Gothamist: Made in California

Markus

Tue, 26 Sep 2006 13:22:42 -0500

People, this is just a blog. Its lack of standards is obvious every day in moments like that "promiscuous" comment. We read it for pleasure and we shouldn't expect the objectivity level of the Times. I was surprised & pissed at that too, but you know, I'm not going to stop reading gothamist because of it. I'm just going to mentally add this writer to the ones I'll hopefully remember to skip over...

smitty

Mon, 25 Sep 2006 16:32:34 -0500

There goes Kapil again. You don't have to be promiscuous to get HPV.

eat well

Mon, 25 Sep 2006 15:31:28 -0500

There really is a lot of ignorance around this issue. A couple of points:There are two types of E.Coli that we should be aware of in discussing this. First is the one referred to above that occurs in our & bovine lower digestive tracts, that is killed by the acids in our stomachs. This is not the E.Coli that is indicated in this outbreak. The second type -- which is indicated herein is one that arises in the digestive tracts of cows that are fed grains such as corn (as most cows are in this country). Cows are not "used" to eating this as food (they graze on grasses). The reporting, by-and-large, does not make this distinction and makes it seem like this is an issue with the way that the food is grown or fertilized. This is not the case. The food is irrigated from streams, that contain runoffs from dairy & cattle farms. This is not simply an issue of "organic" producers using manure as fertilizer, but agriculture in general not being able to use streams for irrigation because of runoffs that pollute the water supply in the way described above.Here's a very good Op-Ed piece from last week that goes into this. You might also dig up the recent issue of The Nation guest-edited by Alice Waters.

oh mylanta

Mon, 25 Sep 2006 15:14:48 -0500

Ah! What damage does a good squirt really have? I feel pretty cleansed afterwards. Actually, whenever I get that toughness feeling in the bottom of my stomach (i.e. can't crap for shit)I'll just reach for a nice rare-bloody burger. That should do the trick!

mihow

Mon, 25 Sep 2006 15:04:26 -0500

"Um.. the amount of poeple getting sick from spinach is WAY LESS than the number of people who get e. coli from BEEF.. how come we dont hear all the time about people getting sick and dying from beef? the ONE TIME spinach gets infected, the media goes crazy.. wtf do they not ever go after the beef industry?" Couldn't agree with you more, J. You've opened yourself up for an attack, however. Beefeaters are touchy about their right to kill something for every meal. Some folks don't even know they're sick. Many people think it's perfectly normal to have the squirts once a week.

haha

Mon, 25 Sep 2006 14:59:28 -0500

I'm Popeye the Sailor Man I grow spinach on the land I'll eat saag paneer and get diarrhea And spend my days on the can!

j

Mon, 25 Sep 2006 14:58:01 -0500

Um.. the amount of poeple getting sick from spinach is WAY LESS than the number of people who get e. coli from BEEF.. how come we dont hear all the time about people getting sick and dying from beef? the ONE TIME spinach gets infected, the media goes crazy.. wtf do they not ever go after the beef industry?

edEx

Mon, 25 Sep 2006 13:50:11 -0500

I'm with #1 mihow. i buy my goods from whole foods for local farm markets where you know what you're getting. bagged spinach? are you kidding? buy your veggies with dirt on em and you know they're good to go (just wash em when you get home).

GiGi

Mon, 25 Sep 2006 13:23:58 -0500

"How did a bacteria that normally romps around our bowels make its way to our favorite iron-filled flora?" Easy answer: The spinach crops were fertilized with cow manure, which contained e. Coli bacteria. This is a common practice on large corporatized farms, but no one seems to care until consumers get sick. One more reason to support your local, mom-and-pop farms.

Schadenfreudian Mensch

Mon, 25 Sep 2006 12:53:33 -0500

Start eating spinach else Bin Laden/al-Qaeda will win.

E.Coli

Mon, 25 Sep 2006 12:20:09 -0500

I'll see you soon....muahahahaha!

mrskin

Mon, 25 Sep 2006 12:19:44 -0500

I think Bin Laden is behind the E Coli scare. He is trying to kill us all my lowering our iron levels.

mihow

Mon, 25 Sep 2006 11:40:21 -0500

My husband and I have continued to eat our spinach. We're buying from local farmers, which is what we try and do all the time. That's one really great benefit about living in NYC. It's possible to buy local. (Visit your local farmer's market!)