Safe Food
Bacteria, Biotechnology, and Bioterrorism
$29.95, £17.95 hardcover
978-0-520-23292-1
Available Now
$18.95, £11.50 paperback
978-0-520-24223-4
Available Now
366 pages, 6 x 9 inches, 21 b/w photographs, 9 line illustrations, 16 tables
March 2003, Available worldwide
Categories: Food & Cooking; Public Policy; Social Problems; History of Food; History of Medicine; Health Care; Disease
March 2003, Available worldwide
Categories: Food & Cooking; Public Policy; Social Problems; History of Food; History of Medicine; Health Care; Disease
"An excellent analysis of the shortcomings of the science-based approach to food."—Felicity Lawrence, The Guardian
"The analysis is a welcome addition to the food governance literature in which it is likely, with its sister volume, to become a classic."—Tim Lang, Times Higher Ed Supplement (thes)
"Provocative and consumer-friendly."—Saveur Magazine
"As an insider in federal agencies responsible for food safety, as well as a nutrition adviser for the likes of the American Cancer Society, Nestle lets us in on conversations we'd never otherwise hear. What we learn may be more than we can stomach. . . . Safe Food weighs in on all the hot topics."—San Francisco Chronicle "Best Books of 2003"
"Marion Nestle speaks in a voice that is by turns that of a consumer advocate and a scientist."—Boston Globe
"This important book is required reading for everybody interested in food and how it is produced. . . . It is written with the weight of science behind it and has general lessons about the importance of understanding that food safety must be everybody's concern."—Sunday Tribune
"Safe Food deserves to be read by anyone interested in cultivating a more informed and discriminating basis on which to decide how much trust to place in those who provide us with the food we eat."—Irish Times
"[In her] provocative new book, Safe Food: Bacteria, Biotechnology and Bioterrorism, . . . Dr. Nestle has repeated the clearheaded thinking that made Food Politics an important addition to the debate about food in this country. Her ability to look at issues as both a scientist and a consumer makes her a particularly useful source when food safety is up for discussion. Such sources are few and far between."—Marion Burros, New York Times
"Bioterrorism, genetically modified foods, food irradiation, Safe Food weighs in on all the hot topics. . . . Nestle's arguments are consistently solid and persuasive. . . . The book is thorough and well researched."—San Francisco Chronicle Book Review
"Nestle tackles it all, with admirable thoroughness."—Washington Post Book World
With the dust still settling from her last controversial book about the food world, Marion Nestle already is stirring things up with another. "—Seattle Times
"Highlights of the food industry's hostility to safety regulation can be found in Marion Nestle's Safe Food . . . a book which, like Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation, makes you think before you eat."—The Washington Monthly
"The analysis is a welcome addition to the food governance literature in which it is likely, with its sister volume, to become a classic."—Tim Lang, Times Higher Ed Supplement (thes)
"Provocative and consumer-friendly."—Saveur Magazine
"As an insider in federal agencies responsible for food safety, as well as a nutrition adviser for the likes of the American Cancer Society, Nestle lets us in on conversations we'd never otherwise hear. What we learn may be more than we can stomach. . . . Safe Food weighs in on all the hot topics."—San Francisco Chronicle "Best Books of 2003"
"Marion Nestle speaks in a voice that is by turns that of a consumer advocate and a scientist."—Boston Globe
"This important book is required reading for everybody interested in food and how it is produced. . . . It is written with the weight of science behind it and has general lessons about the importance of understanding that food safety must be everybody's concern."—Sunday Tribune
"Safe Food deserves to be read by anyone interested in cultivating a more informed and discriminating basis on which to decide how much trust to place in those who provide us with the food we eat."—Irish Times
"[In her] provocative new book, Safe Food: Bacteria, Biotechnology and Bioterrorism, . . . Dr. Nestle has repeated the clearheaded thinking that made Food Politics an important addition to the debate about food in this country. Her ability to look at issues as both a scientist and a consumer makes her a particularly useful source when food safety is up for discussion. Such sources are few and far between."—Marion Burros, New York Times
"Bioterrorism, genetically modified foods, food irradiation, Safe Food weighs in on all the hot topics. . . . Nestle's arguments are consistently solid and persuasive. . . . The book is thorough and well researched."—San Francisco Chronicle Book Review
"Nestle tackles it all, with admirable thoroughness."—Washington Post Book World
With the dust still settling from her last controversial book about the food world, Marion Nestle already is stirring things up with another. "—Seattle Times
"Highlights of the food industry's hostility to safety regulation can be found in Marion Nestle's Safe Food . . . a book which, like Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation, makes you think before you eat."—The Washington Monthly
"Marion Nestle's compelling and accessible book explains what the industrialization of the food supply in this country has done to both the taste and safety of the foods we eat."—Alice Waters
"Marion Nestle has emerged as one of the sanest, most knowledgeable, and independent voices in the current debate over the health and safety of the American food system. All of us who eat should count ourselves lucky to have this indispensable book."—Michael Pollan, author of The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World
"Marion Nestle has emerged as one of the sanest, most knowledgeable, and independent voices in the current debate over the health and safety of the American food system. All of us who eat should count ourselves lucky to have this indispensable book."—Michael Pollan, author of The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World
Food safety is a matter of intense public concern, and for good reason. Millions of annual cases of food "poisonings" raise alarm not only about the food served in restaurants and fast-food outlets but also about foods bought in supermarkets. The introduction of genetically modified foods—immediately dubbed "Frankenfoods"—only adds to the general sense of unease. Finally, the events of September 11, 2001, heightened fears by exposing the vulnerability of food and water supplies to attacks by bioterrorists. How concerned should we be about such problems? Who is responsible for preventing them? Who benefits from ignoring them? Who decides?
