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from Dawnwatch.com:<br><br><br><br>
This week, America shunned spinach after some was found to carry a<br><br>
deadly strain of E.coli bacteria. The Thursday, September 21, New York<br><br>
Times, however, included an op-ed, by Nina Planck, author of ''Real Food:<br><br>
What to Eat and Why," who suggests that the spinach farmers are not the<br><br>
culprits.<br><br><br><br>
In the piece titled, "Leafy Green Sewage" (pg A31) Planck writes:<br><br>
"Indeed, this epidemic, which has infected more than 100 people and<br><br>
resulted in at least one death, probably has little do with the folks who<br><br>
grow and package your greens. The detective trail ultimately leads back<br><br>
to a seemingly unrelated food industry -- beef and dairy cattle.<br><br><br><br>
She explains that E. coli O157:H7 is different from most E.coli which<br><br>
is harmless to humans. She writes:<br><br><br><br>
"Where does this particularly virulent strain come from? It's not found<br><br>
in the intestinal tracts of cattle raised on their natural diet of<br><br>
grass, hay and other fibrous forage. No, O157 thrives in a new -- that is,<br><br>
recent in the history of animal diets -- biological niche: the<br><br>
unnaturally acidic stomachs of beef and dairy cattle fed on grain, the typical<br><br>
ration on most industrial farms. It's the infected manure from these<br><br>
grain-fed cattle that contaminates the groundwater and spreads the<br><br>
bacteria to produce, like spinach, growing on neighboring farms."<br><br><br><br>
And she discusses "the contamination of ground water, flood water and<br><br>
rivers -- all irrigation sources on spinach farms -- by the<br><br>
E-coli-infected manure from cattle farms."<br><br><br><br>
She writes:<br><br><br><br>
"The United States Department of Agriculture does recognize the threat<br><br>
from these huge lagoons of waste, and so pays 75 percent of the cost<br><br>
for a confinement cattle farmer to make manure pits watertight, either by<br><br>
lining them with concrete or building them above ground. But taxpayers<br><br>
are financing a policy that only treats the symptom, not the disease,<br><br>
and at great expense. There remains only one long-term remedy, and it's<br><br>
still the simplest one: stop feeding grain to cattle."<br><br><br><br>
And she concludes<br><br>
"California's spinach industry is now the financial victim of an<br><br>
outbreak it probably did not cause, and meanwhile, thousands of acres of<br><br>
other produce are still downstream from these lakes of E. coli-ridden<br><br>
cattle manure. So give the spinach growers a break, and direct your<br><br>
attention to the people in our agricultural community who just might be able to solve this deadly problem: the beef and dairy farmers."<br><br><br><br>
You'll find the full piece on line at<br><br><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/21/opinion/21planck.html" target="_blank">http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/21/opinion/21planck.html</a> . It addresses<br><br>
a danger of factory farming from the standpoint of public health but<br><br>
does not mention animal welfare. Most cattle, fed on corn, live pathetic<br><br>
lives. Contrary to the images we remember from childhood of animals<br><br>
grazing in meadows, those raised for beef and milk today live in<br><br>
disgusting feedlots, often knee-deep in their own manure, with no protection<br><br>
from the elements. In 2002 the New York Times Magazine ran a cover story,<br><br>
'This Steer's Life,' in which Michael Pollan documented the life of a<br><br>
steer from birth to death. That piece is available on Pollan's website<br><br>
at <a href="http://www.michaelpollan.com/article.php?id=14" target="_blank">http://www.michaelpollan.com/article.php?id=14</a> . It is well worth<br><br>
reading.<br><br><br><br>
Planck's op-ed deserves some appreciative letters to the editor against<br><br>
factory farming. Feel free to sing the praises of a veggie diet.<br><br><br><br>
The New York Times takes letters at <a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a><br><br><br><br>
Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when<br><br>
sending a letter to the editor. Remember that shorter letters are more<br><br>
likely to be published. And please be careful not to use any exact<br><br>
phrases from this alert in your letters; the editors wish to receive<br><br>
original reactions from their readers.
