Today on Straight, No Chaser Katy Keiffer is on the phone with Dr. Richard Raymond. In 2005 after a long career in family medicine, Dr. Raymond was appointed Under Secretary for Food Safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For the next 3 years, Dr. Raymond was responsible for overseeing the policies and programs of the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). In semi-retirement now, he writes several blogs on food safety, has consulted with law firms on foodborne illness cases, is a consultant with the Nebraska Medical Association helping build public health advocacy, is a frequent lecturer on food safety and public health, and is a food safety and public health consultant for Elanco, the Animal Health branch of Eli Lilly. Tune into this episode to hear Katy and Dr. Raymond discuss low-dose and sub-therapeutic antibiotic usage in the meat and poultry industry and the prevalence antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Learn more about bacteria contamination in produce, and why poor meat-handling practices may be to blame. Katy and Dr. Raymond also talk about the inspection procedures of poultry plants and how it has affected salmonella levels in our food. This program has been brought to you by S. Wallace Edwards & Sons.

"Consumers have some responsibility. They need to understand that raw meat should not be considered sterile... The meat industry does not often come out and say, 'Raw meat should not be considered sterile- you need to do a better job of handling it.' They don't like to say that about their product." [18:50]

-- Dr. Richard Raymond on Straight, No Chaser

Katy Keiffer is talking antibiotic resistance as seen in ground turkey on this week's What Doesn't Kill You with Dr. Urvashi Rangan. Urvashi Rangan, Ph.D. leads and directs the Consumer Safety and Sustainability Group for Consumer Reports. She is responsible for managing risk analysis, policy assessments, label evaluations and consumer advice for tests, reports, and related advocacy work. Dr. Rangan serves as a primary, national spokesperson for Consumer Reports in the areas of sustainable production/consumption practices, food safety, and product safety issues related to chemical and contaminant hazards. Learn about the differences between bacteria strains found in conventional and organic, antibiotic-free ground turkey, and what it says about antibiotic resistance. Hear Dr. Rangan talk about animal welfare standards in conventional livestock agriculture, and how sub-therapeutic antibiotic usage is only the first step for better food and health. Hear what proposed legislation could curb antibiotics in the food chain. This program has been sponsored by Cain Vineyard & Winery. Thanks to Dead Stars for today's music.

"We're not stopping at antibiotics; we need systemic changes to conventional agriculture if we want to see any long term changes." [21:00]

"We hope that we can treat sick animals for a long time, and sick humans, too." [26:15]

-- Dr. Urvashi Rangan on What Doesn't Kill You

This week on The Naturalist Bernie and Carol take us into the world of insects, arthropods, bugs, bats and more. Then keep tuned for an engaging discussion about the bacterial ecosystems that live inside us that help keep us healthy and our bodies functioning properly. This episode is sponsored by Cain Vineyard and Winery.