Food Alert

[Towntalk]

You won't hear it from here.

Jay once mentioned that he would like to see a new Farmers Market, and I for one think that this is a great idea.

For the longest time in Youngstown we had Market Houses where farmers would bring in their produce to sell. The first was where the City Hall stands. The second was where the Vindicator's old building now stands, and in the 20's there was a Market House on East Front just east of Market Street.

A well stocked Farmers Market that was given the right publicity (radio, television and newspapers) would be a great fit for downtown Youngstown. The restaurants I'm sure would give their eye teeth to be able to have a place near by where they could get fresh produce daily.

[Oldmill]

Seems like everytime I say buy American to someone, I get the reply " Its a global economy" As long as people buy the foreign products  stores will continue to sell them !  I look at everything I purchase and if I cant buy American I buy from a small country . I have seen the Garlic from China , I have seen plenty of small local markets that sell locally grown and I buy from them . Sure sometimes it a little inconvenient , to me its worth it .  Also  Look and see where alot of fish come from .....China

[Towntalk]

How many times this year alone have we been alerted to tainted food from California.

This site will not allow me to describe the conditions in the fields out there, but then if I could, I doubt that it would  make much difference to most people. We have been so conditioned to buying on the cheap that it's amazing that there aren't more problems than there are.

The sad answer is that the USDA could crack down on the commercial farm factories in California, but they won't because their  lobby groups will spend whatever it takes to keep the regulators off their backs. It would have to come to a major outbreak that resulted in thousands of deaths before the USDA would act, and then there is no doubt in my mind that it would result in a simple slap on the wrist.

[Mary]

I also agree that we should be using US growers. Food in not something that should be imported. No matter what we should be able to feed ourselves from within our own borders, ESPECIALLY with all the hate that is out there for America right now. 
 
However in this case the grower was in California (see link). We need to start taking steps to shore up our food supply and make sure this is not happening every few months.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16089596/

NBC Nightly News

FRESNO, Calif. - The scallions suspected in the E. coli outbreak linked to Taco Bell came from a Southern California grower, an official with the company that washed, chopped and packed them for the restaurant chain said Thursday

[Towntalk]

I couldn't agree more.

A family member from Pennsylvania who has a farm build a series of greenhouses and grows organic vegetables and herbs the year around, and his prices are about the same as the prices that supermarkets charge for the garbage that they import.

When I talked to him the last time, he was looking to purchase the farm next to his to expand his production.

If we encouraged local farmers to try this method, and gave them the same publicity that Whitehouse Fruit Farm gets we'd all be better off.

If the supermarkets had to deal with rotting produce long enough, maby they would get the message.

[jay]

One of the supermarkets in Youngstown carries garlic grown in China.  I know of a small farm in Columbiana County whose owner is raising several varieties of garlic.  Many area farmers bring locally grown garlic to the North Side Farmers Market in the summer.  I just can't see why the stores purchase garlic that has to travel half way around the world when it is being grown right here in the Mahoning Valley.

[Towntalk]

Right as rain ... it should have been E- Coli ... sorry about that.

It's a crime when here in America, the land of plenty, food as common and easy to grow as onions have to be imported from out of the country. There is absolutely no excuse for it when we have farmers right here in Ohio who are struggling to keep their heads above water while stores and restaurants go off and buy their produce from Mexico because they can save a dime, and then have problems like this crop up on a regular basis.

Heaven only knows we've been warned over and over again about the matter ... "wash that produce good before using even when you buy it in a supermarket".

[jay]

Did you mean to write E coli?  The other name implies something much worse.

[Towntalk]

Taco Bell has announced that it will no longer use green onions after a number of cases of E-Bola. The onions came from Mexico.

We would be wise not to purchase any of these products at the supermarket.

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/16171574.htm

How many people have to die or get seriously sick before the stores and restaurants refuse to buy any food products from Mexico?

There are enough family farms in America that we don't need tainted food from Mexico.