Change.org just now sent this to me -->

With more than half a billion eggs removed from the shelves and thousands of people seriously ill from salmonella poisoning, the ongoing egg recall is one of the worst food crises in recent history.

http://food.change.org/blog/view/first_eggs_now_deli_meat_is_anything_safe_to_eat

What's startling about the recall isn't just its size – it's that the source of the crisis is just two factory farms.

We like to think of our food as being produced on small, healthy, local farms. The food industry knows this, and encourages our misperception by marketing eggs under brands such as "Farm Fresh" and "Sunshine." But in reality there’s nothing fresh or sunny about our domestic egg production.

Ninety-five percent of eggs are produced on a handful of massive factory farms. These farms aren’t the scenic landscapes you see printed on labels or shown in commercials. They are huge industrial wastelands.

Wright County Egg, one of the two factory farms responsible for the current salmonella scandal, has 7.5 million egg-laying chickens crammed together so closely in battery cages that the birds can’t even stretch their wings. The chickens often live in their own bacteria-breeding excrement, and never see the light of day.

In response to the unsanitary conditions of factory egg farms, The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued new egg guidelines that would beef up safety standards. This is a step in the right direction, but the problems we have with egg production are just a microcosm of the broader problems of our industrial food system.

In the short term, what we really need is comprehensive food security bill that mandates more frequent inspections of factory farms and gives the FDA the tools to prevent deadly and costly food outbreaks before they ever happen.

The U.S. house passed such a food safety bill more than a year ago, but it has since stalled in the Senate. The egg recall has given this bill renewed attention, and we need to take advantage of this growing pressure for reform. Join us in calling on the Senate to pass a food safety bill when it returns after Labor Day.

http://www.change.org/petitions/view/enough_food_recalls_put_violators_on_notice

In the long term, we hope this outbreak and recall helps hatch a broader movement for a safe and healthy alternative to our industrial food system. To learn more about the movement for local, healthy, sustainable food, check out the Sustainable Food cause on Change.org.

http://food.change.org

For more news and information from the world of change this week, see the summaries from your favorite causes below:

Have a great week,

- The Change.org Team

My friends, take a look at what the 20 *billion* chicken layers have to live in. How many enslaved chickens are there in the world? I would not wish that upon my worst enemy. It's the worst kind of jail sentence, an entire life of imprisonment of being injected with chemicals to lay as many eggs as possible in a jail so tight the poor animal can't stretch her wings, and everyday someone steals her baby eggs in an endless cycle until she dies on the shopping block. These are living beings, folks! How dare humanity! We are subject to the Universal laws of Cause & Effect. Looks like the effect is catching up to us. Oh humanity, you have no idea of the inevitable storm that heads your way! I've never peered upon a storm so dark. So humanity has become a huge MONSTER that saddens me, but I see the future looks good in ~ 15 to 20 years where the younger generations are loving and compassionate with our younger brothers and sisters, the animal kingdom.