The Spinach Scare

From the sound of things, the mindset of many consumers right now is a bit oversimplified: “spinach=bad” -- and as a result, they are steering clear of all spinach, regardless of where it is from.

This e-coli outbreak is particularly unfortunate for all of the small, local farmers who are losing business because of mistakes made by big agribusiness companies. We shouldn’t be buying mass-produced, bagged produce anyway. It is a waste of packaging and energy. And ironically, one of the worst things about bagged spinach, lettuce, etc. is that it is washed in chlorine -- some good that did this time!

Of course, as the Organic Consumers Association website reports, some have even tried to blame organic farming practices for this outbreak. Come on! This is absurd.

If anything good can come from this tragic situation, maybe some people will begin to think a bit more carefully about where their vegetables come from.