How food scare originated

How "food scare" originated

The healthy, wealthy, comfortable middle classes of the late twentieth century discovered "food scare." Even a small theoretical risk based on studies of, say, a 'known' carcinogen in rats is enough to spread panic across the globe. And a new food scare is born, even if there is no death and the outcome in humans is unproven.

To top it all, a plethora of organizations, including the news media, have a vested interest in making the story run and run. For instance, a vegan pressure group might commission a study proving all meat is unsafe.

Thus we found reports of a study in an American journal that salmon contain 'significantly higher' levels of cancer-causing pollutants than wild salmon. And headlines like 'Coffee drinking linked to higher miscarriage risk' in The Daily Telegraph

Information on food labels

These growing incidences of food safety scares are making consumers, especially in the Western countries, increasingly turn to the information on their food labels. There was a time when people died for lack of food. Today food is among the bigger killers. Main reasons:

• Increase in cut-price food

• Intensive factory farming

Food scare to end all food scares: The Mad Cow Disease

Food scare dug roots with the Mad Cow Disease. Though the diseasewas first recorded as far back as 1732, it was not until 1995 that it became a serious problem for humans, as the practice of using meat by-products in cattle feed became increasingly common. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, more than 100,000 cattle were diagnosed as having the disease and, in 1995 the first case of BSE-related CJD in a human was reported.

E. coli poisoning followed and the scare intensified.

Then came genetically modified food

Then came genetically modified (GM) food. Some scientists fear that genetically engineered plants may contaminate wild plant populations, exacerbating weed problems.

It is also feared that engineered fish may alter ecosystems and even drive some wild populations to extinction. It is also feared that GM food could produce new allergens or toxins. But supporters say that GM plants can produce bigger yields and better, longer-lasting crops, and that crops modified to resist pests reduces farmers' dependence on chemicals.

And the current debate over GM food is likely to rage on for years, if not decades, to come. Till we come up with something new to engage ourselves with.