What Doesn't Kill You

Today on Straight, No Chaser Katy Keiffer is on the phone with Dr. Richard Raymond. In 2005 after a long career in family medicine, Dr. Raymond was appointed Under Secretary for Food Safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For the next 3 years, Dr. Raymond was responsible for overseeing the policies and programs of the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). In semi-retirement now, he writes several blogs on food safety, has consulted with law firms on foodborne illness cases, is a consultant with the Nebraska Medical Association helping build public health advocacy, is a frequent lecturer on food safety and public health, and is a food safety and public health consultant for Elanco, the Animal Health branch of Eli Lilly. Tune into this episode to hear Katy and Dr. Raymond discuss low-dose and sub-therapeutic antibiotic usage in the meat and poultry industry and the prevalence antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Learn more about bacteria contamination in produce, and why poor meat-handling practices may be to blame. Katy and Dr. Raymond also talk about the inspection procedures of poultry plants and how it has affected salmonella levels in our food. This program has been brought to you by S. Wallace Edwards & Sons. “Consumers have some responsibility. They need to understand that raw meat should not be considered sterile… The meat industry does not often come out and say, ‘Raw meat should not be considered sterile- you need to do a better job of handling it.’ They don’t like to say that about their product.” [18:50] — Dr. Richard Raymond on Straight, No Chaser See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Libbie Summers returns to Straight, No Chaser! Libbie is an accomplished writer, culinary producer and stylist for television and print media. She is the author of The Whole Hog Cookbook and a forthcoming baking book called Sweet and Vicious. Tune in to hear Libbie talk with Katy Keiffer about the decline of good food in France, and why Southern cuisine has become so fashionable. Learn more about Libbie’s work as a food stylist, and how her styling work informs her everyday life. Libbie and Katy also talk about the upcoming Sweet and Vicious, and how it deviates from the traditional format of baking cookbooks. Hear how food styling has changed since Libbie started working in the industry, and learn what makes a great stylist and designer. This episode has been sponsored by S. Wallace Edwards & Sons. “I always reference something with food- if it’s the color of my dress, or a wallpaper I want to use…I realize that food informs everything creatively in my life.” [24:20] “Forget the look- the look needs to be the client’s look.” [31:37] — Libbie Summers on Straight, No Chaser See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jean Halloran rejoins Katy Keiffer on this week’s installment of Straight, No Chaser. Jean has worked on food safety and sustainability issues at in the Yonkers Office of Consumers Union for the last 25 years, and also works with consumer organizations globally. She helped develop international standards for safety assessment of genetically engineered food at the Codex Alimentarius Commission. Once again, Katy and Jean are talking about antibiotic usage in meat production. Recently, Consumers Union has urged Trader Joe’s to stop selling antibiotic-laden meat with a petition of 557,772 signatures from consumers. Learn more about the campaign and its outcome on this episode. Later, Katy and Jean talk about MRSA in pork, and other forms of resistant bacteria. How do antibiotics in meat affect antibiotic resistance in hospitals and medical treatment? Find out on this week’s Straight, No Chaser! This episode has been sponsored by Hearst Ranch. “MRSA has become disturbingly common in hog production and among hog workers. How it got there, we’re not exactly sure…but there is evidence of Staph Aureus at a very low level in about half of the samples they [Institute of Agriculture and Trade Policy] looked at. About 6 percent was antibiotic-resistant MRSA.” “The treatment of sick animals accounts for only 5% of antibiotic use as indicated by how many animals are injected with antibiotics. The remaining percentage of usage has been traditionally thought to be for growth promotion, although now they are calling it disease prevention…” “‘Natural’ has nothing to do with how the animal was raised. ‘Natural’ only means that there was no coloring added to the meat after slaughter.” — Jean Halloran on Straight, No Chaser See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Food borne illness is the theme on this week’s episode of Straight, No Chaser as host Katy Keiffer welcomes Doug Powell to the program. Doug is a food scientist and creator of an online repository of food-safety related information called barfblog.com, a forum for information about current food safety issues where he has written more than 5,000 entries since 2006. He is a professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University. Listen in for a great conversation on food safety. Why are sprouts and raw milk so unsafe? Tune in to learn more about how immune systems, contaminated water systems, and more all contribute to our health and safety. This program was sponsored by Cain Vineyard & Winery. “Cross contamination is a much bigger issue in food safety than we all thought.” –Doug Powell of BargBlog.com on Straight, No ChaserSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Katy Keiffer continues her investigation of the cattle industry on this week’s Straight, No Chaser with Dr. Temple Grandin. Dr. Grandin is a leading expert in animal handling and psychology, a professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University, and a best selling author. She is also well-known for her design of livestock handling facilities. Recently, Dr. Grandin worked on a film documenting and touring the inside of a beef packing facility. Tune into this episode to learn why it is important for third parties to audit meatpacking plants and slaughterhouses to ensure food safety and good animal treatment practices. Why are there so many misconceptions about animal treatment due to biological reactions to slaughter methodologies? Learn what to expect during the slaughter process, and hear Dr. Grandin give an overview of a slaughter facility in terms of equipment and