Marion Nestle, author of the critically acclaimed Food Politics, argues that ensuring safe food involves more than washing hands or cooking food to higher temperatures. It involves politics. When it comes to food safety, billions of dollars are at stake, and industry, government, and consumers collide over issues of values, economics, and political power—and not always in the public interest. Although the debates may appear to be about science, Nestle maintains that they really are about control: Who decides when a food is safe?
She demonstrates how powerful food industries oppose safety regulations, deny accountability, and blame consumers when something goes wrong, and how century-old laws for ensuring food safety no longer protect our food supply. Accessible, informed, and even-handed, Safe Food is for anyone who cares how food is produced and wants to know more about the real issues underlying today's headlines.
Marion Nestle, author of the critically acclaimed Food Politics, argues that ensuring safe food involves more than washing hands or cooking food to higher temperatures. It involves politics. When it comes to food safety, billions of dollars are at stake, and industry, government, and consumers collide over issues of values, economics, and political power—and not always in the public interest. Although the debates may appear to be about science, Nestle maintains that they really are about control: Who decides when a food is safe?
She demonstrates how powerful food industries oppose safety regulations, deny accountability, and blame consumers when something goes wrong, and how century-old laws for ensuring food safety no longer protect our food supply. Accessible, informed, and even-handed, Safe Food is for anyone who cares how food is produced and wants to know more about the real issues underlying today's headlines.
Introduction: Food Safety is Political
PART ONE: RESISTING FOOD SAFETY
1. The Politics of Foodborne Illness: Issues and Origins
2. Resisting Meat and Poultry Regulation. 1974-1994
3. Attempting to Control Food Pathogens, 1994-2002
4. Achieveing Safe Food: Alternatives
PART TWO: SAFETY AS A SURROGATE: THE IRONIC POLITICS OF FOOD BIOTECHNOLOGY
5. Peddling Dreams: Promises versus Reality
6. Risks and Benefits: Who Decides?
7. The Politics of Government Oversight
8. The Politics of Consumer Concern: Distrust, Dread, and Outrage
Conclusion: The Future of Food Safety: Public versus Bioterrorism
Appendix: The Science of Plant Biotechnology
PART ONE: RESISTING FOOD SAFETY
1. The Politics of Foodborne Illness: Issues and Origins
2. Resisting Meat and Poultry Regulation. 1974-1994
3. Attempting to Control Food Pathogens, 1994-2002
4. Achieveing Safe Food: Alternatives
PART TWO: SAFETY AS A SURROGATE: THE IRONIC POLITICS OF FOOD BIOTECHNOLOGY
5. Peddling Dreams: Promises versus Reality
6. Risks and Benefits: Who Decides?
7. The Politics of Government Oversight
8. The Politics of Consumer Concern: Distrust, Dread, and Outrage
Conclusion: The Future of Food Safety: Public versus Bioterrorism
Appendix: The Science of Plant Biotechnology
How the Cows Turned Mad, by Maxime Schwartz
Engineering Trouble: Biotechnology and Its Discontents, edited by Rachel A. Schurman and Dennis Doyle Takahashi Kelso
Are We Ready? Public Health since 9/11, by David Rosner and Gerald Markowitz
Smallpox: The Fight to Eradicate a Global Scourge, by David A. Koplow
Pet Food Politics: The Chihuahua in the Coal Mine, by Marion Nestle
Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health, Revised and Expanded Edition, by Marion Nestle
Engineering Trouble: Biotechnology and Its Discontents, edited by Rachel A. Schurman and Dennis Doyle Takahashi Kelso
Are We Ready? Public Health since 9/11, by David Rosner and Gerald Markowitz
Smallpox: The Fight to Eradicate a Global Scourge, by David A. Koplow
Pet Food Politics: The Chihuahua in the Coal Mine, by Marion Nestle
Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health, Revised and Expanded Edition, by Marion Nestle
www.foodpolitics.com Author's web page about the book