Safeguarding the security of Americans Essay Example for Free

Safeguarding the security of Americans Essay The FDA is responsible for safeguarding the security of Americans by ensuring that all types of Pharmaceutical and biological products, cosmetics, medical equipment and the nations food supplies are inspected and meet the standards expected. However, this has been compromised because the organization faces severe under funding. Hence, the nation is experiencing increased cases of health problems like poisoning, illnesses and even deaths resulting from consuming infected food. To prevent more fatal outcomes in future, boosting FDA funding is mandatory for improved performance. There are various estimates with regard to cases relating to deaths resulting from consuming infected food. â€Å"Ames, Iowa-based Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, an organization composed of 36 scientific societies, suggests that anywhere from 6.5 million to 33 million illnesses and up to 9000 deaths each year may be caused by food borne hazards (Schmidt p.2). Further, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that yearly, 76 Million cases of illnesses associated with food contamination and over 300,000 people are hospitalized. In addition, 5000 people and more die from illnesses associated with the same. These figures are particularly threatening and worrying especially due to the fact that the causes are known and these incidences can be avoided altogether. It is even more annoying because America has adequate capacity in terms of financial resources and technical know how to adequately address this problem. On January seventh, two thousand and eight, The Massachusetts Department of Public Health found out that a bacterium called Listeria monocytogenes was traced back to a milk-processing plant. Well, the bacterium is in most cases found in such environments though it is particularly concentrated around domesticated and wild animals. One hundred samples were taken and the results showed that sixteen of those contained the bacterium. The factory claims that it complied with the FDA regulations but an outbreak still occurred. Of course this was not intentional; changes in processing food could cause an outbreak. Changes in food processing in many instances provide suitable conditions for specific bacterium to thrive. Donald Schaffner, an extension specialist with the Department of Food Sciences at Rutgers University in New Jersey says, some emerging strains have resulted from changes in voluminous food production. â€Å"Sometimes, a change in food production optimizes proliferation of a rare strain and makes that strain more common,† he says. â€Å"Other times, these unique strains have always been there, but we get to know them because new tools and techniques tell us they are there† (Schmidt p.3). Other causes of food contamination include poor sanitation. In these cases, food is not well handled by the manufacturers who pay little or no attention to sanitation of the equipment they use during processing. Naturally, most foods have small quantities of bacteria which have no effect to humans. However, these if poorly handled are a risk to human health. Also, if food is not well prepared, it contributes to food borne diseases. Animal products should especially be given attention during preparation. Lastly, inappropriate food storage mechanisms in various ways do contribute to multiplying of the bacteria, causing food poisoning. Recently, America has experienced a number of food borne diseases being contacted by its population. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, such diseases include salmonellosis, listeriosis, and hemolytic uremic syndrom. Presently, the FDA is undergoing great criticism as a result of its inability to keep the public free of contaminated food. Officials from FDA have on certain occasions acknowledged that they can not tell if the product is contaminated before they get complaints from the public and the police. Besides, the FDA in some cases actually knows about food contamination in certain manufacturing plants and farms but fail to act accordingly until death and illness cases are reported. For instance, in the cases of contamination and sanitation problems at a Peanut butter manufacturing company in Georgia and on Spinach farms in California, the FDA acted only after three deaths and hundreds of sicknesses were reported.   This apparently implies incompetence on their part. The FDA staff is estimated to be around seven thousand people. However, this number of workers is expected to inspect close to sixty two thousand factories as well as other imported products from other countries. This is certainly a huge workload. Based on the above statistics, it would take the FDA thirteen years to inspect each factory once, without having to inspect the seemingly increasing products from other countries. This poor performance is because of under funding. The organization only receives a third of the budget allocated to food safety despite the fact that it controls almost 80% of the nations food. It hence finds it tricky to perform tasks expected of it because of these limited funds. Its state of technology also wants making it difficult to compare and analyze any reports about dangerous products and substances. Most of the reports handed in by the FDA field inspectors are usually hand written and hence can not pass through the system in an efficient way. The congress is