E-coli : Don't blame the spinach, industrial agriculture to blame.

[Guest guest]

THE latest outbreak of food-borne illness, traced to a virulent bacterium in bagged spinach, is being called a watershed moment for American industrial agriculture, a time of reckoning for industry and government and the public. Critics say the factory farming system needs an overhaul, with produce farmers and processors being subject to the same sorts of mandatory rules as the meat industry to protect against E. coli O157:H7 and other harmful bacteria. More outbreaks of disease are now traced to produce than to meat, poultry, fish, eggs and milk combined. The dangers can be compounded once produce is taken home. The casual way many consumers treat bagged, cut up fruits and vegetables — not washing them, leaving them unrefrigerated — increases the likelihood that even a low level of harmful bacteria can multiply and cause illness. Some scientists say the sealed bags add

protection; others believe the sealed bags, if mishandled, actually help bacteria to proliferate. The source of the E. coli O157:H7 blamed in the current outbreak is unknown. It may be irrigation water reclaimed from sewage treatment. It may be unsanitary conditions on the farm. But there is increasing suspicion that the cause may be water runoff from the many cattle farms near the fields in the Salinas Valley of California, where produce tainted with the E. coli has caused eight outbreaks of illness since 1995. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/27/dining/27well.html?ex=1160712000 & en=1a84b9d8a97de1bd & ei=5070 "Our ideal is not the spirituality that withdraws from

life but the conquest of life by the power of the spirit." - Aurobindo.

Everyone is raving about the all-new Mail.

[Guest guest]

Dear Jagannath, My farmer grandmother, always washed chicken is very

salted water before proceeding to cook, she also washed green sand

collards from the field in a salt water bath to kill off little bugs. I

have taken to following her lead , especially in light of these scares. I

personally think all manures need to *cook * in high heat compost piles

before using for fertilizer. Most of the older conventional organic books

think this step is necessary. Nora G

 

 

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" Jagannath Chatterjee " <jagchat01

 

Wednesday, October 11, 2006 3:22 AM

E-coli : Don't blame the spinach,

industrial agriculture to blame.

 

 

THE latest outbreak of food-borne illness, traced to a virulent bacterium in

bagged spinach, is being called a watershed moment for American industrial

agriculture, a time of reckoning for industry and government and the public.

 

Critics say the factory farming system needs an overhaul, with produce

farmers and processors being subject to the same sorts of mandatory rules as

the meat industry to protect against E. coli O157:H7 and other harmful

bacteria. More outbreaks of disease are now traced to produce than to meat,

poultry, fish, eggs and milk combined.

 

The dangers can be compounded once produce is taken home. The casual way

many consumers treat bagged, cut up fruits and vegetables - not washing

them, leaving them unrefrigerated - increases the likelihood that even a low

level of harmful bacteria can multiply and cause illness.

 

Some scientists say the sealed bags add protection; others believe the

sealed bags, if mishandled, actually help bacteria to proliferate.

 

The source of the E. coli O157:H7 blamed in the current outbreak is

unknown. It may be irrigation water reclaimed from sewage treatment. It may

be unsanitary conditions on the farm. But there is increasing suspicion that

the cause may be water runoff from the many cattle farms near the fields in

the Salinas Valley of California, where produce tainted with the E. coli has

caused eight outbreaks of illness since 1995.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/27/dining/27well.html?ex=1160712000 & en=1a84b9d8a9\

7de1bd & ei=5070

[Guest guest]

Just a question.........why is there never a problem with mushrooms? They are grown in manure. I know because I lived in Delaware just near the Pa border and several farms.

Judy

 

-

Jagannath Chatterjee

; healthg ; Agriculture ; alternative_medicine_forum ; health_and_healing ; medicalconspiracies (AT) googl (DOT) com ; medicalconspiracies ; avian2005 ; lds-natural-health ; healthgroup

Wednesday, October 11, 2006 3:22 AM

E-coli : Don't blame the spinach, industrial agriculture to blame.

 

 

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