Chicken Safety

A new study by Consumer Reports has found that two out of three whole broiler chickens are contaminated with illness-inducing bacteria, while certain types of organic chicken posed the lowest. The research suggests that current and safety and hygiene practices amoung poultry producers and handlers are inadequate and that consumers need to be watchful at both the grocery store and at home to cook chicken well and prevent cross-contamination of counter tops, hands and other foods.

These companies need to make sure they take care to protect the consumers and handle these chickens with care and prevent diseases. It is is a moral obligation for these companies to make sure they do whatever necessary to prevent diseases.

Sterilization issues

FDA warns that doctors and hospitals should stop using a device from the Steris Corporation to sterilize surgical tools after reports of malfunctions. Users have reported problems that could result in patients becoming infected from unsterile instruments.

If doctors continue to use these instruments after this warning, that would be very unethical. This is a issue of unsterile instruments because this cause infections and lead to even more serious issues.

Congress ethical concerns

There has been major ethical issues in Congress lately. Representative F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., a Wisconsin representative, toured a prince’s vineyard and spent an afternoon at a ski resort in the Alps. This is just one of the many examples of Congress members abusing their power. Despite changes intended to curb Congressional junkets, some lawmakers and even their families continue to take trips hosted by private groups that revel in their access to Washington power brokers. Congress members continue to use loopholes to get around using money for their personal expenses.

This is a major ethical issue. People are abusing their power. If we cannot trust our leaders to use money in the proper way, how can we expect them to lead our country in an honorable way?

Child welfare

Colorado’s child welfare system is not in compliance with federal regulations on child safety and well-being. The review found that Colorado did not meet standards for abuse in home care and placement stability. The state has recommended establishing a centralized call system for reporting suspected abuse and neglect, the creation of a child advocate office and stricter timeframes for providing services to families that move to different jurisdictions.

This is an ethical issue because children’s welfare was not in compliance with regulations and children especially need laws for their protection.

DWT (Driving While Talking)

Cellphones have been promoted the most to drivers. These seems like it should almost be illegal because researchers at Harvard estimate that driver using cell phones cause an estimated 2600 crashes a year and 570,00 accidents a year. Critics of the industry argue that the recent education efforts provide a weak counterbalance to its encouragement of cellphone use by drivers. Critics say the industry should do more, like overt warnings on packages and screens.

I agree that safety should be promoted over the use of cell phones while driving. This is not ethical to tell drivers to use their cell phones while driving because this is a distraction which can cause accidents, death, and injury.

Internet piracy

The government of Spain has proposed new measures to curb the digital piracy of music and movies. The proposal calls for the use of government sponsored commission to investigate and shut down websites accused of being a conduit of piracy. This week,music industry groups presented a petition signed by more than 2,500 musicians calling for stronger action against illegal copying, which is not an offense in Spain.

I feel that it is not ethical to copy people’s music without giving proper compensation for their work so I agree with this law. I feel that this should be passed and enforced.

Philanthropy at its finest

Three months ago, Kushal Chakrabarti co-founded vittana.com. This website soared when The Huffington Post named this website “The Ultimate Game Changer in Philanthropy”. They are a student loan organization that cater to microfinance institutions in third world countries. So far they have made loans totaling $37,000 to 33 students. There are major banks that give loans in these countries but they are typically so expensive that they are out of the reach of most families.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/06/us/06vittana.html?hpw

The work that vittana.com is doing is very commendable and a good thing for the people in these countries. It is honorable to help someone get an education so that they can better themselves and make a better life for themselves and family in the future.

Is your meat tainted?

A Minnesota woman became severely ill from E. Coli after eating a tainted hamburger. Her infection led to hemolytic uremic syndrome, that causes kidney failure. She was in a medically induced coma for three months. She filed a lawsuit against Cargill Meat Solutions Corp. Her medical bills already total over $2 million.

Food safety is a major issue. The fact that Cargill Meat Solutions Corp did not go through the proper procedures of making sure their meat was safe and sold it is a major ethical issue. That hamburger meat nearly killed this woman and I feel she deserves all the money she gets.

Nonprofit or Money Maker?

Zeus Energy Movement is a charity established by four engineers to develop alternative energy sources. They established themselves as a charity because they were unable to get federal grant money. They are spending their own money and resources to do research but their hope is to eventually get attention from major companies that would buy the patents.

Is it ethical that the companyis registered as a non-profit organization and that they are tax-exempt? Alternative energy sources are good for the community but I am unsure if Zeus Energy Movement is in business to become profitable or actually help the community.

Cancer from the kitchen

Dr. Philip Landrigan of Mount Sinai, believes that the increase in cancer diagnosis could be a result of what people and what they are exposed to. It is a well-known fact that the longer a woman has a mentrual cycle, the more at risk for breast cancer she is. A number of studies have linked early puberty to pesticides, P.C.B’s and other chemicals. More evidence points to endocrine disruptors which can be found in certain plastics and cosmetics. Representative Louise Slaughter, introduced legislation to monitor these endocrine disruptors.

I think that having toxins in food and cosmetics is a huge ethical issue. This effects people’s health and the legislation should be passed that monitors this. The fact that people in the U.S. are diagnosed with cancer and other diseases at a much greater rate than other countries such as Japan is a big issue.