18 | August | 2013 | Be a Seed for Change

See this video from King 5 News on how we could make eating out safer in King County.

By Sarah Schacht

Seattle, Washington

King County Board of Health: Create clear restaurant inspection ratings & improve access to ratings.

Each year, 1 in 5 Americans gets food poisoning. This completely preventable illness results from poor food handling. Restaurants are a major source of food poisoning, yet King County’s antiquated restaurant inspection ratings website makes it difficult for county residents to easily search and understand if a restaurant has had good or bad inspection ratings. Essentially, these ratings show the progress of a restaurant to maintain high levels of cleanliness and well trained (for food safety) staff.

King County could reduce reported food poisoning hospitalization rates by at least 14% (which is a lot, since most food poisoning cases go unreported or don’t make it to the hospital) by creating a “A, B, C…” ratings system, with “A” being highest, and “F” being grounds for closure. These ratings should be posted publicly near the entrance of all restaurants, bars, cafes, and eateries. In addition, these ratings should be made available through open data, allowing websites like Yelp to post restaurant inspection ratings in their websites and apps. So, when you quickly look for a restaurant in your area, you can see how safe it is along with their menu and customer reviews.

Currently, King County Public Health (the agency that manages restaurant inspection ratings) has a website that hasn’t been upgraded since the early 2000’s, and a convoluted inspection ratings system that confuses consumers. None of these ratings are posted at restaurants. As a result, restaurants that don’t adhere to safety standards keep serving food to unknowing customers, and restaurants who are safe and clean don’t get rewarded for their work with an “A” rating. Consumers should be able to use transparent, readily available restaurant ratings to drive their purchases, rewarding safer restaurants with more business.

King County Public Health has refused to improve their current website or ratings system, creating small patches that don’t meet citizen’s needs. In the meantime, more people unknowingly eat at unsafe restaurants and fall ill.

We can prevent food poisoning in King County and set a higher standard for food safety. Sign the petition and tell King County Board of Health to make King County Public Health update its ratings systems and create more transparency in ratings.

(Photo above by woodleywonderworks on Flickr.)

Port of Vancouver : Don’t open the floodgates to dirty oil ~~ Reject Tesoro‘s proposed oil export facility

www.change.org

Vancouver, Washington is my home. I live here with my nine-year-old daughter, and I am so proud of my city for being a leader in supporting safe, healthy communities. But, right now, oil giant Tesoro is proposing a new project that would transform the Port of Vancouver into one of the West Coast’s largest oil ports — and would drastically increase the carbon pollution fueling droughts, wildfires, and severe storms all over the world.

Tesoro’s proposal would potentially ship up to 360,000 barrels of crude oil every day along the Columbia River and would release more than 56 million metric tons of carbon pollution each year, as much as almost 12 million cars worth of greenhouse gas pollution.

I want the best for my daughter. I want her to live in a community that is safe, healthy, and forward-thinking. If the Port of Vancouver Commissioners approve this application from Tesoro, my family and friends will be at a greater risk for asthma and other health problems. We’ll be at a greater risk, too, of devastating oil spills and environmental contamination.

The dangers from this oil export facility are too great. Earlier this month, an oil train derailed and exploded in the Quebec town of Lac-Megantic, killing several people and forcing thousands to evacuate their homes due to the fire and explosions. The proposed Tesoro oil export facility would carry the exact same kind of oil that tragically burned the Quebec town. The terminal would put more than 1,400 trains every year — four full trains every day — on route through Vancouver neighborhoods.

And even if we are lucky enough to avoid a tragedy like the horrific explosion in Quebec, this project is still a disaster for our community. It would increase the production of — and pollution from — dirty fossil fuels across the country. Right now, Vancouver is a leading shipper of wind turbine components. If this proposal is approved, instead of being a leader, exporting renewable energy solutions, Vancouver would become a leading pusher of the fossil fuels that are driving global climate change.

We can make a difference. Three years ago, the Port of Vancouver Commission rejected a proposal for a coal port after the community spoke out. With enough public outcry, we can make sure they make the right decision again.

At a time when we desperately need solutions that protect our climate and communities, this proposal is a major step backward. Please, send a message to the Vancouver Port Commissioners and tell them to reject Tesoro’s dangerous proposal.

O Canada !