Reporting on food safety issues is not the most glamorous topic and, truthfully, it’s sometimes disgusting. But it’s also something that’s important and necessary. Investigative reporting, no matter what the field, requires persistence, fearlessness and a little bit of trickery. Here are a few examples of the best investigative reporting on food safety:
- “What the USDA Doesn’t Want You to Know About Antibiotics and Factory Farms” — This piece, published on MotherJones.com, explores the link between antibiotic-resistant infections and factory animal farms. It seems the USDA doesn’t want people to see this scathing report, which may explain why they’ve removed it from the website countless times. It is back up — for now.
- “America’s Dangerous Food-Safety System” — Author Eve Conant writes about how the lack of inspectors and budget cuts is constantly putting Americans at risk of illness and death. The article is shocking in itself, but also includes some hard-to-believe facts taken from a Newsweek investigation into the matter.
- “On the Menu, but Not On Your Plate” — Reporters with the Boston Globe found that certain fish being sold at area seafood restaurants were not the same variety as the menu claimed them to be. Many items on the menu were substituted with cheaper, less nutritional types of fish. Also known as “food fraud,” it has become somewhat of an epidemic and not only cheats consumers out of money, but exposes them to possible health risks. (We covered the topic in the April issue of Risk Management.)
- “How Washington Went Soft on Childhood Obesity” — As the article, published on Reuters.com, explains, “In the political arena, one side is winning the war on childhood obesity — the side with the fattest wallets.” Indeed, as more and more food and beverage companies engage in aggressive lobbying, plans to reduce sugar, salt and fat in food marketed to children have been cut, with little to no explanation. Oh, and did I mention that in April Congress declared pizza a vegetable? Money talks as generation after generation of Americans become heavier and less healthier.
The complete list of the best reporting on food safety is available on ProPublica’s website.