We live in a global economy which is replenished with goods from a global marketplace. Food is no different from toys, household electronics, and typical goods that require importation. While the American food supply is less reliant on importation than other parts of the American economy; importation nevertheless plays a major role in getting food on the table. Every day people are relying on imported food to provided them with the luxury of a well balance diet of poultry, fish, fruits and vegetables. However, in order to enjoy this, the government must import these foods from warm climates, especially during the winter months, if the needs of the growing population must be satisfied. Hence, one can see that with the globalization of food production, manufacturing and marketing, the risk of infectious disease transmission is magnified.

On an international level, the World Health Organization (WHO), an agency of the United States, is very concern with food safety. In 1983 the WHO and the Food and Agriculture Organization agreed that, "illness due to contaminated food is perhaps the most widespread health problem in the world and an important cause to reduce economic productivity" (Redman, p.4). This increased risk of contamination of the international food supply is due to a number of factors. They include, the transformation of farms into factories so that they could meet the larger food demand. However this leads to over crowding of the live stock and the increase use of chemicals, hormones pesticides and hormones. And a greater reliance on food imported from countries that do not have the same pesticide and sanitation regulations as developed countries.

Since food is a major trade commodity, it makes a easy vehicle for the transmission of foodborne disease. A key example of food being a vehicle for the spread of diseases was recorded in 1996 when, “a shipment of raspberries from Guatemala that was infected with cyclospora bacteria led to an outbreak of illness in the United States that sickened more than 2,000 people. The infection was believed to have originated in the fields of Guatemala, where the picked fruit was sprayed with contaminated water” (Nestle, 2003, p.116).

Bird flu alone was responsible for the mass destruction of poultry farms in china. These birds are usually slaughtered after one foul is discovered with bird flu and because the fouls live in such close proximity to one another they must all be put down. The same is true for mad cow disease which has also caused the premature slaughter of millions of live stock. For this very reason Japan banned the importation of beef from the United States. The United Stated eventually banned its import of beef because of numerous out breaks of man cow disease.

In recent years the United States government increased its imports of fresh and processed foods, many from places with lower standards of water quality and sanitation. This in turn has caused notable outbreaks in “Hepatitis A from Mexican strawberries, vibro from Thai coconut pudding, E.Coli in France semi soft cheese and Staphylococcal from Chinese canned mushroom” (Nestle, 2003, p.114). These out breaks occured because many of the foods are produced in countries that do not have the same fertilizer restrictions as developed countries. For example, the grapes imported during the winter from Chile may have been grown with pesticide that are illegal in industrialized countries, because it has harmful effects on the human body. However, since it’s not illegal in undeveloped countries it makes its way in the food chain.

Besides pesticide, there are many drugs used in agriculture that are designed to cause animals to develop faster than normal. However, these hormones remain in the meat and are passed on to humans. According to Redman, 2002 “Breast cancer is up fifty five percent, testicular cancer and prostate cancer are also on the rise.” (p.29) He also noted that hormones such diethylstilbestrol, have been know to cause young children to develop breast and begin menstruation at a very tender age. One major organization (USDA) involved in testing the levels of hormones in animal meat found that, “the natural levels found in animal foods, like eggs, milk, and cheese were substantially higher than the levels found in the tissue of treated animal” (Lawrence, 2004, p.30).

My purpose in this research paper is to find out what measures should the federal government make to ensure that internatioal food not fit for human consumption remains off the market. In the past the United States has banned foreign beef and poultry products from entering the U.S. market. This was largely due to mad cow disease and bird flu. This is a start however, what is being done to deal with the more subtle problems such as water contamination, illegal pesticide usage and the persistent treat of global terrorism.