The strain of E. coli that has recently killed some people is a Feedlot Frankenstein, according to Michael Pollan’s important article in the New York Time magazine on Sunday, October 15, 2006:
The lethal strain of E. coli known as 0157:H7, responsible for this latest outbreak of food poisoning, was unknown before 1982; it is believed to have evolved in the gut of feedlot cattle. These are animals that stand around in their manure all day long, eating a diet of grain that happens to turn a cow’s rumen into an ideal habitat for E. coli 0157:H7. (The bug can’t survive long in cattle living on grass.)
Instead of generating a slew of new regulations, which put small scale growers at a painful disadvantage and suck more farms into the agri-giant vortex, Pollan advocates something simple: Know your growers. Small scale growers may produce food that has some risks, but not much. Pollan’s article is an elegant argument for buying and eating local food, for a decentralized food system.
Related posts:
- Local makes sense — and dollars for growers Local or nearly local products, carefully grown and marketed directly between the grower and the end buyer, suddenly seem like...
- For Now, We Are On Our Own. In Kentucky, That Can Be Good News. As millions of us who have some version of health care do annually, I followed instructions. I ate nothing after...
- Support for JD Country Milk May Indicate Willingness to Change Both Policies and Consumer Habits Merging the notions behind two prominent slogans, I Got Hope that Kentuckians may rebuild a healthy, sustainable dairy economy. This...
