5 ms·

> Also lookup salmonella outbreaks. How, you might ask, does salmonella get into lettuce? You will probably be grossed out to hear the answer. Spoiler: field w

> Also lookup salmonella outbreaks. How, you might ask, does salmonella get into lettuce? You will probably be grossed out to hear the answer. Spoiler: field workers who don't get bathroom breaks. I think a lot of people don't understand that farming is messy work. After highschool I worked at a bean processing plant where my job was to pick dead small animals (usually rodents, snakes, and frogs) out of the beans as they sped by on a conveyor belt. The machines needed to harvest the massive quantities of food our civilization requires do not discriminate between beans and the animals living in bean fields. But here is the thing; almost nobody gets sick from this. Wash your produce. Raccoons do it, and so should you. If you do, you'll almost certainly be fine just like nearly everybody else. It's gross, but it's not really a problem.

jelliclesfarm 6y ago
Salmonella is different. It can get into the plant. Stomata can absorb pathogens. Likely contaminated irrigation water.
- stretchcat 6y ago
  Either way, you're not exactly dicing with death when you eat some lettuce. Sometimes there are outbreaks, but the CDC says about 420 die per year from salmonella, with 26k hospitalizations. That's virtually nothing when you consider how many people eat lettuce every day.
  - jelliclesfarm 6y ago
    That’s not how food security regulations work. We don’t play games with people’s lives. Lettuce has to be hydro cooled right after harvest..45 minutes after harvest. In Salinas etc, it’s done right on the field. It never gets out of refrigeration until customer buys it from store. There is enormous food wastage. Almost 40% of harvest is wasted even with top notch cold supply chain systems. When the public doesn’t trust the food they are playing dice with every mouthful of food. That’s just not acceptable. The risk from the farmers side is entirely different from how you consider food risks.
    - stretchcat 6y ago
      > When the public doesn’t trust the food they are playing dice with every mouthful of food. That’s just not acceptable. The public do trust lettuce. The current systems work well and billions of people trust their lives to it, with good results. Exceptionally few people are afraid of eating regular store bought lettuce. Nobody is talking about "playing games" so I have no idea what you're on about there. I never suggested that food production be deregulated, that would be insanity.
      - jelliclesfarm 6y ago
        They are able to trust it only because the last rung of the supply chain..the grocery store..discards and wastes so much produce to put out only the best and prettiest looking produce on the shelves. The wastage is enormous...and unconscionable.
        stretchcat 6y ago
        This conversation is jumping around all over the place isn't it? The fact remains people can and do trust produce; the extant food systems we have are working. The extant systems, regulations and all, provide the reliable, safe and cheap supply of food our civilization requires, and it do so pretty damn well. As for waste, do you really think some shipping containers in the parking lot will provide an elastic supply? Even if you can install more containers on short notice, it would still take weeks at least for those units to start producing. The extant systems can and do respond to changes in demand in days, not weeks. If these were relied on for anything but luxury produce, you'd often have too much or too little. To provide a buffer, you have to start storing the produce, which negates the ultra-fresh appeal.
        jelliclesfarm 6y ago
        >This conversation is jumping around all over the place isn't it? The fact remains people can and do trust produce; hmm..no, its not. we are stuck at the point where you continue to insist that its a 'fact' that people 'can and do trust produce'.. people trust their food sellers and vendors and outlets. they trust the farmer market seller, whole foods or safeway or costco. the farmer most times doesnt even come in direct contact with 'the people'. the people are not our buyers. wholesalers, distributers and brokers are who we deal with. i dont think you have any clue how farming or food supply chain or distribution works. i have no interest in continuing this discussion.

jelliclesfarm 6y ago

Salmonella is different. It can get into the plant. Stomata can absorb pathogens. Likely contaminated irrigation water.

stretchcat 6y ago
Either way, you're not exactly dicing with death when you eat some lettuce. Sometimes there are outbreaks, but the CDC says about 420 die per year from salmonella, with 26k hospitalizations. That's virtually nothing when you consider how many people eat lettuce every day.
- jelliclesfarm 6y ago
  That’s not how food security regulations work. We don’t play games with people’s lives. Lettuce has to be hydro cooled right after harvest..45 minutes after harvest. In Salinas etc, it’s done right on the field. It never gets out of refrigeration until customer buys it from store. There is enormous food wastage. Almost 40% of harvest is wasted even with top notch cold supply chain systems. When the public doesn’t trust the food they are playing dice with every mouthful of food. That’s just not acceptable. The risk from the farmers side is entirely different from how you consider food risks.
  - stretchcat 6y ago
    > When the public doesn’t trust the food they are playing dice with every mouthful of food. That’s just not acceptable. The public do trust lettuce. The current systems work well and billions of people trust their lives to it, with good results. Exceptionally few people are afraid of eating regular store bought lettuce. Nobody is talking about "playing games" so I have no idea what you're on about there. I never suggested that food production be deregulated, that would be insanity.
    - jelliclesfarm 6y ago
      They are able to trust it only because the last rung of the supply chain..the grocery store..discards and wastes so much produce to put out only the best and prettiest looking produce on the shelves. The wastage is enormous...and unconscionable.
      - stretchcat 6y ago
        This conversation is jumping around all over the place isn't it? The fact remains people can and do trust produce; the extant food systems we have are working. The extant systems, regulations and all, provide the reliable, safe and cheap supply of food our civilization requires, and it do so pretty damn well. As for waste, do you really think some shipping containers in the parking lot will provide an elastic supply? Even if you can install more containers on short notice, it would still take weeks at least for those units to start producing. The extant systems can and do respond to changes in demand in days, not weeks. If these were relied on for anything but luxury produce, you'd often have too much or too little. To provide a buffer, you have to start storing the produce, which negates the ultra-fresh appeal.
        jelliclesfarm 6y ago
        >This conversation is jumping around all over the place isn't it? The fact remains people can and do trust produce; hmm..no, its not. we are stuck at the point where you continue to insist that its a 'fact' that people 'can and do trust produce'.. people trust their food sellers and vendors and outlets. they trust the farmer market seller, whole foods or safeway or costco. the farmer most times doesnt even come in direct contact with 'the people'. the people are not our buyers. wholesalers, distributers and brokers are who we deal with. i dont think you have any clue how farming or food supply chain or distribution works. i have no interest in continuing this discussion.