’t have punchy talking points to repeat no matter what the Q was. The message is not getting out.

The only ones who would know about the protests would be passersby. The media damn sure isn’t going to put it on.

Definitely an extreme form of accountability. *G*

OT- If you don’t want your eyes tearing up then don’t read this:

A horse, a hearse and a sense of duty

Well, he seemed to make a pretty good impression on the audience (judging by call-ins) for speaking the truth as he sees it. yymv *g*

Not saying he did a bad job. Just saying that the Ds are considerably less effective than the Rs at message delivery, and that has been the case since at least Nixon. The Ds never learn. (Yes, I know Sanders is officially I; same point applies.)

In defense of the “Ds”, may I point out that there is no effective Wurlitzer primed and ready to spout out all good news for the “Rs” and all bad for the “Ds”.

If the Rs created a Wurlitzer, why can’t the Ds?

On the local Atlanta news last night, a guy from the state Agriculture department said that that they only had 60 inspectors to inspect 16,000 facilities – plants, grocery stores, etc.

Speaking of things that make you sick, head on over to the WSJ today – Rush, Rove & Yoo – think I’d rather eat bad peanut butter.

For some reason the dems don’t just throw BS and made up shit out there.
CBO reports, 61 returned to battlefield, $73 / hr for UAW, now 6.2 million jobs from rethug plan. They just pull this shit out of their ass and the media laps it up.

Just heard on MSNBC that the factory was filthy and cockroaches were everywhere. The guy said it wasn’t just one strain of salmonella but several. then they showed a picture of the grinder and there was a cucharacha in the grinder! YECH!

So, this is how far deregulation and no inspectors has spread (no pun intended)

Let’s see, Fox, CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, need we go on??

From this article on an Atlanta news site:

Garrison dropped a couple of bombshells at the State Capitol on Wednesday. First, he confirmed for a stunned House Agriculture Committee the Peanut Corporation of America’s Baxley Plant found salmonella in its own tests 12 times over the past year-and-a-half, but went lab shopping for better results and sold the product anyway.

Not only that, but that the federal Department of Agriculture actually had to use a federal bioterrorism law just to get hold of those company records.

That would be a Hammond B organ.

They say that the truth is a defense. Why are the Ds so bad at getting out the truth? At exposing the R talking points for lies?

I presume that’s one that would fit in a living room rather than an auditorium?

Oh, Dog! Pass the Kleenex™. Compare and contrast the actions of this wonderful woman and bush.

Yes. It is The rock and roll organ, bar none.
And, yes, I have one in my livingroom? Leslie speakers too!

I like the Chinese remedy for food fraud and toxic substances added to food (e.g. melamine): execution for the corporate leaders responsible.

About a decade ago a farmer friend of mine did a tour in Georgia of a peach packer. He said the safety conditions of the place were behind the industry standards of what was found in California at the time. California regulations were much stricter.

Errands won’t wait. Y’all have a good day.

FYI – Obama getting ready to sign Lilly’s Law. Guess I’ll have to wait around to see that. :-)

Kewl. Will you please play it VERY LOUD so that the Rs can hear? *g*

Damn California liberals. Just let the market work! See – it’s working right now. That peanut company is shutting down. /s

Well, I’d held back earlier but you provoked me. Of course the market worked. People died and the company went out of business. What’s the problem? /s

Oh, and BTW, don’t you dare murder a fertilized blastula because that’s a person with full rights.

Smells like the ‘politics of fear’ to me. Works like a charm.

Made sense to me……….

About two months ago, after months of reading articles by Dr. Mark Hyman in Experience Life Magazine http://www.experiencelifemag.com/, I decided to purchase one of his books entitled Ultrametabolism http://www.ultrametabolism.com/. I implemented his diet suggestions and have been steadily losing weight since. In a nutshell, the diet is “whole foods”…high fiber, no white sugar in anything, no white flour in anything, whole grains, nuts, fruits, vegetables, wild caught salmon, organic chicken and beef,etc. Since my daughter is working at Trader Joe’s http://www.traderjoes.com/ until she gets into grad school, finding the foods has been easy. I LOVE THAT STORE!!

The doctor believes that beyond the weight problems and resulting health affects of obesity, our bodies are full of toxins (mercury, pesticides)which means our livers don’t function properly and as a result, don’t clean the blood properly. So we end up more toxic. And sick. He thinks that autoimmune diseases, heart disease, cancer and on and on result.

I talked my husband into trying the diet; he started just a few weeks ago and he’s dropped a lot of weight and of course, feels much better. I know this sounds like an infomercial, but it’s not. I’m a loyal FDL’er, occasional commenter. Finding Dr. Hyman has been life-altering for me and I want to share this information with everyone. Christy’s post has given me the opportunity. Hope this helps someone else.

