There is a health scare in Europe..cucumbers lettuce and tomatoes have caused deaths from ecoli and the source is believed to be from the managment of the growth system.
we try to eat heathily and then hear about this..I know some of the deaths are in Germany and Switzerland and do hope there is an end to whatever went wrong.

from newpaper source

Published 31 May 2011

cucumbers E.coli food poisoning


The source of E.coli in cucumbers which has caused 14 deaths and infected hundreds remained a mystery yesterday (30 May) as scientists sought to speed up testing mechanisms and tensions rose over trade in European vegetables.

All the deaths have occurred in Germany, where there are 329 confirmed infections, but cases have now spread to the US – where three victims have been identified.

The majority of infections and fatalities have hit women in middle-to-old age, whose kidneys were damaged by toxins after they developed Hemolytic-uremic Syndrome (HUS) following infection by the E.coli (see 'Background').

Most of the infections outside Germany affected Germans travelling abroad or foreigners who have recently been in Germany. All but one of the deaths were recorded in northern Germany, but fears that the outbreak was spreading increased when an elderly woman died in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia yesterday.

Sweden has reported 30 cases out of which 13 developed HUS, Denmark 11 cases (five with HUS), the UK three (two HUS), the Netherlands one HUS case and Austria two STEC cases

Darn! I love cucumbers!

Curiouser and curiouser... the news reports I've seen seem to point the finger at Spanish-grown produce...

Don't know why, but when I hear "organic produce" I tend to think "locally grown," or small regional producers, but clearly that is an error in my thinking - especially since I buy organically grown products like pasta sauce in the main aisles of the grocery store that clearly began with organic produce.

Anyway, here's a link from NPR if anyone wants to read more on this scary topic: Death toll from organic cukes grows.

Anne I have heard that organic unless managed properly is a money spinner ...add that word then ask for more..
but this is a scandle that contamination occured..the mind boggles..
managed properly has to be morally managed...if diluted "poo" is used then no thanks..
yet free from additives/incesticides is what many seek
I have my own tomatoes growing merrily..also cucumber and guess what?? I will use water...nothing else..

There is a big push in the US,by big Agra, to allow irradiation, treated sewage sludge, GMOs, to be used on organic produce. So far, we've been able to stop it, but I'm not sure how long that will last. Also, produce can be grown organically, but washed with contaminated water or handled by infected individuals or in infected areas after it's picked. Many are saying that organic produce isn't safe, but the organic growing isn't the problem; it's what happens to the food afterward that is probably contaminating it.

And is there a long arm of Big Agra involved in that - impression that organically grown food is not safe? After all, for years the farm industry has pushed he concept that "bigger is better," etc.

As of today 16 have died from this E-Coli outbreak and that is scary as all get out!!!

Anne,
Like you, I'm suspicious too and went looking for something on the Organic consumers website. I found something from 2004 that's interesting because it talks about how front groups try to smear organic techniques. If farmers are using manure, they're not buying chemicals from companies like Monsanto.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/Organic/fecal-contamination.cfm#point

Read both the articles to get the full story.

In response to the idea that organic always costs more, I think that may apply to some processed food that pretends to be organic. Some of those use sewage sludge, as Yonuh says. As more and more farmers adopt organic techniques, I'm finding that the prices are more comparable.

My body is a pesticide detector -- if I eat anything with pesticides, I get hot flashes. Never happens with organic. What that tells me is that the pesticides are endocrine disrupters. I've been saying "no thanks" to anything but organic produce, dairy and meat for about 10 years now.

Organic vegetables here are more expensive..I accept the higher price.dont buy meat that has had hormones added.

I heard on radio that drugs are "harvested" from human urine...one very rich man who had a porta loo company invested in a procedure where after events such as rock festivals he "harvests" the recreactional drugs from his liquid soil,
,
It made me think..