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The nationwide cyclosporiasis outbreak has forced some American farmers to throw out their entire lettuce crops, according to a report.
One such farmer in California’s Salinas Valley told the Wall Steet Journal this week that he had to chop up 300,000 pounds of romaine hearts and plow it back into the soil.
This came with no evidence that his crops were infected with the parasite causing explosive diarrhea that has sickened thousands of people in nearly every state.
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Cox’s Coastline Family Farms supplies major grocery stores and top restaurants around the country, but the outbreak has lowered the demand for his greens by as much as 30%, he said.
“It is incredibly demoralizing,” Cox told the Journal. “I would’ve been better off taking a vacation in the South of France than planting the crop.”
The region is known as “America’s Salad Bowl” and supplies the country with nearly half of its lettuce.
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Still, he’s optimistic about the next harvest.
“You can’t afford to be downcast very long. You better pick yourself up, dust yourself off and keep pushing forward,” he explained.
Although the outbreak has been linked to iceberg lettuce from central Mexico recalled by California-based Taylor Farms — the country’s largest lettuce supplier — it’s affected the entire lettuce industry as Americans worry.
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“Consumers aren’t sure what’s right anymore so, out of an abundance of caution, they’re just passing on everything,” Joelle Mosso, a food scientist at family farm trade group Western Growers, told the Journal.
Viraj Puri, who founded Gotham Greens in Brooklyn told the Journal that, despite lagging sales, his company opted against less seeding.
“The public health benefits of a diet grounded in fruits and vegetables are indisputable,” he said. “I really hope consumers can get back to trusting the fruits and vegetables they buy in stores, because they generally are safe.”
Nationally, sales of fresh lettuce fell by nearly 9% in the month between mid-June and July as compared to the same time last year, the outlet reported, citing data from NielsenIQ.
That’s equivalent to 7.6 million pounds of lettuce.
Sales were also down on other vegetables like cauliflower, carrots, spinach and Brussels sprouts.
Even salad dressing has taken a hit.
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After one outbreak of cyclosporiasis was linked to lettuce served at Taco Bell, its sales went down by 25% that week.
While some are heading to local farmers markets, hoping their lettuce is more safe, most people appear to be taking a vegetable pause.
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