UCS Director: Now Is The Time For Food Safety Reform

Francesca Grifo, director of the Scientific Integrity Program at Union of Concerned Scientists, and a team of experts discuss the results of a recent survey about political influence over the food safety industry, and the prospects for improvement. 

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Rural Broadband Connections Will Increase Health Care Quality Says Gov't Official

U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan says that expanding broadband connections to rural America will increase the quality of health care Americans have available. (0:25)
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Secretary of Agriculture Schafer says that the meat on the market is safe

At the Senate Appropriations Committee on Food Safety and Beef Recall, Edward T. Schafer, Secretary of Agriculture, says to Chairman Herb Kohl (D-WI) that the recall (of the beef) was a Class 2 recall which is not a food safety issue. The slaughterhouses now know, he says, that rule violations count. There are inspections that are ongoing, and every carcass is checked for bacteria and other signs of ill health, so "we're pretty sure that the meat that gets on the market and on the shelves of this country is safe." (1:06)
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Senator Bennett says that a stumbling cow does not mean it's sick, and is glad that no one has shot him for stumbling

At the Senate Appropriations Committee on Food Safety and Beef Recall, Senator Robert Bennett (R-UT) asks Edward T. Schafer, Secretary of Agriculture, if he is correct in his understanding that an animal gets inspected by a veterinarian, goes down the chute, and if he stumbles and falls down, that's not necessarily an indication that he's sick. He then says that he has stumbled and fallen down in front of the Capitol and was glad that no one took him out and shot him. (:55)
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