A Meeting with the USDA

On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to listen in on a meeting between representatives of the USDA and a variety of consumer advocate groups. As I walked into the hall of the USDA building on the national mall, I was unsure of what to expect. I was surprised when my supervisor, Sarah, guided me into a small conference room with approximately twenty chairs. The other interns and I were guided to sit in seats behind the table as the various as the representatives for the consumer groups and USDA sat around the table. Then the discussions began.

      While the discussions about different food policies that may be implemented in the near future were interesting, I was even more intrigued at how different consumer group representatives interacted with the USDA staff. Some were calm and rational in their approach, while others were confrontational and aggressive. Some seemed to quietly observe, while others spoke frequently and emotionally about their preferred regulations. Even though the meeting was over two hours long, the discussions were so interesting I was surprised at how fast the meeting flew by. Soon Sarah and I were headed back out the building and getting a taxi back to the Center for Science in the Public Interest’s main office.

     On the way back, Sarah briefed me on some of the consumer advocacy representatives’ background. I was shocked to learn that one of the more emotional speakers had lost a grandson because the grandson had consumed ground beef contaminated with E. coli.  That fact made me reflect on my reasons for pursuing a degree in food science. Food is necessary for survival, but it can also lead to illness and death if it is not processed properly. Sarah’s story helped me to realize the urgent need to guarantee that all food is processed in a safe environment.  I hope that in the future I can be inspired by this story to continually strive to promote safe food.   

~Christy Beck