Published on: Wednesday, July 01, 2009

New July 4 threat: food poisoning

What ever happened to the good old days when the worst things we had to fear on the 4th of July were traffic jams and wayward fireworks?

According to the USDA’s Meat & Poultry Hotline, this year’s top threat is food poisoning by nasty E. coli and Salmonella bugs lurking in hamburgers and hot dogs at millions of backyard barbecues. 

The hotline’s advice is to grill them longer and hotter. Of course, they don’t bother to mention that the high-temperature grilling that kills the bugs also forms lots of cancer-causing compounds.

Luckily, a bunch of enterprising food manufacturers and processors have met this challenge head-on by developing a great variety of healthful, delicious and  convenient veggie burgers and soy dogs. These new foods don’t harbor nasty pathogens or cancer-causing compounds. They don’t even carry cholesterol, saturated fats, drugs or pesticides.

This 4th of July offers a great opportunity to declare our independence from the meat industry and to share wholesome veggie burgers and soy dogs with our family and friends.

Alex Hershaft

Bethesda

Constellation and EDF Investment critical for Maryland’s future

Policymakers deserve credit for striving in recent years to make Maryland an attractive place for businesses to locate and thrive. This is evidenced by the state’s recent courtship of biotechnology and technology firms, who were enticed to locate in Maryland with hopes they’d produce the next big thing.

State officials should show the same leadership now that the world's largest nuclear company has pledged to move its U.S. headquarters to Maryland and partner with Constellation Energy to build a new nuclear plant at Calvert Cliffs. EDF has said its proposed $4.5 billion purchase of Constellation Energy’s nuclear subsidiary is a critical part of this effort.

The potential for job creation with this transaction is enormous— not just for Constellation Energy and EDF, but for all of the other businesses that could benefit from the massive investment in energy infrastructure their joint venture represents.

At a time when clean energy is such a critical national priority, the significance of having a Maryland company leading our nation’s nuclear renaissance can’t be overstated.

Maryland can’t afford to take that chance at a time when the state’s economy is struggling. We need the jobs that come with EDF’s investment. We need more affordable, emissions-free power. And most of all, we need to demonstrate that Maryland is a stable place for business—any business—to invest in all of the above.

Terry F. Neimeyer, PE

Chairman and CEO

KCI Technologies Inc.