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Chipotle Plans To DNA Test Produce After E-Coli Outbreaks In Nine States
HughPickens.com writes: Lisa Jenning reports at Restaurant News that Chipotle plans to do DNA-based tests of all fresh produce before it is shipped to restaurants. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that the E. coli outbreak linked to Chipotle now includes seven more people in three new states, including Illinois, Maryland and Pennsylvania, for a total count of 52 sickened in nine states. Most of the illnesses were in Washington, with 27 cases, and Oregon, with 13 cases. Twenty people have been hospitalized but there have been no reported deaths. Health officials say a meal or ingredient from Chipotle was likely the cause, but they have not yet identified the specific source of the outbreak. Chipotle's founder and co-chief executive, Steve Ells apologized to patrons who fell ill after eating at the company's restaurants. "This was a very unfortunate incident and I'm deeply sorry that this happened, but the procedures we're putting in place today are so above industry norms that we are going to be the safest place to eat." The chain will begin end-of-shelf-life testing to ensure quality specifications are met throughout the shelf life of products. The data collected will be used to measure the performance of vendors and suppliers to enhance food safety throughout the system.
But food safety experts are mixed about the effectiveness of such screening efforts for the prevention of foodborne illness. Bob Whitaker, chief science and technology officer for the Produce Marketing Association, says such tests are not practical as a screening tool. Instead, restaurant chains should focus on whether their suppliers have adequate food-safety programs in place. "You can't test your way to safety," says Whitaker. "The problem with product testing by itself is that it's hard to take enough samples to be confident that the product is free of any pathogens." DNA tests are considered among the most accurate and fast, with same-day testing available for organisms like E. coli or salmonella, says Morgan Wallace. Some manufacturers don't wait for results, since produce is perishable, but that introduces the risk of a produce recall if a pathogen has been identified after shipment. Others hold the product until test results are confirmed, but that practice adds holding costs and reduces the shelf life.
But food safety experts are mixed about the effectiveness of such screening efforts for the prevention of foodborne illness. Bob Whitaker, chief science and technology officer for the Produce Marketing Association, says such tests are not practical as a screening tool. Instead, restaurant chains should focus on whether their suppliers have adequate food-safety programs in place. "You can't test your way to safety," says Whitaker. "The problem with product testing by itself is that it's hard to take enough samples to be confident that the product is free of any pathogens." DNA tests are considered among the most accurate and fast, with same-day testing available for organisms like E. coli or salmonella, says Morgan Wallace. Some manufacturers don't wait for results, since produce is perishable, but that introduces the risk of a produce recall if a pathogen has been identified after shipment. Others hold the product until test results are confirmed, but that practice adds holding costs and reduces the shelf life.
Glad to hear they are trying something different. I am just recovering from a so called food-born-illness from a different restaurant and it was sure nasty. Stuck on the toilet with a bucket for puking for over 12 hours is not pleasant nor are the days after.
Website Just Down For Me? Find out
or "night soil" as fertilizer in the Orient
That doesn't help when it's the lettuce or some other serve-cold produce.
--
BMO
If they actually cooked the food properly instead of leaving it luke-warm, this wouldn't be a problem.
This has nothing to do with cooking. This is raw produce picked by farmworkers that didn't wash their hands after taking a dump. The solution is better field sanitation and better enforcement. The farmworkers need to have clean toilets, and they need to wash their hands in chlorinated water, and that hand washing needs to be mandatory and observed, with penalties for violations.
Can someone please explain how genetic status relates to a bacterial contamination? WTF?
09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B - D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
What if any will this do to prevent a recurrence of the norovirus illness that sickened 141 Boston College students who ate at Chipotle?
But who observes the observers?
My guess is that it's just a lack of education on the part of the immigrant labor that's picking the produce. Tell them it's a health risk and make sure that they have something to wash their hands and that will probably go a long way to solve the problem.
