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Food & Water Watch
Assistant Director of Food & Water Watch, a consumer-advocacy group focusing on food safety and water issues
PROFILE
Patty Lovera
Guest
FROM Patty Lovera
To the Point
China and America's Food Supply The United States once called itself the "food basket" for much of the world, but that was before economic globalization. Last year, the US imported 4.1 billion pounds of food products from China. More than half the cod and tilapia we eat -- 50% of the apple juice and 31% of the garlic -- originated in China, a country infamous for food-safety problems. The FDA inspects less than 3% of the imports, but China reportedly treats food for export very differently from what it grows for domestic consumption. Where do Chinese food imports turn up without your knowing it? Are they getting a bad rap because of international politics?
To the Point
Are America's Vegetables as Safe as They Should Be? The latest count in the E.coli outbreak is one dead and 146 suffering from cramps, diarrhea and kidney trouble. The "smoking gun" is a bag of contaminated spinach found in the refrigerator of a sick patient in New Mexico. It came from somewhere in California's Salinas Valley, where three-quarters of America's spinach and lettuce are grown. But officials may never know from which farm or how the contamination occurred. They do know that this is the ninth time in 11 years that a dangerous strain of E. coli has been traced to Salinas Valley spinach or lettuce. Who's in charge of protecting consumers from poisoned food? How stringently are standards enforced? Is it time to change the way food is grown and distributed?
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Left, Right & Center
How was the trip? President Trump's travels got less fun as he went from the Middle East to Europe.
To the Point
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
To the Point
Venezuela spirals into economic and political chaos Venezuela, a country whose potential for prosperity is unmatched, finds itself on the verge of civil war. What sustains the repressive government? With time running out, guest host León Krauze looks at what the international community can do to pull the country from the edge of collapse.
To the Point
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.