animal corralling. Learn more about third party auditors, and how they ensure the safety of hospitals and other services. Don’t miss this informative episode of Straight, No Chaser! This program has been sponsored by Cain Vineyard & Winery. “If you stress cattle with electric prods five minutes before slaughter, you get tougher meat. If you stress pigs with jamming, squealing, and electric prods five minutes before slaughter, that can make pale, watery meat. That last five minutes before slaughter is very critical because if you stress the animal during that period, you can have bad meat quality.” — Dr. Temple Grandin on Straight, No Chaser See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Katy Keiffer is back with more Straight, No Chaser! In the beginning of the episode, Katy outlines some of the topics and guests for the upcoming season. So don’t miss a single episode; tune in for Straight, No Chaser every Sunday at 1pm! Katy’s guest on this week’s episode is Andrew F. Smith, professor of Food Studies at the New School. Andy’s newest book is called American Tuna: The Rise and Fall of an Improbable Food. Learn about the reasons for the culinary evolution of the tuna. Once a “trash fish”, tuna has become a staple in American households. Hear more about the threat of methylmercury in commercially caught tuna, as well as the reason for so many dolphin deaths in tuna fishing. This program has been brought to you by Cain Vineyard & Winery. “How do you convince Americans to buy a fish that they have never bought before?” “When this first came to light, it is estimated that they [Yellowfin tuna fisherman] were killing 1 million dolphins per year.” — Andrew F. Smith on Straight, No Chaser See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This marks the end of Straight, No Chaser’s first season! Congratulations to our host, Katy Keiffer! Each week, Katy offers insight into the world of food politics and policy, focusing on topics like the cattle industry, The Farm Bill, and urban agriculture. Tune into this episode to hear some highlights from shows thus far, and to learn what Katy has up her sleeve for upcoming episodes. This program has been brought to you by White Oak Pastures.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Straight, No Chaser host Katy Keiffer takes on the crisis of hunger with guest Anthony Butler, Executive Director of St. John’s Bread and Life. Learn about how the federal cuts of the Reagan years left many people in a state of food insecurity that still lingers today and how the current Farm Bill is working its way through the Senate and could leave millions of people hungry with looming cuts to the SNAP program. Tune in to find out how, despite these challenges, Anthony and St. John’s Bread and Life are helping millions of hungry New Yorkers by integrating technology, such as their innovative digital food pantry, to streamline costs and get more people fed the right food. This program is sponsored by Whole Foods Market. ” What’s happening right now to SNAP [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] is that the Senate is proposing over 10 years to cut over $4.5 billion dollars in SNAP money. 40% of those who are hungry will be affected by that, that’s around 800,000 families who will lose $90 a month on groceries. The biggest people who will be hurt are people who are receiving other federal subsidies, so the biggest people who will be hurt are working families and seniors.” “Food stamps supports farmers– that’s the purpose of it! This money goes back into farms. Food stamps also dramatically support local economies. “ –Anthony Butler of St. John’s Bread & Life on Straight, No ChaserSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode of Straight, No Chaser, Katy Keiffer is talking cattle and beef with Lynne Curry, author of Pure Beef: An Essential Guide to Artisan Meat with Recipes for Every Cut. Hear Katy and Lynne trace beef from pasture to package, and how all of the processes involved with producing beef alter the way it tastes. Learn about the differences between grass-fed and grain-fed beef in terms of taste, texture, and look. Lynne explains the differences between the commodity cattle industry and independent, artisan meat providers, and how independent producers have a lot more control over the diet of their cattle and the taste of their beef. Hear about some of Lynne’s educational beef tastings that aim to teach consumers about the different flavors present in varieties of beef. Lynne also discusses ground meat, and why it is not necessarily of low quality! This episode has been brought to you by S. Wallace Edwards & Sons. “Cows on grass produce muscle very well. They’re naturally designed to do that. But muscle becomes meat through human intervention, and all those steps in the production system I’ve described: from raising, to slaughter, to the processing, to the handling, to the butchering, to the dry-aging (or not dry-aging), to the consumer and how they cook that piece of meat. Every step in that supply chain determines the quality of meat.” — Lynne Curry on Straight, No Chaser See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode of Straight, No Chaser, Katy Keiffer is joined in the studio by Jean Halloran. Jean has worked on food safety and sustainability issues at in the Yonkers Office of Consumers Union for the last 25 years. She also works with consumer organizations globally and helped develop international standards for safety assessment of genetically engineered food at the Codex Alimentarius Commission. How do different strains of bacteria become resistant to antibiotics? And what does resistant bacteria mean in terms of food safety? Tune in to this episode to learn about sub-therapeutic antibiotic use in confined animals, and how this practice affects the food that we eat. Learn why antibiotic usage is profitable for meat producers, and why so many people in the meat industry are resistant to change. This episode has been brought to you by White Oak Pastures. “We have a crisis, and the people who should be doing something, like the FDA or the USDA, are not stepping up to the plate.” “You are what you eat, and what you eat is formerly you.” “Of the antibiotics produced and sold in the United States, only 20% of are used on humans, and 80% are used on animals.” — Jean Halloran on Straight, No Chaser See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.