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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Tomato Scare & Food Safety Concerns Driving More & More Consumers to Buying Local & Organic
  • Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:14:44 -0600


Tomato Scare & Food Safety Concerns Driving More & More Consumers to Buying
Local & Organic
Newsweek, June 13, 2008
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_12942.cfm

Web Note: Despite the claims of industrial agriculture proponents (see
below), the facts speak for themselves. Organic foods, especially those
locally produced, are qualitatively safer and more nutritious than
conventional foods from chemical farms. The Centers for disease control admit
that there are 78 million cases of food poisoning every year in the U.S.,
with almost none of these cases coming from organic foods.
-Ronnie Cummins

You can't blame shoppers for being confused about which kinds of tomatoes are
safe and where to get them. Nor could you blame them for wondering why health
officials have had such a hard time containing the spread of
salmonella-tainted tomatoes. The Food and Drug Administration reported on
Thursday that the number of people sickened by the tainted tomatoes had risen
to 228 in 28 states, and agency officials told a House subcommittee that
scientists still hadn't pinpointed the source of the contamination.

What the FDA has been able to say is that not all tomatoes are suspect.
Cherry or grape tomatoes are fine, as are homegrown tomatoes and tomatoes
sold with a bit of vine attached. But that information doesn't do much to
instill confidence in the nation's food supply in consumers, especially with
this latest outbreak coming on the heels of last year's nationwide recall of
spinach and peanut butter due to contamination. (You can find the FDA's
summary of states affected by the outbreak here.)

Critics of big industrial farms say that the latest foodborne outbreak has
given a boost to the local food movement, which promotes buying produce from
nearby farmers (advocates are sometimes called locavores). And it's not hard
to see why consumers might make the leap from thinking that if the FDA says
homegrown tomatoes are OK, then tomatoes bought directly from small farmers
might be the next best thing. "With each incident, it's pushing people more
and more to buy locally and from family farms," says Craig Minowa,
environmental scientist with the Organic Consumer Association, a group that
avidly supports local, family farms. "So much so, in fact, that farmers'
markets across the United States are recording record sales this year."

And it's true that the number of people buying from farmer's markets, food
co-ops and small vendors is growing. The bulk of all produce consumed by
Americans still comes from large growers and distributors, but the USDA
reports that farmers' market and direct-to-consumer farm sales rose by almost
19 percent between 2004 and 2006. And this recent outbreak may be
contributing to the trend. Karine Newborn, of Brooklyn, N.Y., says the tomato
scare has definitely changed her shopping choices. "I only buy vegetables at
the supermarket if I have to now. I'd rather wait 'til Saturday and go to the
farmers' market, if can..."





  • [Livingontheland] Tomato Scare & Food Safety Concerns Driving More & More Consumers to Buying Local & Organic, Tradingpost, 06/16/2008

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