German E. Coli Update

Well, the German authorities have changed their minds once again. They are now certain that the E. Coli outbreak originated at the same organic sprouts farm that they had just recently cleared of any involvement in the issue. Tests have still NOT found E. coli on any sprouts from the farm, but German health officials claim that enough epidemiological evidence exists to link the outbreak to the sprouts. Specifically, they have linked a number of the E. coli cases to twenty-six restaurants that received sprouts from the farm (1). The U.S. Center for Disease Control, however, is more reluctant to use this evidence as certain proof of a link between the farm and the outbreak, and they have urged German officials to be cautious.

Indeed, it is difficult not to be wary of the German authorities' latest conclusion (First E. coli and then Roundup, all in one week!). This is not the first time that they have been "certain" of the outbreak's source, although it looks like it will be the last. What was already a tragic event for Germany has also become a national embarrassment and health officials were desperate to pinpoint its cause. The epidemiological evidence they found points to a high likelihood that the outbreak originated at the organic sprouts farm, although it cannot provide the certainty that E. coli positive tests would have done. Nevertheless, it is not this blogs place to dispute the conclusions of German health officials.

Regardless of whether or not the outbreak originated at an organic farm, it must be reiterated that industrial scale agriculture, not organic vs. conventional farming, is the true issue here. The arguments for this can be found in our post dated June 8th. Food contamination has occurred, and likely will continue to occur, at both organic and conventional farms. It is our cumbersome and corporate-dominated global food system, however, which turns these contaminations into international outbreaks.

Furthermore, when food is produced and consumed locally, farmers have a reputation to uphold in the surrounding community. If their produce becomes contaminated they cannot hide behind an impersonal food system. They are directly accountable for the quality and safety of their produce and it becomes a financial, not to mention moral, necessity that they avoid outbreaks of this kind. In an industrial scale food system accountability is diluted and consumers have far less knowledge about where there food is coming from and, thus, less power to make informed decision about what they eat. In this situation it often seems to consumers that the only way to be safe is to adhere to blanket condemnations of organic farming or bean sprouts, for instance.

Let us not be fooled into believing that industrial-conventional agriculture, which often utilizes harmful chemicals, is our best bet for safe food. There is no other more ironic conclusion that we could arrive at from this E. coli outbreak. Now more than ever, we need local quality, local safety, and local accountability.


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1) http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/06/10/germany-confirms-sprouts-to-blame-for-killer-bacteria/