Growers and Grocers

All over the USA, consumers now know that E.coli bacteria can be found in foods other than ground meat – even in vegetables. A major outbreak of E.coli has been traced to pre-packaged spinach. Although initial analysis has linked the illness to “Natural Selection Foods” spinach, marketed by Earthbound Farms, as of Friday, FDA officials were careful to point out that they haven’t identified the source or the extent of the contamination. “In the case of Natural Selection Foods, enough people had eaten the company’s product to make FDA officials believe that the E. coli came from the company’s products,” reported Lisa Fernandez and Mary Anne Ostrom in Friday’s San Jose Mercury News. “However, FDA officials do not know if it is the only company involved, nor whether the company is the original source of the contamination.”

So your next salad probably won’t include bagged spinach, and if you read a recent article from the Guardian, you might hold the olive oil too. In “Is it OK…to use Olive Oil”, Leo Hickman reports on the environmental side effects of European olive oil production. He cites a joint WWF and Birdlife International report which states: “Intensified olive farming is a major cause of one of the biggest environmental problems affecting the EU today: the widespread soil erosion and desertification in Spain, Greece, Italy and Portugal.” Hickman suggests buying organic oil or oil from small local cooperatives.

Speaking of buying organic, Kylene Kiang of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on the use of the “organic label” for marketing purposes. Organic produce sold in supermarkets is generally fine, but buyer beware when it comes to “organic” food such as chips, burritos and frozen lasagne. The in-depth article analyzes organic labeling standards, the increased corporate presence in organic food sales, and the big supermarket chains’ rush to hop on the organic bandwagon. Kiang avoids easy conclusions and gives a balanced picture of the merging of the organic movement with corporate marketing. A must-read.

Food issues are always in the news in France, and, according to the Agence France Presse, a recent CSA-Greenpeace poll shows that 86% of French citizens favor a ban on all GMOs (link in French), although 58% would accept a temporary ban until definitive research is carried out on the subject.

Finally, and in a continuing effort to finish the Sunday News on a positive note, Wednesday’s Seattle Times features an article on how to preserve the summer’s fruit and vegetable harvest, and it’s not all about canning and making jam. From neighborhood harvest feasts to simply giving your surplus fruit to passers-by, Bill Thorness gives fresh ideas for sharing fresh food. Let them inspire you as you enjoy the last week of summer.