10/21/08 World Food Prize & E. Coli Label

World Food Prize & E. Coli Label plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. This year's World Food Prize laureates humbly accepted their shared $250,000 award reflecting on making a difference in the lives of others. Former Senators George McGovern & Bob Dole recognized for their efforts to feed hungry children. George McGovern. MCGOVERN: I'd like to live long enough to see every hungry school child in the world fed. It's one of those problems that's soluble but hunger is one that is within our reach. The McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Nutrition Program was established in 2000 and has fed over 22million children in 42 countries. Bob Dole. DOLE: For it matters not how much we own, the cars, the house, the cash. What matters most is how we live and love and how we spend our dash. In a draft guidance, the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service says an establishment may use labels bearing an FSIS-approved E. coli testing claim. What this program asserts is that the raw beef component has been produced under an integrated control program and tested for the presence of E. coli O157:H7 using a particular sample method. Labels bearing this claim would not be approved for products sold at retail or directly to consumers. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Lacy Gray. Okay, I'll admit it; I enjoy watching the television show, Boston Legal. Don't ask me why, sometimes I'm not even sure myself, but if I really search the recesses of my brain I come up with the fact that this show, while being entertaining on a sometimes hackneyed level, also makes it's audience think on issues that we might generally try to shy away from. One such episode explored the subject of added chemicals and preservatives in most processed food, and how most of the population is unaware to the extent of which this has progressed. As food prices continue to remain high even with the fall of oil prices a lot of people are tempted to buy bulk packaged and processed foods. But do consumers really want to stock their pantry with foods that are preserved with enough chemical additives to ensure they're still around months or years from now? Buying fresh, local foods not only helps your family eat healthier, it helps support local farmers, who in turn support and help the local community through good stewardship of the land and the environment. Thanks Lacy. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.