The United States has one of the safest food systems in the world. However, there are still safety issues that can arise or you still may just want to know more about where your food comes from. Take a look at our resources that highlight the ways our food is grown, raised, regulated and also ways consumers can use food handling practices to help ensure safety as well.

Pesticide Residues

Pesticides & Food: What You Need to Know In order to provide a plentiful and diverse food supply, conventional and organic farmers have multiple options to protect crops from weeds and pests—including pesticides. Even with strict safety standards in place to help ensure the safety of our food, you may have questions about the use of pesticides in food production, as well as potential pesticide residues on food.

Pesticides: Myths vs. Reality [INFOGRAPHIC] When it comes to pesticides, there is a lot of debate in the media about what is true and what is false. Once and for all, let’s debunk some of the most common myths about pesticides—their regulation, safety, and their use on both organic and conventional produce.

Meat Production

	Five Ways Farmers Love Their Animals Animal welfare best practices have evolved in the past 50 years, but the foundation of these practices are the “five freedoms.” The five freedoms are internationally recognized as providing animal welfare guidance to farmers and those who deal with livestock to ensure high ethical standards and low instances of mistreatment.
	“Meat-ing” Consumer Expectations of Ethical Animal Welfare The animal agriculture community, made up of farmers and ranchers, veterinarians, nutritionists, meat processing companies and more, recognizes that animal welfare is a subject of interest – and possibly even concern – for many consumers. The animal agriculture community has worked to become more and more transparent over the past few decades and wants to be sure that you have access to information to get your questions answered and make informed decisions.
	Let’s Set the Record Straight on Animal Processing and Labeling When most people think of processing and handling meat, they might think of a butcher carving tender cuts of meat or of dad grilling the perfect, medium-well steak. In reality, a lot more goes into getting meat safely to your plate. In order to enjoy a burger or a chicken wing, animals need to be processed safely and humanely. To do this, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) developed federal laws and standards to protect animals during processing steps.

Biotechnology

Science Sent: GMOs Are Safe to Eat According to a report an extensive report by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), there is no difference in potential or adverse health effects in GMO crops compared to non-GMOs. In other words, GMO crops are as safe to eat as their non-GMO counterparts. The NAS also found “no differences” in animal or human health risks when comparing GMO food consumption with non-GMO foods.

Biotech Foods are Safe. Says Who? [INFOGRAPHIC] To understand the safety of food biotech, it helps to look at the numbers. There are thousands of studies on biotech crops published, billions of pounds of biotech foods eaten, and there are zero illnesses (human or animal) resulting of consuming biotech foods.

Foodborne Illness

5 Common Foodborne Illnesses That You’ve Never Heard Of Most people are familiar with Salmonella and E. coli, but there are numerous other foodborne illnesses that aren’t as well known, but still very common. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1 in 6 Americans get sick from some sort of foodborne illness each year. To avoid being one of these six, here are four lesser known, but still common foodborne illness and ways to prevent them.

Think You Have Food Poisoning? Here’s What You Should Do Getting sick from eating or drinking contaminated foods or beverages is something that all of us want to avoid as we enjoy our daily meals, snacks and drinks. However, foodborne illnesses, colloquially referred to as food poisoning, have affected most of us at some point. Foodborne illnesses are caused by microbes or harmful chemicals (toxins) present in food or beverages.

Safe Food Handling

Consumer’s Guide to Safe Food Handling The United States provides one of the safest food supplies in the world. However, microorganisms may still exist at levels that present foodborne illness risks to consumers. It is important for you to think about safe food handling to reduce your risk of foodborne illness. You can take easy, practical steps in your own home to keep your family safe, handle raw meat and poultry, cook food properly and cleanly.