Also, a lot of this type of work is being done by people who aren't here legally. If you think a solution with mandatory hand washing observation is going to work, I don't think you've thought this through all that well.
This could all be avoided by simple food irradiation. However most Americans are too ignorant to understand this.
That's actually one of the most rediculous things I've read this week, what you just said. Do you know what soil is made up of, largely? It's made of SHIT. Do you know what farmers mix in with the soil to enrich it? SHIT. Do you realize that fields are open to the sky? Do you know what birds do while they're flying? They SHIT. Small animals and insects roam around in the fields, and do you know what they all do everywhere they go? They SHIT. Even earthworms, which are extremely beneficial to the soil and vital for the entire ecosystem? They eat soil and they SHIT it back out. It's all SHIT. Blaming farm workers for not washing their gods-be-damned hands after taking a SHIT is about the stupidest thing you could blame this on, and it shows beyond the shadow of a doubt that you've never even SEEN a farm let alone actually knowing anything about growing food crops or running a farm.
No, Republicans are working to weaponize Chipotle vegetables to use against ISIS.
More likely the usage of liquid manure from cows or pigs as fertilizer.
Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
Very true, and furthermore, short of hand-washing each leaf, there's no way they can guarantee against e. coli.
This all started because they wanted to appeal to the food religion by going organic, which means growing vegetables, literally, in cow shit. Synthetic fertilizer doesn't have this problem. It's not at all a coincidence that they had ZERO problems before that switch.
Shitpotle
I know it isn't considered acceptable to mock republicans here on slashdot, but that is funny, there. I'm even eating right now and that was funny...
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
No, that's not it at all. It's organic farming. E. coli outbreaks are NOT AT ALL uncommon. Notice how they never had this problem prior to switching to organic?
http://www.science20.com/scien...
Not only is organic food NOT beneficial from either a taste or health perspective, it's actually scientifically shown to be worse due to exactly this issue. Furthermore, it's bad from an environmental perspective because it requires more farmland, which means more water consumption and more deforestation where applicable.
My guess is that it's just a lack of education on the part of the immigrant labor that's picking the produce.
Nope, this is why:
http://www.science20.com/scien...
That doesn't help when it's the lettuce or some other serve-cold produce.
Perhaps they could just wash the produce before serving it? It's a simple courtesy I extend to guests I don't feel like killing.
Given that at least 2 of the Seattle-area restaurants were immediately shut down again by the health department for health code violations, this is beyond ingredient suppliers -- they need to hire managers who actually pay attention to what their employees aren't doing (e.g. washing hands, keeping food hot/cold enough, etc).
Do you really need reason for beer? Wingman Brewers
Very science-y! And Chipotle didn't switch to organic. And GMOs aren't being made with "anti-e.coli" genes.
But reading a crank rant about the chemicals in brewed coffee really nails to point home.
Have a nice day...
More likely the usage of liquid manure from cows or pigs as fertilizer.
No. Farmers may spread cow/pig poop on a cornfield, but they do not, and cannot legally, spread fresh manure on produce that is eaten raw. They can use manure that is thoroughly composted, but by then the e-coli is long gone.
Except that it's not a mere case of throwing out vegetables. It's a case of causing heavy losses to people and affecting the livelihoods of many people in the 'food chain' here - those who work in the farms involved, those who work in the stores, those who work in the restaurants, et al. A whole lot of people who don't get paid, or risk losing their jobs when something like this happens.
But congratulations on the shrill bleeding-heart reaction to anything that suggests that Muslims are anything but innocent dandelions all persecuted by the EEEVVVVILLLLL White Guys.
If they actually cooked the food properly instead of leaving it luke-warm, this wouldn't be a problem.
This has nothing to do with cooking. This is raw produce picked by farmworkers that didn't wash their hands after taking a dump.
Can't it be from, say, bird poop dropping onto the produce while it's in the field as well / instead?
In fact, that seems more likely to me - if that's a possible vector.
It's amateur night at supply chain management school.
