While many Americans are recovering from the shock of the pet food recall, there are lessons we can take from that to protect ourselves.

It may seem at first that there is little connection between the tainted pet food and our own food, but in fact there are many connection.

The first point to examine is the broad issue of safety.  The tainted pet food was traced to a shipment of wheat gluten from China.  The first question that comes to mind is why are we importing the wheat from China in the first place?

American farmers have had a long history of exporting wheat and to ship it half way around the globe, when we are facing an energy crisis doesn't seem to make a lot of sense.

Beyond the energy required to ship the wheat from China, there are basic transportation issues, like the fumigation and rat poison that need to go along with it to make sure that the food isn't eaten by bugs and rodents in the weeks of transit.

While that makes sense from the standpoint of the corporate agribusiness shippers, it should make us think about what needs to be done to food shipped around the globe in order to arrive uneaten.

If part of the shipping process involves adding toxic substances to kill the littlest creatures who would otherwise eat the contents, what is that adding to our own food?

The next question is what chemicals these corporate agribusiness giants are allowed to apply.  The toxin in the case of the tainted pet food is banned in America.

These substances are banned because they have been shown to have serious human health risks.  Standards in countries like China re far lower.

What protections do we have when the food safety standards here are not applied because the foods are imported?  Now that isn't to suggest that all imports are dangerous, or that we stop importing foods.

What is does ask is who is watching what is happening when basic ingredients are being sourced form the farthest corners of the globe and why do we need to go so far to find them?

The answer is money.  In this case the tainted pet food revealed that everyone from the cheapest store brands, to the upscale, Proctor & Gamble Iams, were all using the same source.

As consumers we put our trust in certain names and assume that there is a difference in quality based on that name.  As the pet food highlights, very often there is no difference inside the package.

The same is true of much of the food that we feed to our families and the agribusiness model of growing profits is centered on a system of finding the cheapest supply.

While that approach is perfect for the Wall Street investment model, it raises serious issues about what it means for what makes it onto our shelves and our tables.

Corporations have one goal and that is profit.  Profits come from increasing markets and reducing costs and as agribusiness has grown they have looked for more ways to squeeze out a few extra pennies per share for their investors.  That's their job.

It is not their job to improve food quality though they never hesitate to toss in a health claim if it seems to add to the consumer appeal.  In some cases those claims have a basis in truth but they are attached not to add to the consumer health but the corporate health by moving more product.

So what is a consumer to do?  You can't stop eating and you probably have enough confusion when shopping now.

The first thing to remember is that food companies are companies and we did not get to the point of eating grain from China overnight.  It took many years of mergers and billions of purchases to arrive at the point we are now, a Nation feeding Wall Street.

First, knowledge is power and there is no greater power in the world than the American consumer.  Every time you purchase an item you are using those dollars to vote for a company or product.   

Together we decide what goes onto the shelves.  When we begin to see that the giants are not always the best way to support American farmers and deliver the healthiest products to our families we have taken the first step.  One small purchase at a time we can then begin to use those dollars to vote for change.

It doesn't need to be all or nothing.  Maybe you use this opportunity to switch to a Newmans Own brand, who have not only a better quality of food but have business practices that treat farmers with fair wages and support environmentally responsible techniques. 

You can begin to explore ways to spend food dollars closer to home with programs like Local Harvest and Sustainable Table who can connect you by zip code to farmers in your area.

My feeling is that I would rather give my money to a local family farm than to a corporation who is looking for the mega-million dollar pay package for their executives. 

The power to support hard working neighbors makes me feel good.  It helps the local economy because rather than buying a jet or an island or whatever those rich CEO's buy, the local family will use that to support the land and buy other things in the community.

By keeping the money to ourselves we feed our strength as communities, we support diversity too.  My local farmer can't offer everything but if we lose that, we lose our independence because we can no longer feed ourselves.

It is all food for thought and simple ways we can use our knowledge and our dollars to grow what helps to feed us in body and soul, that's what community is about, supporting neighbors.

You have the power, enjoy it and eat well!

http://www.sustainabletable.org/

http://www.localharvest.org/ 

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