Customer Reviews

Spoiled: The Dangerous Truth about a Food Chain Gone Haywire

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is a brilliant investigation into the present state of our food supply. Many of us have read scattered news items about food poisoning outbreaks here and there, but have never really noticed what's been happening to our food supply. In this book, Fox brings together hundreds of stories of outbreaks, and through them, brings the elusive big picture into focus. Fox takes us behind the burger counters back to the factory farm, where chickens are sick, and cows are fattened up on the dung and bedding from the sick chickens. The manure from the chicken-dung eating cows is spread on apple orchards, and all of the sudden organic apple cider must be pasteurized to kill the e. coli. Before reading this book, I wondered why eating raw cookie dough never made me sick as a child, but now we're cautioned never even to consider such dangerous habits. As Fox explains, eating raw eggs wasn't dangerous before, but thanks to modern agribusiness practices, chickens have salmonella in their ovaries, so all eggs must be assumed to be tainted As a result, the only safe egg these days is one whose yolk is cooked solid- -eating eggs sunny-side up is akin to Russian roulette.

Fox's main message is that it is vitally important to know who grew your food and how, as well as who cooked your food. If you choose to eat meat, you should know where the meat came from. In the interests of making a profit, factory farms feed meat and milk animals waste products including diseased animal parts and dung. Even if the animals are able to digest such a diet, bacteria and other pathogens from such a diet eventually end up on our plates. Hamburger meat is exceptionally risky since a single pound can include meat from hundreds of individual cows, and if any one of those hundreds carries a pathogen, the entire lot of meat will be tainted. The only way to be reasonably sure of getting healthy meat is to purchase it from a farmer that you know, someone whose farm you can visit in person. Meanwhile, food handlers and preparers seem to be less and less familiar with basic rules of food safety. Fox mentions supermarket workers who don't know the dangers of dented or bulging cans, and teenagers earning minimum wage frying meat at burger joints who have never cooked anything before in their lives. She stresses how important it is not to assume that food is safe just because it is on sale. Sure, the USDA, FDA, and threat of lawsuits give the consumer some protection, but a lawsuit is of little use in bringing a child back to life after a little case of food poisoning.

Living in Dubai, my husband and I experience at least one incidence of food poisoning per month, despite being cautious about where and what we eat. We have learned to inspect every package carefully in the supermarket, considering the country of origin, the condition of the container, and the manner in which the goods are stored. In restaurants, we choose our food not by what looks tastiest, but instead by what is least likely to be tainted. We've seen supermarket food handlers at the deli counter blithely lift dripping raw chickens over cooked ones and we've become vegetarians out of necessity. In this book, Fox argues that it's up to American consumers to see that their food supply doesn't continue to go the same way.

Fox's well-researched book is shocking. Mad Cow Disease is a trivial problem compared to some of the others revealed in this fascinating investigation into the underbelly and oversights of America's food industry.

But also check out Peter Phillips' CENSORED 1999's top censored news story for an additional jolt: a government near you soon will be wholly beholden to any corporation which chooses to violate the already-established food laws. If the powers that be get their way, the stories in fox's SPOILED will be barely the tip of the iceberg in a few short years.

Wake up, America! Read this book and raise some hell! How? Call your local, state, and federal representatives and tell them you're not going to take it any longer!

I found out about the book because it was referenced at the end of Robin Cook's book Toxin. The author gives detailed accounts of numerous outbreaks of contaminated food. She shows that what we were lead to believe was an isolated incident, is not an isolated incident. I was amazed to find out that Russia demanded higher standards for the chickens that are shipped to their country, but as American citizens we have not asked for higher standards.

She points out that consumers have been blamed for not using proper food handling when in fact the food producer is at fault for not providing safe food.

While I really liked the book, I gave it only 4 stars because at times the book can be a little too detailed. I found it difficult to keep reading the book at times.

This book explains many details missing from media hype on the topic of toxins in the food supply. Many people think that daily exposure to toxins, in small amounts, innocculates one from the deadly consequences of food borne pathogens. "Spoiled" points out how consumer and governmental organizations have denied hazards which have lead to needless deaths. This is an important read for anyone interested in the safety of their families.

Ok...I would not recommend this book to anyone who panics easily or does not have an 'iron' stomach. This book is not for the squeamish. Fox does an excellent job of researching the massive problems in our modern-day food industries. She not only includes the companies that prepare and can our foods (such as Gerber, Heinz, Del Monte, and the many less-well-known providers of meat), but she includes the cattle and chicken industries, and even restaurants.

This book caught my eye after the horrible breakout last summer in our local Chi-Chi's of Hepatitis A. Hep A is not supposed to be a killer, but the strain that hit this restaurant exposed a huge amount of people to illness...over 600. Among that group were people who had immune system problems such as diabetes, and there were four deaths from what is currently believed to be exposure through green onions. It was unfathonable to many that something such as green onions could lead to deaths; I still have a problem believing that was the source.

But Fox makes clear in this book that our foodstuffs are not as safe in many ways, as they used to be, due to modern industry practices, and the lobbying efforts of the industries in pursuit of the almight dollar.

The book is fascinating, and the only reason I gave a four star rating was due to the fact that many times Fox's writing seemed repetitious. I am certainly taking much more care of the way I prepare foods, and even which foods I shop for thanks to this book. Like many of the current books dealing with what could be 'doomsday' scenarios, I tend to take the books with a grain of salt...you can't spend your entire life being afraid of things. However, you can spend more time in care of your families, and I think this book is valuable for that reason.

Karen Sadler,
Science Education,
University of Pittsburgh

Thank you Nicols Fox for writing this book. It is a work of human ecology, showing the connections among a complex set of factors linking humans with nature. Unlike a theoretical work, this book describes a particular industry and its problems, making the lessons in ecology come alive.(P) I didn't rate it a 10 because sometimes the text changes subject abruptly and one chapter, on Mad Cow disease is a little weak, but this is a great book. The author strikes a good balance between technical detail and readability. She shows how every step in the process of delivering food to consumers matters- such as the ground the animals are raised on, the food they eat, the way they are slaughtered and procesed, the way they are packaged, the transportation to the market- any of these steps and more can lead to a pathogen on the loose.(P) Growing up in America of the 1950's, I believed in the cleanliness of American industry. Reading this book is a re-education into the secrets behind the cheapest food on earth. The stories of the USDA remind me of the NRC- the way the NRC advocated for nuclear power rather than for public health. Like the NRC, which carried on without a plan for displosal of toxic waste, the food industry appears to have no plan for disposal of its toxic waste other than rendering carcasses and recycling them into feed, thereby intensifying the problem. The story of denial in the industry and Washington is fascinating.(P) The reader should push on to the end of this book for the author does not succumb to negative thinking, but maintains a positive tone. With the help of information such as this book contains, we can make choices in what we eat that industry may take note of

I wanted to read this book because a friend recommended it after finding out from my husband that I was suffering from this illness. It was a real eye opener with good information on salmonella, e-coli and other bacteria and how they get into the human food chain. The info is about 12 years old but it still is apt in a lot of areas.

Anyone entering a kitchen or a fast-food restaurant, should read this book! Ms. Fox has written an excellent book that should be on the shelf next to everyone's cookbooks

At times technical with descriptions, this book is a FAST read. Each example rattles our sense of security about what we eat. Many final thoughts but the best may be "WASH YOUR HANDS".

At times technical with descriptions, this book is a FAST read. Each example rattles our sense of security about what we eat. Many final thoughts but the best may be "WASH YOUR HANDS".