We all know that folks in the western world – where food is relatively plentiful – tend to waste a lot of food. But I wonder if the current movement toward consolidating food production on mega and factory farms is also contributing to the food waste problem. Last week produced two object lessons…
It’s not just whole heads of Romaine and Romaine Hearts that are affected by the massive
CDC E. coli recall: Also included are pre-cut Romaine and Bagged Salad Mixes
containing Romaine from the Yuma, AZ, region or of unknown origin.
I didn’t post about this issue here in the FFB, because I felt the mainstream media had done enough to make the public aware of the threat. But I’m posting now because I have a different angle on the matter.
What happened…
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta advised Americans to throw out any Romaine Lettuce they may have in the house that came from Yuma, AZ. It might be tainted with E. coli, and a pretty nasty strain of the bug, at that. E. Coli 0157:H7 is reported to cause not just tummy upsets and the runs, but can effect the kidneys to such an extent that organ failure may occur. The culprit there is Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS), which the CDC says will effect about ten percent of those struck by E. Coli 0157:H7. Most HUS sufferers will recover in a couple of weeks, but some have been known to die.
Not taking any chances…
The CDC says not to take any chances with E. Coli 0157:H7. Not only does it recommend dumping any Romaine you may have fro Arizona, it says you should throw out any Romaine whose origin you can’t confirm, just in case.
And he CDC wants you to scrub our your fridge if you have reason to believe that tainted Romaine has been stored there.
There have been more than 50 reported cases of E. Coli 0157:H7 poisoning since the alert was posted, mostly in Idaho and Pennsylvania.
My take…
If an E. Coli alert from the CDC, focusing on Lettuce from a single growing area can cause a nation-wide scare, I have to wonder if produce production isn’t becoming too centralized, too concentrated. If Lettuce cultivation was spread out over wider geographic regions, maybe only relatively-small amounts of tainted food would be produced. The upshot of it all is, packers, wholesalers, grocers and cooks across the country will tossing what probably amounts to millions of heads of Romaine, plus single leaves, pre-cut Romain in bags and pre-cut Salad Mixes.
Here’s another sad example of food waste rooted in the trend to mega-farming: Remember, just a few days ago, when I told you about the recall of 200 million Eggs for suspected bacterial contamination? All those Eggs were produced on a single farm over a very short period of time. And they all had to be trashed.
I know that food production must be centralized and concentrated to some extent to keep production costs down. But imagine… 100 million people could each have had two Eggs for breakfast, and millions more could have had a fresh, nutritious salad for lunch if the two massive food recalls I’ve noted today had not been necessary. I leave it to farmers to determine what can be done to avoid such egregious waste in the future. I hope they come up with an answer soon.
~ Maggie J.