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.
Episodes
13 episodes
Introduction: Farm to Fatal. Food for Thought
A short introduction to the podcast series, by Christopher Kelty of the Institute for Society and Genetics at UCLA. Music in this intro by Ween.
Salsification! The 2003 Hepatitis A Outbreak
A beloved family-friendly restaurant turns out to be not-so-friendly after all — it was supposed to be a dinner, not a funeral. 4 Deaths. over 650 incidents of illness. Official cause still unknown. In the fall of 2003, the ...
E.Coli: The Mystery Romaines
Remember when you had really nasty food poisoning at the same time grocery stores were issuing recalls and restaurants were taking items off their menus? Ever wonder why outbreaks of Salmonella. E. coli. or Listeria make headlines at least once...
Ready-To-Eat: Justice beyond the numbers in the 2017 Listeria outbreak
The 2017-2018 listeriosis outbreak in South Africa was the largest and deadliest listeria outbreak on record with over 1,000 reported cases of listeriosis and over 200 deaths. The Department of Health traced the source of the outbreak to...
The Sleepover Symposium: the 2013 STEC outbreak
In this sleepover-style podcast, two girls explore the 2011 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli outbreak in Germany and France. They dive into the mystery of the contamination’s source. Was it Egyptian seeds, German sprouting, or irrigation water?...
The Nut Job: the 2008-9 Salmonella outbreak
In this podcast, we explore the 2008-2009 salmonella outbreak, which killed nine people and sickened over 700. We explore corporate negligence, weak government oversight, and scientific limitations that contributed to the tragedy, ultimately le...
Spilling the Milk: The 2014 Raw Milk Campylobacter Outbreak
A hidden danger in a simple glass—what really happened in the 2014 Utah raw milk Campylobacter outbreak? Beneath the surface lies a deeper battle over food safety, government control, and mistrust. Why do some risk it for raw milk? And what doe...
Hitchin' a Ride: the 1994 Schwan's Salmonella Outbreak
Life is seemingly perfect in the quiet town of Marshall Minnesota, with its gentle rolling hills and kind, hard-working people. Unassuming. Certainly not the place for national news ... Yet it serves as the setting for one of the bi...
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 ...
Failed State, Contaminated Plate: the 2024 Listeria Outbreak
How did a beloved deli meat brand become the center of a deadly nationwide food safety crisis? The 2024 Boar’s Head listeria outbreak exposed alarming flaws in the U.S. food safety system. In this episode, we uncover how a ta...
Cargill's Responsibility: the 2011 Salmonella Heidelberg outbreak
In 2011, across 26 states, 136 people were sickened, 37 were hospitalized and one person died. The culprit: Salmonella Heidelberg, contracted through the consumption of contaminated ground turkey from Cargill Meat Solutions based in Springdale,...
The Hidden Cost of Convenience: The 2013 Trader Joe’s Salad Outbreak
How could a quick trip after work to Trader Joe’s turn into a public health crisis? In this episode we investigate the 2013 E. coli outbreak linked to Glass Onion Catering’s prepackaged salads. How did the intersection of contaminated wat...
Sundae Scaries: The 2015 Listeria outbreak in Ice Cream
Imagine this: you order a milkshake during your stay in the hospital to help make light of the situation at hand, just to find out that the ice cream used in the milkshake actually made you sick: Listeria. A place to heal has now placed you ...