Please, don't insult us. Chipotle management screwed up in their abortive quest to use the Chipotle chain to finance their big dreams of creating a gourmet restaurant chain.
They never intended to keep the Chipotle brand around after they achieved their dream, but it never happened, and now we have lots of people with puke bugs.
Details here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Kriston
I agree. I was puking lettuce and sofritas. See my video" Sheila exposes Chipotle for Ecoli" you tube.
This has Everything to do with cooking at proper temperatures, I sent the Department of health into Chipotle San Jose, California and they were sited for undercooked Rice and Tofu. Please educated yourself.
Even washing each leaf with bleach won't actually work. E. coli can easily get INTO the leaf in spinach, and that has happened. I remember a massive spinach recall a few years ago with e. coli being INSIDE the spinach leaves themselves. I don't see why lettuce would be any different. I absolutely refuse to eat organic salad for this reason.
Maybe you missed the part about the e coli being inside the leaf and not being able to be washed off.
Having worked in a restaurant, I can tell you those places must have been doing some nightmarish shit. The company I work for has only been shut down once (years ago) because mouse turds were found on a slicer, not in use, which is pretty damn egregious if you ask me, but not as serious as people would expect. That manager and employee were both fired. Anything less just gets you yelled at and, maybe, if it's really bad, you'll have to throw away some product. We were once forced to throw out an entire cooler of meat (more than 500 lbs) because the cooler was holding at 42 degrees F. 41 is the limit. That's the exception though. The rule is a good talking to. Having said that, restaurants are usually scared shitless of the health department, and generally keep things safe. An outbreak of norovirus or e coli is a death sentence (Jack-in-the-Box, Blimpie (in GR, MI, anyway)), so restaurants have a pretty big incentive to keep things clean and at temp.
Sure you can. It's called Night Soil.
Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?
Almost any "organic" produce you can buy on the scale of a restaurant isn't really being raised by organic methods.
For example
Free range chickens wander about over acres of grasslands eating bugs. Like wild caught salmon, eggs from these chickens are bright orange.
Meanwhile, "organic" and "free range" eggs in grocery stores and restaurants come from hens who literally qualify for the "free range" label by having access to a plant free, bug free muddy fenced plot next to the roosting area. In at least one case, it was a concrete lot. Likewise, the yolks from psueodo organic food are yellow (not orange). Some of the better ones are a strong yellow vs a pastel yellow but that's about it.
Organic food practices produce measurably better food (lower cholesteral, higher vitamins, lower saturated acids) with measurably lower results (50,000 survey in Britain showed lower weight and 9% lower lymphoma risk).
Conventional foods (and government certified fake organic foods) are essentially the same as conventional foods so of course tests find no differences.
The largest cause of ecoli contamination is someone touched something's butt and then didn't wash their hands thoroughly. Use of recreational water on crops is another source of contamination.
Hate to break it to you but cropland is built on animal crap. Most of the mid west is thousands of years of buffalo eating and pooping.
Soil without poop is basically "sand". But it needs time to compost for the bacteria to die off.
She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
You carry Escheria Coli as well, just not so much near the intake of your food; much more where it comes out. Getting it (and even then: certain varieties that we're not certain of) near the intake of your food (i.e. in your stomach) is where it wreaks havoc.
Religion is what happens when nature strikes and groupthink goes wrong.
I got very sick after eating at Chipotle nearly 10 years ago. The occurrences of illness have only increased since then. It could have been due to poor worker sanitation, or maybe E. Coli, but either way, I haven't eaten there since, and I don't plan to eat there again ever.
Steve Ells has apologized for the illness. So what. Steve, you can stuff your sorrys in a sack!
The E. coli outbreak is targeted at the company loudest about antibiotic free, additive free, non-GMO foods. The things Chipotle was doing were causing waves in the restaurant and agriculture businesses that one or more players didn't like. This E. coli outbreak has set that back years, people now question whether it was the right move by Chipotle. If they looked they will find this started as a crime.