working round the clock to ensure that the FDA is financially empowered to curb the challenges it faces. It asserts that in order to work effectively in the coming five years, the FDA would need an increase in its funding by fifteen percent. Clearly, there is not enough manpower to effectively oversee the sanitation of food that Americans consume each day. Another concern is about the imported food. Leaders from the Democratic council claim that ninety eight point seven percent of the food from other countries is often not inspected. This is worrying because several countries America imports food from have a history of contamination and disease. Urgent attention need to be given to this concern especially because of the current trend that has seen increasingly many countries manufacture contaminated food, even those whose technology and standards were considered to be satisfactory. An example would be China in the case of contaminated milk. Since the number of food products entering the country is so much that the FDA can not handle each and every product, loopholes are created, giving room to infected products to reach the market and consequently be consumed without knowledge. Americans are susceptible to consuming contaminated food as the cases of contamination increase. While this threat is glaring, â€Å"The FDA, on the other hand, limits its oversight to random port-of-entry inspection of imported foods. But in the same way that the FDA has been unable to keep up domestic production, it is overwhelmed by imported foods as well, and can only inspect a round of two percent of overseas shipments† (Schmidt p.2) Poor performance of the PDA and its failure to protect the health of the Americans is contributing to more and more tainted food products coming in the country. America is the biggest importer of fish, vegetables, fruits and nuts from especially China. If the current trend holds, this nation is at risk of consuming contaminated food from China. Because of the inability of the FDA to perform effectively, this country has turned in to a dumping site for infected foods and drugs. Well, other countries seem to be aware of this and may be that’s the reason why currently, more cases are reported more often. Apparently, veterinary drugs also find their way in to the country illegally. Consequently, the health of our domestic animals including pets is at stake.   Very many incidences have seen pets die because of consuming contaminated feeds from China. This means that indirectly, human health is at risk as we consume products from the animals we keep as well as the animals themselves. In order to address the raised concerns and restore the trust Americans once had in FDA, the government should financially empower the agency. With adequate financial empowerment, it will be able to execute its duties accordingly and boost the health of many Americans who are adversely affected by its incompetence. WORKS CITED Schmidt, Charles W. Safe Food: An All-Consuming Issue. Brogan Partners 107.3 Mar 1993 144-A149. 26 Feb 2009 http://www.jstor.org/stable/3434501?seq=2.

Yanomamo Tribe :: Yanomamo Indians Culture

The Yanomamo My name is Eric Dunning and this is my proposal to go and study the Yanomamo tribe in the rain forests of Brazil. I have compiled a historical outline of the Yanomamo tribe and some of their religion and culture, ranging from marital status to the type of food they eat. I have chosen this tribe because according to many anthropologists the Yanomamo are perhaps the last culture to have come in contact with the modern world. The Yanomamo people of Central Brazil are one of the oldest examples of the classic pre-Columbian forest footmen. The Yanomamo live in almost complete seclusion in the Amazon rain forests of South America. The Yanomamo live in small bands or tribes and live in round communal huts called shabonos, which are actually made up of individual living quarters. The Yanomamo language consists of a variety of dialect, but no real written language. Clothes are minimal, and much of their daily life revolves around gardening, hunting, gathering, making crafts and visiting with one another. These small tribes hold their men in high ranks. Chiefs are always men who are held responsible for the general knowledge and safety of the group's women. The men are able to beat their wives if they feel the need to and are able to marry more than one woman at a time. This loose form of polygamy is a way of increasing the population of the tribe. Yanomamo people rely heavily on a system of political alliances based upon relationship. As part of that system, they have incorporated a complex feasting and trading system into their culture. One of these methods of forming political alliances is feasting. Feasting is when one village invites another village for a feast or dinner. During the feast there is a lot of social activity. The Yanomamo dance and mingle with each other along with eating a different variety of foods. The only catch is the other village must reciprocate a feast by one village. This feast is more like an American dinner party in which members of family or social group invite others to attend. A feast however can be dangerous and or fatal for those who attend. The Yanomamo can be very conniving and deceiving. They pretend to be loyal friends and invite the other village for a feast. The other very village very trustfully attends the feast not knowing that this might be their last meal.

