"Food safety" practices have caused serious environmental harm and may actually be counterproductive to keeping our food safe. Much harm has occurred following the spinach E. coli outbreak in 2006, though systemic problems were brewing before that incident. This event, held November 20, 2008 at Fort Mason in San Francisco, brought together regional and national speakers to address the important and pressing issue of current food safety practices that threaten the sustainability of our food systems, as well as human health and wildlife. Fresh perspectives and the latest research on critical U.S. food safety challenges were addressed.