Perhaps the most jarring aspect of the widespread salmonella outbreak brought to us by certain varieties of tomatoes is that where the offending tomatoes came from cannot be determined. What does that say about the food chain? No one knows where these tomatoes originated? Looks like another argument for buying locally and just being content with whatever produce is in season in your area.
There have been numerous accounts of how the supply of fruits and vegetables for consumption far and wide is negatively affecting the environment. We want strawberries in December? They have to be shipped in from someplace that can produce them and that someplace may not have the same environmental regulations that we have here. But it is another case of "I want it and I want it now, and I can afford it, so there".
I’m not suggesting we go back to the Prairie Days when we could consume only what was grown in our own gardens or nearby. But having it all whenever we want it dilutes the appreciation for, not only the environment, but for that strawberry or kiwi we are putting into our mouths in December in Manhattan.
Take a look at a New York Times article on the subject:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/26/business/worldbusiness/26food.html?sq=foods%20from%20other%20countries&st=nyt&adxnnl=1&scp=14&adxnnlx=1213837355-A9IThZTI85shCW1hw3Buzg
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I wish that finding the source of a problem was a more exact science. I had to throw out many perfectly nice looking tomatoes just to be on the safe side and now they are not even sure it had anything to do with tomatoes at all. It is so easy to become a produce terrorist and cripple an industry with just a small effort. This must improve quickly!
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