There is an impending food shortage crisis, and the ambassadors for biotechnology are eager to provide a solution. The claim is that genetically engineered crops produce higher yields. There is controversy over the genetic manipulation of crops on a multitude of points, but most agree that an answer to the need of a growing population must be found. The conditions of starvation and malnutrition that exist in parts of the world are pointed to as the future for all unless it is addressed. So let’s look at the reasons behind these food shortages more closely.

Last Wednesday, the FDA released details on the agency’s first new rules under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The FDA now has the authority to detain food products for 30 days simply because it has “reason to believe” they pose a threat to food safety. Signed into law by President Obama this past January, the FSMA gave the FDA new authority to oversee facilities that grow and sell the nation’s produce, including the power to issue mandatory food recalls. As we have seen the FDA’s overzealous raids on raw dairy farms even prior to the enactment of the FSMA, this raises concerns for increased abuse of power.

You know Barbara Kowalcyk, founder of The Center for Foodborne Illness Research and Prevention, from the hit documentary Food Inc. Her son tragically died from eating e.coli-tainted beef. Barbara has been making large strides towards increasing the safety of our food and was a recent recipient of The LennonOno Award for Peace. She took some time out of her busy schedule to call us from the Netherlands to talk about what’s going on with CFI, and to help us decipher S.510, the much debated Food Safety Modernization Act.