Adult children of alcoholics

Alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence within the family setting often results in a serious psychological and social disorder that many now consider a family disease.   Truly, the family is not at ease, and the family relationships are not only disrupted but also disrupting.Undeniably, each member of the family can be victimized by the disturbing effects of problem drinking on the stability, unity, values, attitudes, and goals of the family unit.Countless millions of American adults have been exposed to problem-producing family drinking through endangered physical, mental, social, economic, and even spiritual welfare; unhappy and unfulfilling marriages; broken homes resulting from desertion and divorce; impoverishment; and sometimes violence involving both spouse abuse and child abuse.The family and marital interaction of alcohol-abusing people have become a growing area of research recently.   We now know that evidence linking alcohol abuse and family violence is not simply one of cause and effect.   Indeed, the husband who beats his wife is sometimes a battering father, but alcohol consumption may be coincidental to the circumstances that end with the abuse.Sometimes the drunken father is the target of violence from the wife and even the children.   To complicate the family situation, violence is often interspersed with periods of calm that mistakenly encourage the victims to believe that the personal abuse will not be repeated and in some instances, alcohol abusers can hold all other family members psychologically hostage to their threats of misbehavior or embarrassment, so that problem drinkers will â€Å"get their way† and so non-problem drinkers allow the abuse to continue through their own silence and inaction.Adults and Children of Alcoholics:Currently, it is estimated that there are 29 million Americans who may be designated as children of alcoholics (COA) or adult children of alcoholics (ACOA).   Nearly 7 million of them are under 18 ye ars of age, and almost 3 million of this group will likely develop alcoholism, other drug problems, and other serious coping problems.About half of all ACOAs will likely marry alcoholics and thus at risk of re-creating the same kind of stressful and unhealthy families in which they themselves grew up.  Ã‚   There is no doubt that all children are affected adversely by family alcohol abuse and suffer negative consequences.The larger proportions of COAs & ACOAs seem to function fairly well and do not develop serious problems during childhood or adulthood.   Many ACOAs & COAs make positive adjustments to their families’ alcoholism and other related-problems (Dunkel, 1994).Many children of alcoholics, however, are at an extremely high risk for developing alcohol and other drug problems, and often live with overwhelming tension, stress and fears.   Some have high levels of anxiety and depression, others do poorly in school and still others experience problems with coping.Amo ng the most frequently observed differences in ACOAs and COAs are deficits in mental functioning; in perception, reasoning, intuition, and the process of gaining knowledge.   While these children tend to achieve lower scores, they nevertheless test within normal ranges for intelligence and knowledge of specific academic subjects.But they often experience school problems, repeat grades, fail to graduate from high school and require referrals to school counselors and psychologists (Wegscheider, 1981).When COAs and ACOAs were first identified as a special population with unique needs and problems, a standard group of symptoms (the COA and ACOA syndrome) was formulated to describe children and adult children of alcoholics.The problems and symptoms were toleration of bizarre behavior displayed by parents as normal and acceptable, inability to trust others, difficulty in expressing inner feelings, experience of depression, and increased risk for mental illness.They tend to have developm ent of guilt feelings for supposedly causing a parent’s alcoholism and have loss of self-esteem and perception of self and family as oddities.   These individuals feel helpless in controlling their selves and life events.Children even have shown a belief in a magical person who will eventually save the child from harm and there is a development of an inward life focus to escape from the turmoil of the home.COAs and ACOAs commonly assume one of the following distinctive coping roles within the family; the family hero or junior mom caretaker, who is quite successful both at home and at school; the scapegoat who is something of an angry rebel and often involved unapproved social behavior.The lost child or angel, who withdraws to the background, never causes trouble, has no opinion, feels unimportant, and isolates himself or herself from others; or the mascot, who manages to defuse explosive and tense situation, often through humor, by focusing attention on himself or herself ( Jorgensen & Jorgensen, 1990).Recent critics of the theory of the COA and ACOA syndrome have contended that many children of nonalcoholic, but strong dysfunctional families such as those marked by sexual or physical abuse and incest, also share some of the characteristics as COAs and ACOAs.   