Marler Clark LLPDenis Stearns, a partner at Marler Clark, earned a BA in philosophy from Seattle University, and his law degree from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He graduated from both schools with high honors, and won numerous awards for service and academic excellence. Prior to being a partner at Marler Clark, Denis worked as one of the lead attorneys on the defense team that represented Jack in the Box against the hundreds of claims and lawsuits arising from the historic 1993 E. coli O157:H7 outbreak. In this role, he obtained extensive knowledge of the meat and foodservice industry, health and safety regulations, HACCP and other food safety systems, epidemiology, and foodborne illness. He is a frequent speaker and writer on issues related to food safety law, administrative regulation, and public health policy.
Last fall, I started teaching at Seattle University School School of Law, doing so in part to give myself more time to do scholarship (research and writing) about food, in all of its fascinating aspects and implications. I knew that I would miss many things about the full-time practice of law. But I also knew that the nearly 20 years...
Of Recycled Buns, Food Safety in China, and the Jabberwocky of Political Debate "I am no longer eating steamed buns, a 65-year-old Shanghai man who gave his last name as Chen, declared in front of a supermarket window emblazoned with the motto "No fake goods in Hualian." "None of them are reliable," he spat. "They really have no...
"Oh, Jake," Brett said, "we could have had such a ... damned good time together." Ahead was a mounted policeman in khaki directing traffic. He raised his baton. The car slowed suddenly pressing Brett against me. "Yes," I said. "Isn't it pretty to think so?" --last lines of "The Sun Also Rises," by Ernest Hemingway Although for those...
What a surprise this morning to power up my laptop, click on my shortcut-link to the MSNBC website, and there on the front page find a photograph of my butcher, Russell Flint, of Rain Shadow Meats. As soon as I saw the photograph, I exclaimed to myself: "Hey, that's my butcher!" And that got me thinking. People all the time,...
Our one year anniversary is quickly approaching here at Food Safety News, and despite the fact that we've only met in person twice during the last year we've held 2 successful virtual picnics--one on Memorial Day and one on the 4th of July. As summer comes to a close, we're hosting another virtual picnic. This Labor Day we're pleased to...
In coming up with topics for my opinion-pieces here at Food Safety News, I have been trying not to be so critical--which is to say, trying not to build a topic around me criticizing someone for their opinions or proposals. For as I observed in my last piece, The Perils of Punditry, there is not much good to be accomplished...
It's Independence Day, and since the Food Safety News team is spread out across the country, we're having another "virtual potluck" for our first 4th of July celebration. Our first virtual potluck was held on Memorial day this year and was a huge success so we're hoping for a nice follow-up today.Michelle is bringing lobster, Dan is bringing ribs, Denis...
Back in the day, when I was studying for my degree in philosophy, during my senior year I was required to take a 400-level seminar on Plato and Aristotle, which, in large part, consisted of reading large amounts of both philosophers' work, and then discussing the work in class. We also had to author a lengthy essay, which advanced an...
The tragedy of the huge and ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is the source of much controversy, multiple competing narratives, and unashamed finger-pointing by nearly all involved. And as with all such tragedies it seems, there were immediate calls for a crackdown, which is to say, stricter enforcement, stricter regulations, and any other changes needed to make...
"She had no way of knowing it, but that plain country woman, whose name I have long forgotten, taught me one of the most important lessons of my life: food could be much more than mere sustenance." --Jacques Pépin[1] I do not recall exactly what prompted me to ponder the resurgence of interest in small-scale poultry-keeping (or, backyard chickens), and...
There is much to be said for tradition, especially as it relates to food. When my mother was alive, her tradition at Christmas was to make twice-baked potatoes, which she prepared the day ahead and set in the garage to await baking at the appointed time. It was not particularly cold in the garage, and I always wondered about the...
For decades, the meat industry has insisted that pathogens like E. coli O157:H7 are inherent to raw meat, that there is no way for the manufacturing process to eliminate the possible presence of pathogens, and that, as a result, consumers bear ultimate responsibility for making meat safe to eat by cooking it sufficiently to kill all pathogens that may be...
E. coli O157:H7 and Mechanically Tenderized Steaks By now, most people have come to understand that a lot of industrially produced, mass-manufactured ground beef sold in the United States can be deadly. One need only look at the recent reminder provided by the tragic story of Stephanie Smith, and the Cargill-manufactured ground beef patty that she had the misfortune to eat.[1] ...
A lawsuit was filed on December 4, 2009, against Cargill seeking at least $100 million to compensate Stephanie Smith for the tragic, life-changing injuries that she suffered as a result of eating a hamburger patty contaminated with deadly E. coli O157:H7 bacteria. The hamburger patty--part of a box of premade, frozen patties sold by Walmart under the American Chef's Selection...
On Tuesday, November 3, 2009, I made a presentation at the Fourth International Conference on Food Safety and Quality. The presentation was one of two keynote speeches given that morning, which kicked off this two-day conference. The topic of this year's conference was Global Food Safety. Marler Clark was one of the sponsors of the conference, and Bill Marler had...
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