tomatoes, peppers, and spinach

[Nuggetsowner:)]

Local = grown in my state or in my backyard!

Clean = washed in my sink!

I couldn't agree more. If more people thought this way we would not be having this discussion!!​

 

[holliewould]

Nuggetsowner :

Local = grown in my state or in my backyard!

Clean = washed in my sink!

I couldn't agree more. If more people thought this way we would not be having this discussion!!​

Well, not really. Accidents happen "locally" too. Thus the strawberry scare. Homestead, Fla. My local area is where the e-coli scare happened. Big farming community. I live in K West, however, I went to the local growers for veggies until the strawberry scare. Then I realized people in these parts don't accommodate their workers with proper bathroom facilities. It was a big news thing here. Bla bla. So, in conclusion, I only go to U-picks and/or grow my own veggies. And of course I either scrub them clean FROM THE U-PICKS, or eat them from the vines in my yard. Depends where they came from. Never the store though. Explains why I'm always hungry heha. Anyway, most store bought veggies are so coated with waxes, it seems to me it would act as a sealant. You know, for all the stuff it was exposed to before being processed. Accidents happen though. So my point is, when you count on 30 people handling your foods before it ends up on your table......well....it's something you really should consider when you order a water with lemon while out on a dinner date.

 

[JennsPeeps]

I'm aware that food problems can happen from the little farm down the road just as much as the industrial one in another state. I buy local for a slew of personal beliefs:

1-We've heard little to no media reports of contaminants from small farms.
2-Small farms become big housing developments if we don't support them.
3-Food comes from S. America when local farms become housing developments.
4-Food from S. America is only cheap when the $ is strong and oil is cheap.
5-My food shouldn't have to travel 1,500 miles to get to me when there's a fantastic community of farmers in my state.
6-Local farmers know their clientele. They are more likely to take care of their clientele (IMO) than an industrial estate.

One of my childhood memories that most shaped how I look at local farms:
When I was a kid my parents always went to the nearby farming community to buy 5g of blueberries to freeze for the winter. We enjoyed real blueberry pancakes & muffins in January. To this day I cannot stand fake blueberry anything. One year we headed out to my parents' favorite farm. Over the winter it had become a housing development.

 

[sweetshoplady]

Well said, JennsPeeps.

 

[Miltonchix]

When I lived in Eastern Washington I watched the migrant workers squat in the aspargus fields ALL THE TIME. No I don't eat fresh asparagus anymore. Even saw them do this mere feet from outhouse.

 

[crooked stripe]

Quote:
I can some what understand the outhouse issue. I built a furniture store in a mega mall (2'000'000 square feet-2 levels) in Richmond Va. There where 8,000 people working 24-7 to have this mall open on time. There where 8-10 outhouses at every mall entrance with a couple of pupper supper trucks making the nonstop rounds. They couldn't keep up. Many guys just took a leak at their truck because of the smell and flies. It should be a must to supply the pickers with outhouses that are keep clean. Another penny a pound on their product for sanatation wouldn't kill anyone. John