Although the uniqueness of the ACOA and COA syndrome may be abandoned, the pain created within children who grow up in an alcoholic home is still acknowledged as significant and serious.The revision of this syndrome appears to include the following characteristics; A greater likelihood of becoming an alcohol or other drug abuser; a strong disposition toward having psychiatric symptoms as an adult; a moderately significant increase risk for marital problems; more impulsive behavior as a child as well as delayed language development, fine motor coordination and sociability; and a higher incident of cognitive disorders.Although most COAs and ACOAs have few common psychological factors that distin guish them from other children who experienced a disadvantaged childhood, one researcher has found that disproportionate number of children born to alcoholic or drug addicted parents have abnormal brainwave patterns.   Such differences appear to correlate strongly with certain behavioral characteristics, including impulsivity, social deviance, and lower IQ (Dunkel, 1974).The Recovery:Family therapy is a form of psychotherapy based on the proposition that disturbed relationships among various family members may have contributed to or resulted from the destructive drinking of one family member.   This form of treatment emphasizes family interaction factors, in addition to individual problems of the alcohol abuser, and proposes changes in the communication patterns of family members.All family members are treated as a unit, rather than isolating the alcoholic and treating that person apart from their family.   Behavioral therapy is a general form of psychotherapy that is based on the application of human learning theories in a clinical setting.   Behavioral therapists emphasize changing the coping patterns of the alcohol-dependent individuals rather than changing the underlying causes of self-destructive alcohol abuse.Some behavioral therapies focus on assertiveness training and improving communications skills and problem solving methods.   Such treatment emphasizes that drug dependent people can gain control over their own actions, reaffirm the value of sobriety, and eventually overpower alcohol.   This basic belief stands in sharp contrast with the philosophy of Alcoholics Anonymous, which emphasizes personal powerlessness over alcohol (Schuckit, 2006).Alcoholics Anonymous is one of the most successful approaches in recovery from Alcoholism.   Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a fellowship of problem drinkers who want to help in maintaining sobriety.   Voluntary membership involves an emotional commitment that the alcoholic is powerless over the cont rol of alcohol and that only a power greater than the self can restore soundness of mind.The famous â€Å"Twelve Steps† of AA express the philosophy and recovery process of this international association.   Offering hope of recovery from alcoholism is an essential feature of Alcoholics Anonymous.   Such hope is provided by both example and supportive interrelationships with other members of this self help fellowship.   Each person is expected to become involved with the Twelve Steps of AA, an ongoing process referred to as â€Å"working the program†.The Twelve Traditions of AA are the operational principles of the fellowship and express the importance and significance of the group in relationship to its membership, nonmembers, and society in general.   At present, Alcoholics Anonymous has an estimated membership in excess of 1.5 million people in 114 countries around the world.Despite its evident spiritual orientation, AA continues to thrive, based on singlenes s of purpose, group autonomy, self-supporting financial operation, maintenance of non-professional status, noninvolvement in public controversy, and personal anonymity.   Patterned closely after AA are the AlAnon family groups for spouses and friends of recovered and recovering alcoholics and Alateen groups for children of alcoholics (Ammermann, Ott & Tarter, 1999).Summary:Alcohol abuse is everyone’s problem.   Whether nonuser, moderate or social drinker, or alcoholic, everyone is directly or indirectly affected by alcohol abuse.   Whether alcoholism is perceived as a personal threat or not and whether drinking is viewed as good or bad, the most important thing to remember is that ethyl alcohol is a drug with the potential for adverse drug effects even when used in social settings.Social drinking is usually moderate, but the limits of appropriateness are likely to vary from one drinker or drinking group to another.   