Recent Green Onions E. Coli Outbreak

Some interesting parts in this recent Green Onions Identified as Source of E. Coli Cases NYTimes article:

“I think we are really at a tipping point for consumer confidence with fresh fruits and vegetables,” said Caroline Smith DeWaal, the group’s director of food safety. She noted that the F.D.A.’s guidelines for safe farming practices were voluntary and that the number of inspectors had been pared by budget cuts.

The F.D.A. regulates the produce and seafood industries, while the Department of Agriculture oversees poultry and meat production.

“We are doing a number of things to address food-borne outbreaks and recognize that the system is not perfect,” said an F.D.A. spokeswoman, Julie Zawisza. “But fresh produce does carry risks, and we are committed to finding effective ways to prevent and reduce incidents and have made good progress using available resources in a more targeted and strategic way.”

I only worry when I read things like this that people and/or politicians will shy away from a local and distributed food system of thousands of small farmers because someone, for instance mega-distributors/producers, might argue that a consolidated food system is easier to regulate and inspect. They may even be right. However, I tend to think the need for regulation is the sign of a design flaw. A sign that we need more thoughtful sustainable agriculture and food system designs and ideas. After all ag and food system consolidation has been going on over the last decades and this article suggests food safety incidents are on the rise (although they don't really cite any sources). I wholeheartedly believe we will be better off with a more thriving and diverse local and distributed food system. No one inspects me but my safe farming practices are not voluntary. And they are more than common sense and good business as well. They are part of making the most wholesome and nutritious product which will be consumed by myself and people I know, whether it by family, friends, or the many market patrons I've come to know fairly well. Know your farmer. QED

The number of people who have fallen ill in recent weeks is minuscule given the number of people who eat at Taco Bell, which the company estimates at 5,000 to 7,000 a week at a given store.

And in a way this is a good point. I don't want to be running a terror campaign here at all. Our food system in this country is amazingly safe in the broader (and in my opinion, short-term) sense of the world. On the other hand, I worry about a food system (not to mention national organic standards etc.) that only worries about the lowest common-denominator - where we just want to make sure that our food doesn't make us desparately ill within a few weeks of eating it, nevermind what its doing to us long-term, whether it's healthy. I strive for a more vibrant and delicious food system that is exciting and authentic, that varies region to region. This will probably be more uncontrolled in a way and certainly more organic in the true sense of the word. But I think the harvest will be quite bountiful and healthy so I encourage you all to join me at the table.