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# Publisher’s Platform
- URL: https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2010/09/publishers-platform-13/
- Published: 2010-09-12T01:59:01.000Z
- Updated: 2010-09-12T01:59:01.000Z
- Author: Bill Marler
- Tags: World, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2025-11-25 09:53

“Good Day” from a day ahead of any point in the United States from the Tongariro Lodge on the North Island of New Zealand. As I write this, I am sitting under a stuffed 8½ pound rainbow trout caught in 1984 by then ex-President Jimmy Carter on the same river my daughter and I fished the last two days – that was after we bungy jumped off a bridge that, well, was far too high above another river.

There is nothing like seeing a fish caught by the first president that I was old enough to vote for (I was 19 in 1976), or perhaps it was jumping off a bridge, to focus your attention on how quickly the years stack up. So, how do I turn Jimmy Carter into something about food safety? Let’s see if I can do this?

I remember when I voted for Jimmy Carter I had hope that we had turned a page on Watergate, or at least the criminality and partisanship that infused politics in that era. It was that feeling of hope, and a borrowed $12, that prompted me in 1977 to run as the first undergraduate to hold office as a city council member in Pullman, WA. I won by 53 votes, which held during a recount. So, how does food safety fit in?

I met Dan Flynn (now editor-in-chief at **Food Safety News**) in 1978 when Dan was assigned by the Lewiston, Idaho Tribune to cover the new, potentially radical, council member.

Dan and I are going on 33 total years together with almost one as him leading the team at **Food Safety News**. So, **Food Safety News** is Jimmy Carter’s fault! But for Carter giving a 19-year-old hope in politics, I never would have run. Had I never won, I never would have met Dan. Had I never won, I likely would never have become a lawyer (that is a whole other story) – and there would not be **Food Safety News**.

**Food Safety News** has now been operational for nearly one year. I am proud of the work performed by all of the writers, but especially Dan, Helena and Suzanne. I am pleased that we have recently added Mary Rothschild and several other freelancers and interns. I am encouraged by our readership.

Over the coming years **Food Safety News** will continue to focus on news and commentary on the safety of our food supply. I encourage all readers to hold **Food Safety News** accountable and to participate by submitting commentary, posting jobs, and alerting us to upcoming conferences.

Well, back to fishing.