Maybe I missed it because the only comment alleging this was posted four hours after my comment. Seeing as there's no mention of the allegation in TFS or TFAs, maybe you can see why I missed something that wasn't there.
Not only is organic food NOT beneficial from either a taste or health perspective, it's actually scientifically shown to be worse due to exactly this issue.
The local produce I buy or grow myself is fresh from the ground and tastes a hell of a lot better that what you'll find in a big box grocery store. Wash anything you eat raw, it's common sense.
Depends on the time till it is harvested or not? Sounds not logical that it is "illegal" but well the US has lots of strange things that are legal or illegal.
In Germany it is completely normal to put manure on the fields, any field. However not shortly before harvesting (where it makes no sense anyway).
Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
Really? I mean, yeah, really? Do you have *any* evidence to support that claim or is just just a presumption because "it's obvious if you look at it right?" 'Cause I'm thinking you're a bit crazy. Big Agriculture, such as it exists, isn't going to (probably) go out and intentionally poison a bunch of people when they can sell organic foods at a much higher profit percentage. They're not going to risk that kind of fallout should they be discovered. There's no darkened walnut-lined room with a giant oaken table and antique leather chairs.
I mean, really? C'mon now, you might just as well say it was due to aliens. Unless, of course, you have some evidence... Do you have any evidence? Does the lack of evidence give weight to your conclusions in your mind?
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
Free range chickens wander about over acres of grasslands eating bugs. Like wild caught salmon, eggs from these chickens are bright orange.
No, that just indicates what the chicken was fed, not whether it was allowed to walk around. Feeding them marigold flowers are enough to yield bright colored eggs, even if they were held in a feeder cage their whole life. Though some people claim the darker yolk is healthier. Personally I can't tell the difference in taste. Anyways, what the chicken is fed will obviously change the egg color and nutritional content, but that doesn't mean free range either tastes better or is healthier.
Organic food practices produce measurably better food (lower cholesteral, higher vitamins, lower saturated acids) with measurably lower results (50,000 survey in Britain showed lower weight and 9% lower lymphoma risk).
Hmm...While I haven't seen where you source this from, it doesn't sound likely.
First, dietary cholesterol (i.e. the cholesterol found in food that you eat) doesn't actually raise your blood cholesterol unless your liver determines that body is deficient in cholesterol, so I'm not sure how lower cholesterol is supposed to be a benefit. When people have high blood cholesterol, it's typically because they're consuming such a high amount of simple sugars (including "organic" sugar, if you want to go that route) that their liver is having to convert the excess glucose into lipids. If you've ever heard of how "foie gras" is made, this is basically what people with high cholesterol are doing to themselves. Simple sugars come from a lot of sources that you probably don't expect as well, like bread, fruit, rice, and pasta.
Second, you're going to need to be specific on vitamins, and more importantly, what the animal was fed. Yes, there will be a difference in nutritional content AND taste when it comes to say corn fed beef vs grass fed beef. Whether or not it's organic doesn't play a role in that however.
Third, saturated fats are actually not bad for you. The bad fats are trans fats, which aren't found in meat products unless they're fried or cooked using some kind of vegetable substance that has hydrogenated oils. The original fear for saturated fats came from the same false fear over dietary cholesterol. That is, they associated higher saturated fats with higher cholesterol. The reason this happened is because saturated fats from dietary sources help the body fill its own lipid needs faster, therefore when your liver produces its lipids, it creates more lipids that remain in the blood (cholesterol, triglycerides) thus making the numbers appear "worse".
Fourth and finally, you're going to see a reduction in disease among people who follow just about any controlled diet. The reason why is because these people tend to do less things that are well known to be dangerous like smoking, drinking, and drugs, and furthermore, they're more likely to exercise.
The largest cause of ecoli contamination is someone touched something's butt and then didn't wash their hands thoroughly. Use of recreational water on crops is another source of contamination.