President getting ready to sign Lilly Ledbetter.

Not only that, but that the federal Department of Agriculture actually had to use a federal bioterrorism law just to get hold of those company records.

!!

Ever since the videos of l’il Sarah playing her flute, I’m almost embarrassed to say I’m the flutist in the family. The tattooed, long hair husband is the Hammond player. He rocks and plays Real Loud.
One of the reasons I love owning a house. An apartment would Not Work.

A coworker of mine that I have know for 17 years mother passed away before Christmas from the tainted peanut butter. She had once survived breast cancer and was going to be released from the hospital the week before Christmas after surviving a brain tumor and surgery. She ate peanut butter crackers that week and died. I hope they take the company owners to the cleaners as they KNEW the peanut plants were bad.

We can thank the Bush Adminstration and every Republican in Congress for deregulation and lack of oversight. In my opinion they should all be brought up on charges for no less than murder.

Jane’s up
Stimulus Passage Unleashes Night of the Living Dead Republicans

exactly

Oh, I am so sorry about your co-worker. How horrible…for you and everyone who knew her, let alone for her family.

Thanks Christy. One never knows how close to home things like this come.

Good Morning Christy and Puppies.

Thank you, Christy, for this critically important post. Thanks also to all the pups adding source material and helpful links to the comments. This post will be bookmarked for sure.

I apologize in advance for going OT slightly here, i.e. beyond talking only about peanut products. But there’s more than peanuts out there being consumed widely and blindly by all segments of the public.

One ingredient that worries me is gelatin. Gelatin is used in all manner of products, from the brightly colored and popular wiggly gelatin-based desserts to canned broth and soups, gravy mixes, capsules for all manner of medicines, glucosamine supplements people buy over the counter in hopes of warding off osteoarthritis symptoms, and countless other uses.

Gelatin, for the most part, is a product of processing animal carcasses until every last bit of cartilage has been rendered and then altered to become the main ingredient holding your dessert or capsule, etc., together.

Grade A beef carcasses are cut into beautifully marbled and trimmed, high quality steaks and roasts. Grade B carcasses are equally as nutritious although leaner and perhaps not as tender, but still expected to be excellent quality.

What grade of carcass do you suppose is used for rendering gelatin? I’m going to make a not-so-wild guess that some sources are far more likely to be “downers” (so ill and/or disabled when arriving at the processor, the animal is unable to stand, quite possibly near death already), wayyy down the line removed from the level of quality you think of as the source of a prime rib roast.

Now think back to the disturbing videos we all have seen of animals suffering from “mad cow disease.” Remember the strident warnings against letting such animals be used for human, pet or farm animal consumption. Realize that only a small fraction of animals entering processing plants are actually tested for mad cow disease.

Even though downer cattle are not supposed to be used for any kind of consumption whatsoever, companies are hardly ever checked to make sure processing is done according to law. After all, those “laws” are part of the government that Norquist, Bushco and their minions have been working so-o-o hard to render obsolete in their zeal to “free” us from government’s prying, meddling ways.

Yes, Christy. What. A. Mess. I fear this whole subject of food safety will become much more disturbing in the future, as we learn more details. We haven’t heard the last of the problem by a long shot. The burgeoning growth of pre-processed and ready-to-eat convenience foods in today’s market only makes the problem murkier, more frightening, and harder to control.

Welcome to President Obama and the new Congress.
More regulation, if you please. I would appreciate that beyond measure.

it seems i’m forever in epu-land. oh well. someone needed my help here at home, so… it goes….

Honestly, I’m getting to the point that i only want to eat food that’s whole…but then you run into the questions about how it was produced, what’s been sprayed on it, how was it fertilized…it never ends.

I’m not asking for a risk free food. That’s impossible. I’d just like companies not to add exponentially to already occurring risks by spraying toxic sludge that makes things even worse or not following basic food safety guidelines.