This week, America shunned spinach after some was found to carry a<br><br>
deadly strain of E.coli bacteria. The Thursday, September 21, New York<br><br>
Times, however, included an op-ed, by Nina Planck, author of ''Real Food:<br><br>
What to Eat and Why," who suggests that the spinach farmers are not the<br><br>
culprits.<br><br><br><br>
In the piece titled, "Leafy Green Sewage" (pg A31) Planck writes:<br><br>
"Indeed, this epidemic, which has infected more than 100 people and<br><br>
resulted in at least one death, probably has little do with the folks who<br><br>
grow and package your greens. The detective trail ultimately leads back<br><br>
to a seemingly unrelated food industry -- beef and dairy cattle.<br><br><br><br>
She explains that E. coli O157:H7 is different from most E.coli which<br><br>
is harmless to humans. She writes:<br><br><br><br>
"Where does this particularly virulent strain come from? It's not found<br><br>
in the intestinal tracts of cattle raised on their natural diet of<br><br>
grass, hay and other fibrous forage. No, O157 thrives in a new -- that is,<br><br>
recent in the history of animal diets -- biological niche: the<br><br>
unnaturally acidic stomachs of beef and dairy cattle fed on grain, the typical<br><br>
ration on most industrial farms. It's the infected manure from these<br><br>
grain-fed cattle that contaminates the groundwater and spreads the<br><br>
bacteria to produce, like spinach, growing on neighboring farms."<br><br><br><br>
And she discusses "the contamination of ground water, flood water and<br><br>
rivers -- all irrigation sources on spinach farms -- by the<br><br>
E-coli-infected manure from cattle farms."<br><br><br><br>
She writes:<br><br><br><br>
"The United States Department of Agriculture does recognize the threat<br><br>
from these huge lagoons of waste, and so pays 75 percent of the cost<br><br>
for a confinement cattle farmer to make manure pits watertight, either by<br><br>
lining them with concrete or building them above ground. But taxpayers<br><br>
are financing a policy that only treats the symptom, not the disease,<br><br>
and at great expense. There remains only one long-term remedy, and it's<br><br>
still the simplest one: stop feeding grain to cattle."<br><br><br><br>
And she concludes<br><br>
"California's spinach industry is now the financial victim of an<br><br>
outbreak it probably did not cause, and meanwhile, thousands of acres of<br><br>
other produce are still downstream from these lakes of E. coli-ridden<br><br>
cattle manure. So give the spinach growers a break, and direct your<br><br>
attention to the people in our agricultural community who just might be able to solve this deadly problem: the beef and dairy farmers."<br><br><br><br>
You'll find the full piece on line at<br><br><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/21/opinion/21planck.html" target="_blank">http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/21/opinion/21planck.html</a> . It addresses<br><br>
a danger of factory farming from the standpoint of public health but<br><br>
does not mention animal welfare. Most cattle, fed on corn, live pathetic<br><br>
lives. Contrary to the images we remember from childhood of animals<br><br>
grazing in meadows, those raised for beef and milk today live in<br><br>
disgusting feedlots, often knee-deep in their own manure, with no protection<br><br>
from the elements. In 2002 the New York Times Magazine ran a cover story,<br><br>
'This Steer's Life,' in which Michael Pollan documented the life of a<br><br>
steer from birth to death. That piece is available on Pollan's website<br><br>
at <a href="http://www.michaelpollan.com/article.php?id=14" target="_blank">http://www.michaelpollan.com/article.php?id=14</a> . It is well worth<br><br>
reading.<br><br><br><br>
Planck's op-ed deserves some appreciative letters to the editor against<br><br>
factory farming. Feel free to sing the praises of a veggie diet.<br><br><br><br>
The New York Times takes letters at <a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a><br><br><br><br>
Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when<br><br>
sending a letter to the editor. Remember that shorter letters are more<br><br>
likely to be published. And please be careful not to use any exact<br><br>
phrases from this alert in your letters; the editors wish to receive<br><br>
original reactions from their readers.