Consequently, promoting so-called responsible drink ing behavior may be less than adequate as a method of reducing alcohol problems and alcohol abuse.In a similar manner, urging drinkers to â€Å"party sensibly† or â€Å"know your limits† may sound like good advice, but these recommendations have been criticized as lacking in specificity and dealing with glittering generalities that cannot be applied easily.Problem drinking refers to alcohol consumption that will result in damage to the drinker, the drinker’s family, or the drinker’s community.   Problem drinkers include not only alcohol-dependent individuals and long-time alcohol abusers, but also moderate and light drinkers who drive after excessive drinking and cause accidents.Problem drinking is a form of substance abuse as well as a consequence of substance abuse.   Use of alcohol continues despite a persistent social, occupational, psychological or physical problem related to such consumption.   Problem drinking is also a form of substance abus e because alcohol intake recurs when such use is dangerous to oneself or to others or both.Reference:Ammermann, R. T., Ott, P.J., & Tarter, R.E. (1999).   Prevention and societal impact of    drug and alcohol abuse [computer file].   New Jersey: Erlbaum Associates.Dunkel, T. (1994).   Dealing with demons of a new generation.   In Annual Editions:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Drugs, Society and Human Behavior 94/95, p. 128-130. Guilford, Conn.:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Dushkin.Jorgensen, D. & Jorgensen, J. (1990).   Secrets told by children of Alcoholics.   Blue Ridge   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Summit, Pa.: Tab Books.Schuckit, M. A. (2006).   Drug and Alcohol Abuse a Clinical guide to diagnosis and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   treatment.   New York: Springer.Wegscheider, S. (1981).   Another chance: Hope and Health for the alcoholic family.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   California: Science and Behavior Books.

My Philosophy of Education Essay - 720 Words

My Philosophy of Education Out of the four primary philosophical outlooks, I identify best with the existentialism philosophy; because this philosophy best fits my teaching style. I want my classroom to be a place where students discover their abilities, self-worth, and uniqueness as an individual by experiences within the classroom. This is my goal as an educator. Creativity and variety will be the two components I rely on to create my classroom. I intend to use lots of color and light in the classroom to create a comfortable atmosphere where students feel relaxed and are able to focus on learning. In my classroom, I will have plants, photos of me and my students and classical or instrumental music playing softly in the†¦show more content†¦I plan to make these activities daily routines in my classroom. I defiantly will establish a daily routine of activities will go on in my classroom. I believe that routines lead to a structured classroom. Furthermore, I believe structure is a necessity in the classroom. However, I believe it has to be used in moderation like everything else. I also want my children and parents to have a say in classroom rules and for my students to understand why it is important to obey rules. I will have rules posted in a highly visible spot on the wall in the classroom and from time to time remind my students of them. I believe in positive – reinforcement so therefore I will offer a reward for well-behaved students. I believe when you reward good behavior and address misbehavior that your students begin to see the importance of their actions. I will deal with as many problems in the room as I can and will not use the office unless I feel it necessary. I will welcome parent involvement in the classroom. I believe when students see parents volunteering that it sends them of message that they are loved and cared for. I would love to have parents come eat with their child, bring snacks, read stories and so forth; it would excite me. Also, I plan to communicate with parents through weekly newsletters that let them know what is going on in the classroom because I think it is vital for parents to be in tune with what is going on in their child’s classroom. I willShow MoreRelatedMy Philosophy On The Philosophy Of Education844 Words   |  4 PagesIn mathematics, as in life, everything must be brought to the simplest of terms. I base my teaching philosophy on the foundation that every student is capable of learning mathematics. I will strive, as a teacher, to ensure that my students are able to have a strong foundation of mathematical skills when they leave my classroom. Some students believe that they are not mathematically gifted; therefore, incapable of learning mathematics. 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