Poopeye's Spinach

Now that all of the hoopla has died down, we can rationally discuss this spinach crap. In order to get to the leafy greens, we first have to digest a bit of the hunk of meat on your plate. E Coli appears oh so proudly in cow poop. Because of the horrid conditions cattle live in in America's factory farms, that sweet poop ends up in the meat once the animal visits the slaughterhouse. Don't fret, the meat is nuked to kill the harmful bacterias in the poop in the meat, instead of going through the process of cleaning up the slaughterhouse or farm conditions. You don't mind a little scat in your burger, do ya? I am bothered by the need to use every version of the word "poop" in a FOOD blog. I guess that is the whole point here. The specific E Coli featured in your salad last month evolved in the gut of the cattle. Grain fed cattle can house the E Coli much longer than grass fed. This naughty Mr. E Coli cannot live long the rumens of a grass fed cow. Big business is harming our food supply by combining too much of our nations food into one big processing nightmare. These days, 80% of US beef is slaughtered by only 4 companies, 75% of our precut salads are processed by 2 and 30% of our milk by just 1 company! Remember that salad is being washed in water likely contaminated by, once again, E Coli thriving and spreading like wildfire on farms. We need to stop and think about who we buy our food from. Local farmers markets help to put a face to the food, helping us to feel a bit more secure when we take a big bite of that apple or piece of salmon we should enjoy as fish will be extinct in 40 years apparently!? Seeing food in its raw beauty is the fun of browsing the kiosks of local farmers. They appreciate your business and dedicate their lives to providing delicious food that is healthy for you and your family. Can you say that about TYSON or HARRIS RANCH? Ugh.
I look forward to seeing the same faces week to week at the farmers market. I know exactly what stands to visit for all of my favorite items! My least favorite part is having to watch people test out the samples of everything. Standing in the way, chewing with their mouths open, saying how delicious those juicy strawberries are....all the cliche's I can muster. I think I might know why they provide those pointy, albeit harmless toothpicks for samples....hmmm.
Percentages and facts quoted from Michael Pollan's article in the New York Times, October 15, 2006.