No, it's not. There's actually a LOT of evidence that most e. coli and salmonella outbreaks are caused specifically by organic farming.
http://www.science20.com/scien...
http://www.realclearscience.co...
Organic spinach and sprouts in particular are especially risky. In fact, organic sprouts are so dangerous that big chain stores Kroger and Wal-Mart have an official policy to not carry them.
http://www.toledoblade.com/Ret...
Hate to break it to you
That's the exception though. The rule is a good talking to. Having said that, restaurants are usually scared shitless of the health department, and generally keep things safe.
Eh. Tons of restaurants don't. I've got food poisoning a ton after going out. And I've heard all the scare stories. We've got a sports bar here in Kelseyville where one of my friends worked for a moment, and they are horrible about food handling and break every rule. They're still open years later.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
That's actually not a bad idea, but I'm pretty sure they can't label something as organic if it has been irradiated.
I would have to research that to be sure, but in general, when it comes to organic, technology is frozen in the 1950's, because according to organic dogma, technology = bad, because you know, it's not "natural", even though there's no scientific evidence that "natural" is better.
The local produce I buy or grow myself is fresh from the ground and tastes a hell of a lot better that what you'll find in a big box grocery store.
People say things like this all the time, but it never passes a blind taste test.
E. coli can easily get INTO the leaf in spinach, and that has happened. I remember a massive spinach recall a few years ago with e. coli being INSIDE the spinach leaves themselves. I don't see why lettuce would be any different. I absolutely refuse to eat organic salad for this reason.
You do realize that the way the E.Coli gets into the plants in the first place is via animals shitting on the produce, right? The only produce immune to this problem is grown indoors. In addition, crops grown organically are not the only crops fertilized with animal waste. Add to that the facts that manure is not used in all organic farming, and that no disease outbreak has been traced back to manure used on an organic farm and you will see that your policy is laughably superstitious.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Not only is organic food NOT beneficial from either a taste or health perspective, it's actually scientifically shown to be worse due to exactly this issue.
[citation needed]
\
Organic food is not inherently superior from a taste or health perspective. However, small-scale farming inherently better lends itself to producing tasty, healthy food, because there is less pressure to produce inferior varietals designed for shelf-readiness, and most organic farming is done on a smaller scale. Large-scale organic farming is only inherently less harmful to the environment; still desirable, but you won't see the results in your supermarket.
Furthermore, it's bad from an environmental perspective because it requires more farmland,
No. What requires more farmland is growing monocultures to enable machine cultivation, when plants grow best in "guilds" of plants which have different soil requirements and which may actually feed their "companion plants", e.g. by fixing nitrogen in the soil in a bio-available form. This is why the only monocultures you see in nature are plants which render the environment inhospitable for others species, like redwoods (even there you see bay laurel), pines, or some flowering tropical bushes.
By far, the most efficient gardening is true organic farming (not bullshit USDA organic, but actually representing cyclical systems in which soil health and community health are understood to be related) in which plants are grown in guilds. It is simply not efficient to cultivate, which is a problem which will eventually be solved with robotics but which remains viable at the farmer's market level.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
The moon landings were faked too. If you have a powerful enough telescope you can actually look at where they supposedly landed on the moon and left the rover and LEM. But you know what those placed look like - an abandoned sound stage. You take a photograph of the moon at high enough resolution and you can see the remains of a camera and lightning boom. Not the LEM or rover - the debris is the wrong shape. It exactly matches the lighting equipment used in the 60s on TV sets. Filmed. Right there. Fake as can be. They even left the set trash.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
I must confess... I've looked at the moon through a high-powered telescope (there's an observatory at Kents Hill) and I did not see any evidence of the moon landings! I've seen the lack of evidence with my own eyes! They must be faked!
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
All you need to do is a standard Gram test. less than $0.08 cost per test and can be done in their own lab easily
What the fuck is wrong with these executives? full blown DNA test? why don't they also perform a full gas chromatograph as well?
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Grocery stores buy at lowest price and sell at what market will bear.
