Animal ID System Is Missed Opportunity to Reduce Human Illnesses

Recently, USDA awarded nearly $12 million dollars to initiate new "animal identification" pilot programs, with the eventual goal of being able to identify, within 48 hours, any animals that have come into contact with a diseased animal. Problem is, the system applies only to animal diseases - not to disease agents like E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella which are transmitted from animal to animal without making the animals sick, but which are harmful or deadly for humans. The result? An expensive technology initiative which protects the financial interests of the meat industry, but deliberately sidesteps the opportunity to have a major impact on the health of American families. S.T.O.P. member Don Knowles was one of those who spoke out in opposition to this folly. Read Don's comments here.

Expert Calls Foodborne Disease A National Disaster

S.T.O.P. member Ken Streiff recently traveled to DC to speak before to a CDC-sponsored coalition about making school lunches safer. Streiff, a disaster-relief professional, told the audience about his son Tony's experience with E. coli O157:H7 from a contaminated meat dish - and then told them ""In disaster work we prepare situation reports that indicate the scope and scale of the disaster in terms of lives, economic and societal costs. By any measure, food poisoning in this country meets the definition of a disaster, larger in scope than the current Florida hurricane." For the full text of Ken's speech, click here. To find out more about S.T.O.P.'s partnership with the BE SAFE campaign to clean up toxic school environments, click here.

Articles

A Taste of Food Poisoning
By Carole Sugarman for The Washington Post Tuesday, July 5, 2025

She Knew All About Salmonellosis -- Except What It's Really Like to Have It. Read the article here.