When I got a call last week from a Washington Post reporter that she was about to leave the food safety beat to cover education, I said congratulations until I learned than she would not be replaced. Then came the Tweet from the Dean of Ag reporters, Phil Brasher, that the Des Moines register was
German E. coli O104:H4 Outbreak – $2.84 Billion in Human Damage and Rising
The total sickened in the German E. coli O104:H4 outbreak as of a few moments ago stood at 26 dead with 674 with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and 1755 ill (total 2455). Illnesses have surfaced in another dozen countries in Europe and the United States in people who had recently visited Germany. It is likely
SEPARATING THE WHEAT FROM THE CHAFF – The reality of proving a foodborne illness case
I have been litigating foodborne illness cases for nearly two decades. The key to my success has been to find a quick, reliable method of distinguishing between legitimate food poisoning claims and suspect ones. In my experience, the food industry, from farmer to retailer to restaurant, tends to over-emphasize the specious claim and under-value the
Bill Marler: A Personal Injury Attorney – and More
Written by: Nicole Black
Bill Marler is passionate about changing the world for the better. He started early on when he ran for the Pullman City Council at just 19-years-old, becoming the youngest person ever to serve in the state of Washington.
To this day, Bill, one of the top food-safety advocates in the United States, continues his efforts to improve the lives of others.
“I’m a lawyer, but I’ve always been politically oriented. The speaking and lobbying part is the political junkie part of me. A lot of lawyers make noise that what they do causes social change, and I do think that a lot of the work I have done, suing companies, has changed corporate behavior. But I also know that you have to do more to get people to change their behavior. You have to speak at conferences and tell the food industry what their products have done to people.”Continue Reading Bill Marler: A Personal Injury Attorney – and More
Rogue’s Gallery of E. coli Outbreaks
With 1,000 sickened, 300 with Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome and nine deaths, the ongoing E. coli outbreak in Germany (and several other European Countries) will be quickly joining the list of the most severe outbreaks in history. Here is the list since I began litigating E. coli cases in 1993 as of today
- 12,680 sickened in
E. coli, E. coli Everywhere – Perhaps after Germany, I will head to Japan
In an earlier post today, “Export Bill Marler to Germany,” I spoke about what is a significant increase in large, devastating E. coli outbreaks (non-O157) hitting the world, while we are seeing a generalized decrease in E. coli cases in the United States. Of course, I am quite sure that the reason we are seeing
Export Bill Marler to Germany
I received an email today from one of my many “fans” suggesting that it might well be a good idea to export me to some hot, dark location. I think the actual language was “Marler, go to hell!” It was unclear if it came from one of the hundreds of big companies that I have
What is the “Future of Food” without Food Safety?
I attended the Future of Food Conference in Washington D.C. this last week and was amazed by the speakers that author, Eric Schlosser, and the Washington Post put together. From Lucas Benitez, Co-Founder, Coalition of Immokalee Workers to Michael R. Taylor, Deputy Commissioner for Foods at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Wendell Berry, Author
So, Why Isn’t the USDA FSIS Proud of Their Six non-O157 E. coli Tests?
Really? I had to learn it from a GAO Report that “[a]s of February 2011, officials for USDA’s meat and poultry regulatory program said that the department had developed standardized tests to detect all six strains.” Perhaps Secretary Vilsack was just too shy yesterday to tell me.
The last I heard (a few months ago)
What do “Farmers” in Minnesota, Iowa and Florida have to hide?
A few days ago I posted “Perhaps the most disturbing animal cruelty video ever.” I still cannot watch it in full. Even though I grew up on a farm and killed chickens, pigs, turkeys, cows and rabbits for food, I always did it with a feeling a dread, but with nothing to hide.
Minnesota House