Reply #11: Seriously, folks... [View All]

[Demoiselle]

I read a theory somewhere (sorry, can't remember the source, but it was probably the NYTimes ) that what many livestock farmers feed cattle these days may be at least partially to blame. The super duper hyped up feeds (as opposed to old fashioned grass) provide a better environment in cow tummies for the e coli bacteria.
Hence more ecoli in cattle waste. Cattle waste gets into water. Water irrigates crops. There is, of course, lots more to this story...Why is cattle waste allowed to get into the water that irrigates our spinachat all, for example. I don't offer the feed theory as biblical truth, by the way, and there are alarmist/conspiracy theories floating around out there about our food supply that smack of Luddite to me...but I DO wish we would pay more attention to the details of how we raise our food and what we're doing to our planet! I mean, you can't wash the bacteria OFF the spinach once it attaches itself, for heaven's sake!!