They are usually buying from large chain suppliers who in turn often import.
They too look to buy low and sell high. And they also buy from producers and suppliers who do the same.
And if ANY link in the supply chain mislabels their produce in order to get a better price...
The other thing is... all that food being shipped and left sitting there in the store for days means pest control.
Or roaches and rats munching on your produce.
And that means pesticides. Applied IN STORE by people who have no clue of dosage or which pesticides should be applied. Couple of cans or RAID? Why not?
That's why there are no differences in taste in "organic" vs. "regular" FARMED food - but people buying in supermarkets still complain about the taste.
Send them to a farmers market and they'll happily buy and eat pesticide sprayed and GMO produce thinking it's "organic" - cause farmers know what "time to harvest" is for and cause their produce is FRESH.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
http://www.stilldrinking.org/c...
( Amusing blog. Another good one is this:
http://www.stilldrinking.org/p... )
Note that I made the uncontroversial statement that produce picked fresh from my garden tastes better than produce that has been sitting around for weeks in a big box grocery store. Also note that there are two opposing opinions to this view. Perhaps I should not trust my own sensory input and substitute the view of random posters on Slashdot as my truth.
Not bloody likely, Trolls.
Food poisoning can kill people.
In July O7, I got a mac pro. There's no punchline. Just endless joy and wonder.
See the studies on this page for measured differences between the types of eggs.
http://www.motherearthnews.com...
The risk of organic spinich is about the same as conventional spinach
"But Francisco Diez-Gonzalez, a professor of food safety microbiology at the University of Minnesota's department of food science and nutrition, disagrees. In 2006, he published a study comparing E. coli contamination in organic and conventional produce. He concluded that the presence of E. coli seemed to depend more on the type of produce than whether it had been grown conventionally or organically.
"At this timeâ¦there is no sufficient evidence either epidemiological or scientific, to support the idea that organic produce is most likely to carry foodborne pathogenic bacteria," wrote Diez-Gonzalez in an email. "Despite the apparently logical expectation that if manure is used as one of the predominant fertilizers for organic crops they might be riskier, some factors such as the diversity of manure types, the use of composted manure and the fact that even conventional growers also use manure seem to have an impact on finding any differences."
The takeaway: Since organic produce isn't any more or less likely than conventional to carry a scary disease, and since even organic fruits and veggies might contain traces of pesticides on their skins, always wash it, just like you would any other produce. Of course, rinsing your food won't always remove every single pathogen, Lunder notes, but it's better than nothing. Since running some water over my blueberries will require approximately 15 seconds of my day, I think I can handle it."
The specific studies you posted are interesting and may be valid. However, you have to be careful of any iinformation associated with the Center for Global Food Issues. It's funded by Monsanto, ConAgra, and DuPont. Enough of articles I dug into turned out to have funding ties to big agra that I've become skeptical of anti-organic science.
The big food processors spend 20 million a year to produce anti-organic propaganda and have bought up most of the mid sized organic food producers. It's a bad situation where real organic food is hard to find and it's hard to find certifying agencies you can trust because certification agencies are targeted by the big food processors and they have a lot of money to throw around. USDA organic and free range certification is almost useless at this point.
Interesting point on the marigolds, but so far I've seen no scandal of producers specifically feeding marigolds to chickens to color the eggs. But I imagine that's next. They'd rather dye the yolks than actually follow real free range and organic processes.
She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
A fallacy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
You link to something not even remotely related and then parrot a pithy saying at the end that also has no bearing on the conversation at hand. Insanity isn't curable, that we know of, but there's help available. Yes, Monsanto has done some evil things. Yes, they're probably still doing evil things. No, they're not intentionally poisoning a supply line for a restaurant.
The quizzical thing is that you seem to think that I've some moral outrage or righteous indignation. No, that would apply to the GGP post where they indicated that they were outraged and indignant. I'm at the opposite end, apathetic and mildly curious about the mental state of the poster. The insanity behind the people who think there's a giant conspiracy everywhere is just astounding.
