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nafex - [NAFEX] Not for the feint of heart

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  • From: "Jim Fruth" <jfruth@uslink.net>
  • To: "NAFEX" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [NAFEX] Not for the feint of heart
  • Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2006 07:56:29 -0600

Bob Melvin mentioned the 'Spinach Scare.' We should all be scared about some of the food we eat.

When I lived in California, besides doing market gardening, I was a salesman who called on farmers. I have seen alot of migrant workers harvesting produce in the fields and I have never, ever, seen a portapotty in any of those fields. The 'rule' among many toilet-paperless societies is you eat with your right hand and wipe with your left.
Now, I am sure that a great many of you didn't want to hear that but it is a fact of life that is not likely to change any time soon. Think about that the next time you are tempted to not wash that strawberry, or that lettuce, or that broccoli.
I take that back about never, ever, seeing a portapotty in the fields. I have seen one exception to the rule: When a big company such as Del Monte, et. al., buys tomatoes for manufacturing ketchup or other tomato products, I have seen portapotties, but not always in the same field the workers are in, or maybe the potties are at the other end of a field that could be up to one-quarter mile away - workers are paid by piece-work so how much time are they going to spend finding the potty? I only observed conditions in California and I would doubt conditions are any different in other countries.
Then there's the downside to consider: Most (all?) of us have E. coli in our gut. How did it get there?

Jim Fruth
Brambleberry Farm
Pequot Lakes, MN 56472
www.bberryfarm.com
(218)568-8483 [Store]
(218)831-7018 [My Cell]




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