The World today is very different than that which existed when my ancestors John Eustice and his wife Ann Jewison- newly arrived and undocumented immigrants from Ireland and England- settled a few miles from here at Janesville on the shores of Lake Elysian exactly 140 years ago.

We live very differently today. Lets look at  some of the factors that make our lives in 2008 healthier, more convenient, and more connected with the world around us than it was in 1868 when John and Annie were settling in….

I believe three things have had the most dramatic effects on our lives;

1.      Communication

2.      Globalization

3.      Science & Technology

Communication:

In 1868 communication was difficult. Mail service was sporadic at best. Letters took weeks to arrive, if at all. In 1903, John Eustis sent a letter from Janesville to his cousin in Schuylerville, New York asking how his Aunt Bridget was. He was quite surprised to learn she had died 50 years earlier. Not much communication to say the least.

The railroad arrived in Janesville in 1869. It would be another 40 years before automobiles were available; and then only to the wealthy. Telephones were invented during the 1870s but did not become common in rural areas until the 1930s and 40s.

In 2008, we can connect within seconds with anyone anywhere in the World by telephone and the internet.  Nearly everyone has a computer and a search on Google can provide information (correct or incorrect) on any topic.

By using satellite images available on an internet search engine called Google Earth, anyone, anywhere can take a relatively detailed peek at your farm, ranch or place of business. Communication has brought many improvements to our lives but along with it comes the very real possibility that what goes on at our place of business could be the lead story on the Ten O’clock news. If you don’t believe that, just ask the folks at the Hallmark meat packing plant in Chino, California. The USDA shut them down within hours after video images showing animal abuse taken by an animal rights activist appeared on national television. 

We live in a fast-paced, highly globalized world.

Globalization:

Science & Technology:

In 1870, the average Caucasian in the US could expect to live about 40 years. The leading cause of death in the US was “consumption” which was the word used at the time for Tuberculosis, a disease often caused by drinking milk from or contact with TB infected cows. Today life expectancy has nearly doubled to about 76 years for men and over 80 years for women. Technologies such as pasteurization of milk, immunization against disease and chlorination of our water supply have made the difference.

Each of these technologies faced strong opposition when first introduced;

·         Pasteurization opponents said it wouldn't prevent disease, the taste was unpalatable, and it was an excuse for farmers to run a dirty operation. None of these doomsday predictions turned out to be true. Today, most people would not consider drinking un-pasteurized (raw) milk because of the known risks.

Louis Pasteur discovered the process of “pasteurization” during the 1860s and died in 1895. It was not until 1949 that the state of Minnesota required that all milk be pasteurized.

·         When vaccination was introduced into UK public policy, and adoption followed overseas, there was opposition from both Protestant and Catholic churches. For example, Timothy Dwight, a Congregationalist minister and Yale university president, held that vaccination thwarted God's will, saying: “If God had decreed from all eternity that a certain person should die of smallpox, it would be a frightful sin to avoid and annul that decree by the trick of vaccination”.  

Several Boston clergymen and devout physicians formed the Anti-vaccination Society in 1798, only two years after Dr. Edward Jenner's publication of smallpox vaccination. Others complained that the practice was dangerous, going so far as to demand that doctors who carried out these procedures be tried for attempted murder.

·         Chlorination opponents continue to claim that the process produces carcinogenic compounds and must be stopped. The fact is that nobody has ever died from chlorinated water while dirty water infested with bacteria is killing millions of children.

Among a multitude of other tasks as executive director of the Minnesota Beef Council, I have worked hard during the past decade to educate beef producers, consumers and food company officials about the benefits of food irradiation. To the scientific community and health experts the idea of food irradiation is a “no brainer.” Plain and simple - irradiation can do for ground beef what pasteurization did for milk. Irradiation is the most extensively studied food processing technology in the history of humankind. There is no “down side.” The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says thousands of cases of serious food borne illness would be prevented and dozens of lives saved each year if food irradiation was a routine practice in ground beef and poultry processing plants.

In 2007, more than 33 million pounds of E. coli contaminated ground beef were recalled. It was the second worst year in history for ground beef recalls. Ground beef containing deadly pathogens went to kitchens, hospitals and restaurants all over this country. Most of the recalled ground beef was consumed by the consumer weeks before the USDA announced voluntary product recalls. Shocking!

Today approximately 15 million pounds of ground beef are irradiated annually, about the same amount that was irradiated in 2002. What’s holding us back? Why are we allowing children to suffer and die when food borne illness is easily preventable?

The arguments raised against irradiation are almost exactly the same as those voiced by critics of pasteurization many decades ago.   Critics say it compromises quality and is an excuse for processors to run a dirty operation.   They said the same thing about milk pasteurization- Irradiated ground beef is just as nutritious and delicious as non-irradiated ground beef. Schwan’s, Omaha Steaks and others have irradiated all their ground beef for nearly a decade.

If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere.