In Honor of World Egg Day: The Salmonella Outbreak's Silver Lining

It's hard to put a positive spin on a salmonella outbreak that sickened more than 1,600 people (though I don't doubt that PR folks are still trying). It adds insult to injury to know that the massive public health scandal involving the recall of a half-billion eggs wasn't enough to push Congress into passing the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510) yet. But if there's a silver lining to be found in all this, it's the fact that the situation may prompt more folks to support Francis Thicke as Iowa's Ag Secretary.

Incumbent ag secretary, Republican Bill Northey, faces a lot of flack right now both from his home state and the rest of America. After all, the two major egg producers responsible for the recent salmonella outbreak — Wright County Egg and Hillendale Farms — are both located in Iowa. Salmonella contamination on these operations occurred under Northey's not-so-watchful eye, and a lot of folks are understandably ticked off. It's a huge scandal that's left Northey with egg all over his face.

And while you'd think that the revelation that Iowa's egg operations contained manure, maggots, and rodents would prompt Northey to call for stricter regulations, he's sticking by the status quo. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, Northey recently said he thinks that the new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines are sufficient for ensuring egg safety, and Iowa shouldn't adopt its own regulations. "I think it's important to have federal regulations on food safety and that it would not be good to have them vary across all 50 states," Northey told Bloomberg Businessweek.

Thicke, on the other hand, says that because Iowa produces the most eggs of any state, it should take it upon itself to adopt stronger, statewide egg-safety regulations. Thicke suggests mandatory inspections and vaccination programs, as well as an on-site veterinarian at every large-scale egg farm. Egg producers like Jack DeCoster would be responsible for ponying up the dough for this stringent plan.

As Change.org blogger Kristen Ridley recently wrote, Thicke's sustainable food goals go beyond egg safety. Thicke works as an organic dairy farmer, and he holds a Ph.D. in agronomy/soil fertility. He's also a strong advocate for implementing cleantech on farms, developing biofuels (but not ethanol), and increasing the production of local fruits and veggies. If elected as Secretary of Agriculture in a state as farm-heavy as Iowa, Thicke could have a hand in promoting sustainable foodie ideals throughout the nation.

Whether Thicke can defeat Northey and create stronger egg-safety standards in Iowa remains to be seen. You can do your part to promote World Egg Day by signing our petition asking the FDA and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to mandate that all eggs be cage-free. Hens raised in battery cages are much more likely to contract and spread salmonella — keeping hens cage-free is not only good for the birds, it's good for people, too.

Photo credit: robstephaustralia via Flickr