Alton on Spinach
Tuesday, October 03, 2006 | posted by Mike
Every now and then (i.e. pretty much all of the time), something slips through me unnoticed, particularly when it’s on a web site that doesn’t offer an RSS feed (c’mon, Be Square Inc.!).Alton Brown, never one to shy away from sharing his opinion on all matters food-related, took to his site and weighed in a few weeks back on the spinach/E. coli story. In addition to putting the outbreak into perspective, he offers some interesting insight into the possibility that the outbreak, although unfortunate in the short term, may end up serving as a wake up call with long-term benefits.
I don’t want to sound like some crazy, anti-establishment bio-terrorist but maybe, just maybe this is a wakeup call. Truth is our food system has major flaws which point to one reoccurring theme: too much of our food is produced by centralized, industrial concerns.Apparently, Alton is also feeling a bit feisty because he takes a couple of swipes at some governmental and regulatory agencies for their handling of the outbreak. His comments on how everyday consumers can protect themselves from issues like this, such as buying locally grown food and eating seasonally, provides good advice in this instance as well as a smart plan for ensuring that you will get the best, freshest products year-round.
And, although he mentions the "bio-terrorist" thing in an offhand way, he’s not totally off base. A lot of people started to pay attention to the threat of bio-terrorism after those anthrax mailings back in 2001.
Labels: Alton Brown