I do know why scientists believe they do it, however. See, it's an ego thing. It's usually people with lower-than usual self-esteem and below-average IQs that believe in conspiracy theories. They do this because it makes them feel better. It makes them feel smart. See, they're "in the know." They're the wise, the people able to see between the lines, and everyone else is too stupid to get it. It's about inferiority and lack of intelligence that makes them believe these things. It's quite the opposite of what they think others are seeing.
It was an interesting paper. I enjoyed reading it but I still find the actual mental process confusing. I'm just not able to grasp what it's like to feel that poorly about oneself and I'd hate to be at that level of intellect. It would be like being able to read but unable to understand, or so I imagine.
There are bad people doing bad things but, odds are, it's not some giant corporation that's worried about a trivial fast food franchise and their trendy foods. They're not a threat, even if they do catch on. If Monsanto can make money selling organics (and they probably do) then they're going to do that instead. They're not worried about GMO being less popular with some because they are already in the market and the market's not going anywhere.
Why do I explain all of this? Well, because you might be the original AC and you might be in need of help. Think carefully about what I've said. I'm a fairly reputable person with a fairly decent group of contacts - some of whom are here on this very sight. I'm not some sort of Monsanto "shill" nor do I own any stock in their company (to the best of my knowledge). I have nothing to gain from posting this. I have nothing to lose from your mad ravings.
I do, however, have a vested interest in being a catalyst for change. If this post makes you examine the thought pattern you're using and realize that you're trying to make the extraordinary ordinary then I've done my job and that will make me feel better about who I am and it will, maybe, help you see that the answer isn't usually the most complex one that you can come up with even if it makes you feel good or feel like you've posted something intelligent.
It matters to me because I care. I care about my fellow humans. I want to help them think logically when I can. I want them to do smart things and accomplish great things. I want them to be happy, free, and thinking. If I can help that, even just a little bit, then I get the chance to think that I might have improved the world just a little bit. Seriously, someone's shitting on the food. There's no conspiracy here unless you've got some evidence. Agent Orange is not evidence.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
You're so wrong I don't know where to begin. Background: RN, meaning I know a little bit about health. Lifelong struggle with allergies because genetics. For example, I'm allergic to all cillins, mycins, and sporins. If I get sick, there's almost nothing they can prescribe for me. I am sensitive to so many chemicals that switching to organic changed my life. I have never had your fear based outbreak and have a higher quality of life. It's not my religion. I don't preach Organic. I use it so I don't get upset stomach and random illnesses because my body isn't built to handle the chemicals. It's cool. You rant on and live your life. I hear ignorance makes you happier.
See the studies on this page for measured differences between the types of eggs.
http://www.motherearthnews.com...
What a spammy, biased site. First of all, just about everything on that site falls afoul of this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Second of all, they don't have any kind of whitepaper or anything, just some unsubstantiated claims. Show me some peer reviewed evidence, with a clearly drawn cause and effect. Third of all, I've seen sites like this all the time, e.g. naturalnews.com, mercola.com, etc. They make these stupid wild claims with no scientific evidence and use "because it's natural" as their proof. (They also seem to attract a lot of conspiracy theorist types, electromagnetic hypersensitivity believers, anti-vaxers, etc, but that's another topic.)
The risk of organic spinich is about the same as conventional spinach
"But Francisco Diez-Gonzalez, a professor of food safety microbiology at the University of Minnesota's department of food science and nutrition, disagrees. In 2006, he published a study comparing E. coli contamination in organic and conventional produce. He concluded that the presence of E. coli seemed to depend more on the type of produce than whether it had been grown conventionally or organically.
"At this timeâ¦there is no sufficient evidence either epidemiological or scientific, to support the idea that organic produce is most likely to carry foodborne pathogenic bacteria," wrote Diez-Gonzalez in an email. ....
