How Safe Is Our Food?
Essay Question 4

Posted for the week of April 30, 2000. Attach your word processor (Word or WordPerfect) responses (a least two pages) to an e-mail note to your teaching assistant. DO NOT simply type your responses into the body of an e-mail sender. The formatting will be lost. Pay attention to organization and grammar as you put together your responses. Your written response is due no later than 3:00 on Tuesday, May 9.

Eschericia coli or E. coli 0157:H7 or campylobacter or Salmonella. These are organisms that visit our newspaper headlines occasionally and tend to shake our faith in the safety of our food supplies. A recent survey dealing with national food attitudes revealed that 96% of Americans who were questioned were "somewhat" or "seriously" concerned about the presence of pesticide residues in their foods.

What does the scientific evidence reveal? Is our food supply unsafe? Need we worry about bacterial contamination or high levels of pesticide residue?

It is easy to get emotional about this sort of question. I want solid scientific evidence to document your responses, one way or the other, to this important question.

You will need to do some searching on the Internet or in the library. You should provide me the basis for your answers (a journal article; a web URL; a book; a popular news magazine article). You may include your own particular views on the matter, but please reflect on the science before you "put fingers to the keyboard." Useful metasearch engines on the web are:

http://www.dogpile.com/
http://www.northernlight.com/

In the library, consult the General Science Index or ask a librarian for help.

You can return to the Syllabus Page if you wish.