— OPINION — Thirty years ago, I wrote a New York Times op-ed titled “Tragedy Wasn’t Enough”, in the wake of the 1993 Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak that killed four children —including my own son. I wrote that piece believing — hoping — that this time, tragedy would be enough to force… Continue Reading Food Policy & Law, Food Politics, Opinion & Contributed Articles, Darin Detwiler, imspections, pork line speed, poultry line speed, Salmonella Food Safety News
— OPINION —
Thirty years ago, I wrote a New York Times op-ed titled “Tragedy Wasn’t Enough”, in the wake of the 1993 Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak that killed four children —including my own son.
I wrote that piece believing — hoping — that this time, tragedy would be enough to force real change. That no other parent would have to endure what I did. That we would finally choose human safety over corporate convenience.
That was three decades ago.
And yet, here we are — again.
Once more, policymakers are making the same catastrophic mistake. Once more, industries are downplaying risk while lives hang in the balance. Once more, we are choosing efficiency over responsibility.
Only this time, it’s not just tainted beef slipping through a broken inspection system.
It’s a reckless increase in processing speeds that threatens to overwhelm the very safeguards meant to protect both workers and consumers.
This week, the White House cemented a dangerous policy: permanently increasing line speeds in poultry and pork plants.
What began as a temporary, pandemic-era waiver is now the new standard — an alarming echo of the negligence Ralph Nader exposed in his 1965 book Unsafe at Any Speed.
Sixty years ago, automakers fought against seat belts and airbags. They claimed safety would slow them down. They put profit before people. The result? More deaths. More preventable tragedies — until the public refused to accept it.
Now, the meat industry is making the same argument. And once again, we are being asked to accept risk in the name of efficiency.
But this time, the consequences aren’t car crashes. They are amputations. Lacerations. Chemical burns. And an explosion of foodborne illnesses that reach into every home in America.
During the pandemic, the USDA allowed poultry plants to increase line speeds from 140 to 175 birds per minute under temporary waivers. Now, this “emergency” measure is becoming permanent, locking in the most aggressive production speeds in history.
To put that in perspective:
At 175 birds per minute, an inspector has just 0.34 seconds — about one third of a second — to examine each carcass for contamination.
The meat industry argues that modern processing techniques and automation will maintain food safety and worker protections. But history tells us otherwise. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, meatpacking plants already have six times the occupational illness rate of other industries. Yet, the USDA insists there’s “no direct link” between faster line speeds and worker injuries.
But let’s move beyond the factories — because this isn’t just about workers. This is about you. This is about the food on your table.
Every year, 1.35 million people get sick from Salmonella and, of those, some 420 die. Nearly a quarter of those cases come from poultry. Another 1.5 million people suffer from Campylobacter infections, most traced back to contaminated poultry. And then there’s Listeria. It’s rarer, but far deadlier. Ninety-five percent of those infected end up in the hospital. One in 5 die.
These aren’t just numbers. These are children. These are families. These are people who trusted that the food they put on their table was safe.
Yet instead of strengthening protections, policymakers are removing them — fast-tracking contamination, cutting corners and putting more lives at risk.
Faster lines. Fewer inspections. Lower standards.
Is this really the cost we’re willing to accept in the name of efficiency?
Had Congress ignored Ralph Nader’s warnings in 1965, America’s highways would have remained death traps of corporate negligence. Had the public not demanded action, automakers would have continued prioritizing profits over people.
Now, we stand at a crossroads.
Faster meat processing lines may increase output — but at what cost? A regulatory system that prioritizes corporate efficiency over public health isn’t just reckless — it’s a betrayal of consumer trust.
Sixty years ago, Ralph Nader’s Unsafe at Any Speed didn’t just expose a problem — it transformed consumer advocacy. It forced corporations to take responsibility. The Library of Congress calls it one of the most influential books in American history because it changed the rules of safety forever.
Nader proved something fundamental: safety isn’t just about regulations.
· It’s about values.
· It’s about what kind of country we want to be.
· It’s about whether we let corporations dictate the rules, or whether we demand accountability.
Sixty years ago, the fight was for safer cars. Today, the fight is for safer food.
If speed is truly the priority, then let’s move faster where it actually saves lives — not where it creates risk.
- Instead of faster meatpacking lines, how about faster intervention when contamination is detected?
- Instead of cutting inspection time, how about cutting the time it takes to trace tainted food back to its source?
- Instead of reducing oversight, how about reducing the number of families devastated by preventable illnesses?
We cannot claim to value safety while designing a system that undermines it. We cannot insist on efficiency while ignoring human costs.
Because real leadership is not just about making things faster. It’s about doing so safely.
For the past three decades, we’ve made remarkable progress in food safety. USDA-regulated meats are safer today than they were in the 1990s. Thanks to HACCP, pathogen reduction programs, a growing food safety culture, new technologies, and the recognition of E. coli as an illegal adulterant in ground beef, we’ve seen a steady decline in recalls and outbreaks.
We didn’t get here by accident.
We got here through science and through regulations that worked.
Through lives that were lost and lessons that were learned.
Because of people — scientists, regulators, leaders, and advocates — who fought to protect every plate.
But now, we’re at risk of undoing that progress.
Faster doesn’t mean better. Safer does.
When it comes to food safety, the question isn’t how fast we can move — it’s how much risk we’re willing to take.
Because if we get it wrong, we don’t just lose efficiency.
We lose lives.
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