That whole dream of some day owning a piece of property large enough for us to grow and can most of our food? Sounding better and better to me these days…

thanks Again.i’ll check it out.

my doctor says–no sugar, no wheat-but i eat sprouted breads-ezekiel bread-in wheat there is an enzyme inhibitor that is used up when it’s sprouted (used to make my own sprouted flour before i found ezekiel bread-frozen section orange label), no potatoes, no fruit juice-eat the fruit. no artificial sweeteners. no transfats-he’s been saying that since ‘93.

and stretching.

he says other things too, but those are his major ‘hit’ list.

is there a farmer’s market where you are?

we have a great one here, everything sold has to be raised or made by the vendor. is more expensive than raising your own but is a great alternative. i can buy meats-lamb, pork, beef, veggies, fruits, ciders, canned goods, plants, honey, candles, soaps, etc….all in one place. costs a little more, but lasts longer because it’s fresher, especially lettuces. and i don’t waste as much as when i go to the grocery. our market is wednesday and saturday. it is one of the best in ohio, if not the best local one. most things are comparably priced, however the berries our too ‘dear’ as my grandma would say.

even if you have to drive a little for one it would be worth it….when i was growing up our family used to go to findlay market in cincinnati here and there for meats and things. was a great outing for our family.

forgot to say, at the end of the season for certain fruits and veggies you can buy them cheaper by the boxful to can and freeze.

“You try and feed your child the healthiest foods you can get them to eat.”

Child, take it or leave it. There is nothing else.

I’ve been enjoying the Ezekiel breads as well. We have a market here called Roots and they sell Ezekiel English muffins and tortillas. Trader’s sells the breads. The Ultrametabolism book is a GREAT resource for eating this way. It’s a good blueprint for what to avoid as well as what to consume. I cannot recommend it highly enough!! Also picked up a magazine called Living Without for people with celiac and other digestive problems that turned out to have good recipes using alternative grains.

betty hagman, who wrote the ‘gluten-free gourmet ‘ books, also has wonderful things in her books..my favorite is ‘the gluten-free gourmet cooks fast and healthy’..there are a few websites dedicated to her on the web full of nutritional info and delicious recipes. i love rice flour and found many tips on her sites. rice flour is a challenge at first…..i love rice crackers.

if you wanna go really whole foods, viktorus kulvinskas is one of the first whole-foodies. i know someone who only eats mostly ‘raw’ ‘live’ foods, for the enzymes. she doesn’t have a line on her face. in her 50’s. enzyme-rich foods play an important role in the type of lifestyle you are adopting. i used to make and drink fermented drinks to boost the enzymes in my diet.

thanks for the info.

We have an absolutely wonderful supermarket chain in mid Ohio that not only has excellent quality and competitive prices, but which is always coming up with rather original ideas better to serve their customers’ preferences.

Although their regular prices are not the lowest around, they run reduced-price sales on a predictable, logical, regular basis, instead of trying to outwit the customers with cheap tricks. So I can, by buying and storing wisely, manage to keep our larder full of high quality items at prices just as good as the best sale prices at the big-box stores.

They buy produce and meat from local, in-state sources whenever they can, and strongly support the local county fairs’ 4H sales. They provide country-of-origin, even state-, information with all their produce.

The shoppers, staff, from managers through to the folks who load your car are local friends and neighbors.

Instead of selling prime produce at bulk sale prices toward the end of the growing seasons, their best prices on bulk amounts are targeted to the beginning of the season, peak quality of the produce, etc. Knowledgeable cooks, canners and freezers and other do-it-yourself-ers flock in to purchase the best and freshest produce for their own home prep.
The stores also carry a full line of canning and freezing supplies on the shelves.

If you buy a boneless roast, even at the lowest sale price, and you want it sliced into portions, butchers on site will do that for you, no charge.

These stores also, while using sensible, savvy marketing techniques, also seem to avoid the cheap tricks that make everyone among us mad (e.g., advertising one item as on sale, but making it hard to find, or in short supply and, instead, giving a similar but much higher-priced, non-sale item much more prominent shelf-space).

They have self-serve boxes of hand-sanitizing wipes placed right next to the carts, so you can give the cart handle and rims a good wipe before you ever touch it – a golden touch of absolute brilliance much appreciated by customers, especially during flu season.

They give a small rebate on every re-usable bag you bring in for them to use in bagging your own groceries. They also sell tough, handy reusable fabric bags and cooler bags, which earn you another rebate every time you use them. They do what they can to recycle (e.g., all cardboard is baled and put directly in a semi trailer that goes straight to recycling).

They provide space and help for local charities, collections for local food pantry for the needy, local schools, veterans, book collections for charity, etc. etc. etc.

They provide space and expert staff to enrich the educational home economics programs run by local schools. They run nutrition education classes also, in cooperation with the local schools. They have a user-friendly child-care area, with careful supervision, so shoppers with small children may shop quickly and in peace, while their children are kept safe and happy.
They host yearly flu-shot clinics.

They have suggestion boxes throughout their stores, and they follow up and do what they say they will.

This chain is thriving. I keep wondering why many other stores don’t follow their lead and simply be honest and fair with their customers and staff, as well as innovative in customer- and environmentally-friendly ways.

Once again the mighty free market speaks….we have become china where profit trumps all