Farm to Fatal: Food for Thought
Is our food safe? Would you know if it is? Follow UCLA undergrads as they explore a dozen foodborne outbreaks and their consequences.
In Farm to Fatal, twelve different outbreaks illuminate the biology of foodborne illness, the complexity of modern food safety regulation, and the details of how we make food safe... or fail to. In Winter 2025, UCLA undergrads in the Human Biology and Society major set out to explore the intricacies of food safety in the US. Each group explored an outbreak over the last 30 years, diving into the details of the bacteriology, the illness and the treatments on the one hand, and the insanely complex system of governance, audit, oversight, lawsuits and regulations. Dive into every corner of the food safety world, from e. Coli to Hepatitis A, from South Africa to Arizona, from the challenge of regulating raw milk to the difficulties of cleaning tanker trucks, from the "sewer state" to problem of "organized non-knowledge". Across the episodes students find a new respect for the challenge of governing food, the problems with the existing system, and also the need to defend it.
Farm to Fatal: Food for Thought
Unpecked Regulations: the 2013 Foster Farms Salmonella Outbreak
What happens when a trusted food company prioritizes profits over public safety? In this episode, we uncover the devastating impact of the 2013 Foster Farms Salmonella outbreak. Through firsthand accounts, expert analysis, and a deep dive into the failures of the food industry, we reveal how one outbreak exposed major cracks in our food system.
In 2013, a Salmonella outbreak linked to Foster Farms poultry sickened 634 people across 29 states. But this wasn ’t just an isolated incident—it was the result of systemic failures at every level of food production, regulation, and distribution. In this gripping episode, we explore the real-life consequences of this outbreak, centering on the harrowing story of Amanda Craten and her young son Noah, who suffered life-altering complications from consuming tainted chicken. Through in depth interviews with Amanda and UCLA professor Dr. Hannah Landecker, we unravel the dangers of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, the flaws in U.S. food safety regulations, and the role of major food corporations in putting public health at risk. From unsanitary processing plants to government inaction and consumer responsibility, we leave no stone unturned in understanding how this outbreak happened—and why food-borne illness remains a major public health threat today. Join us as we expose the truth behind the Foster Farms outbreak and explore what needs to change to make our food system safer.
Produced by Madhavi Akella and Nicholas Graessle
img source: Amanda Craten and azcentral.com
These podcast episodes were created by members of the 2025 Winter Capstone course in the Human Biology and Society major at UCLA's Institute for Society and Genetics (https://socgen.ucla.edu/). The faculty sponsor is Christopher Kelty. For questions or concerns email ckelty@ucla.edu.