Oh look, another spammy "natural is better" site! You pulled this straight from organicconsumers.org, no way that's biased! At least we have some scientific investigation going this time, which is an improvement over your previous "becuz mother earth sez!" article.
Well guess what, here's a less biased site, and it sheds a better light on the issue, specifically mentioning Professor Francisco Diez-Gonzalez:
A new study on food safety reveals that organic produce may contain a significantly higher risk of fecal contamination than conventionally grown produce.
A recent comparative analysis of organic produce versus conventional produce from the University of Minnesota shows that the organically grown produce had 9.7 percent positive samples for the presence of generic E. coli bacteria versus only 1.6 percent for conventional produce on farms in Minnesota.
The study, which was published in May in the Journal of Food Protection, concluded, "the observation that the prevalence of E. coli was significantly higher in organic produce supports the idea that organic produce is more susceptible to fecal contamination."
In addition, the study found the food-borne disease pathogen salmonella only on the organic produce samples. There was no evidence found of the deadly strain of bacteria, E. coli O157:H7, in either type of produce tested. The study looked at fruits and vegetables at the "preharvest" stage, not at the retail store level.
The principle investigator of the University of Minnesota study, Francisco Diez-Gonzalez, told CNSNews.com that "organic agriculture was more susceptible to carry fecal indicators."
"In many ways it is confirming what is believed, indeed, if you are using animal manure for fertilizer, the chances that you are going to get fecal bacteria on the product are greater," Diez-Gonzalez said.
Now granted, he goes on later to contradict himself somewhat, but if you read further on, a few more experts chime in and confirm everything mentioned above.
Alex Avery, director of research and education at the free-market Hudson Institute's Center for Global Food Issues, says the latest scientific study confirms years of research that organic produce may pose a higher risk for food-borne i
Fresher tastes better. When you buy veggies from the store, it's typically well after they've been picked or whatever. Stuff out of your garden is nice and fresh, and tastes better.
I often buy organic produce because it tastes better. I suspect that what's going on is that the organic stuff spends less time sitting around before I eat it. I really, really doubt that one artificial method like organic produces better taste and healthiness than another artificial method.
"When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
Yeah. The reason they ended the Apollo program was a contract dispute about the planet, about 300 light-years away, that we were using to stage the moon landings.
"When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
For years I vetoed Chipotle when my friends wanted to go there. It is utter, bland, mediocrity -- the Olive Garden of casual Mexican, if you will. Far, far too much of day-to-day operations is left to employees, if you're lucky they will be older Latina women who put out so-so food... if you're not, it'll be teenagers giving you lettuce stems and dehydrated (but responsibly sourced!) Chicken.
IMO foodborne pathogen outbreaks take a fair amount of carelessness - either in the way the item is sourced or the way its handled. Since I live in one of the affected states, my snobbiness about Chipotle may have kept me out of the hospital!
Fuck you Steve Ells, douchebag fuck!
Fresher tastes better. When you buy veggies from the store, it's typically well after they've been picked or whatever. Stuff out of your garden is nice and fresh, and tastes better.
That will depend on how good of a gardener you are and whether or not the place you live in has both the optimal weather and soil conditions for whatever it is you're trying to grow.
I often buy organic produce because it tastes better. I suspect that what's going on is that the organic stuff spends less time sitting around before I eat it.
That's typically not the case. Most organic food comes from large companies like ConAgra, and will be shipped around quite a bit. In addition, organic actually has a slight disadvantage here because you have to rely almost entirely on packaging in order to preserve it.
The food's trendy, but it's toxic on contact.
(Laughing at mods that blew their modpoints on the first round)
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
The soil is good, and I'm a terrible gardener.
For whatever reason, some (not all) of the organic produce at the grocery store tastes significantly better than the non-organic. I don't taste much if any difference in the carrots, but the celery is significantly different. I suspect that the organic celery is fresher than the organic carrots. The practice of growing tomatoes in an artificial environment and getting them to the store with the vine on improved the taste dramatically.
"When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes