When Spinach Is Bad For You

INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY

Posted 9/18/2006

Environmentalism: Organic spinach appears to be the culprit behind a 20-state outbreak of deadly E. coli poisoning, casting further doubt on greens' claims that "organic is safer."

About 15 years ago, environmentalists set off a scare over the pesticide Alar used on apples. They brainwashed the public into thinking they could die from trace amounts of such chemicals, and the organic movement was born.

Organic growers, including the spinach farm suspected in the E. coli outbreak, use fertilizer made from manure rather than synthetic chemicals. Dangerous bacteria such as E. coli can be found in animal waste. And composting — unlike those "evil" pesticides — doesn't always kill the bacteria.

California-based Natural Selection Foods, the country's largest grower of organic produce, has recalled its packaged spinach throughout the U.S. Its best-known brand, Earthbound Farm, grows the organic spinach found in packaged salad fixings that have become a mainstay of restaurants and supermarkets.

Earthbound's Web site argues that organic farming is safer and healthier than conventional methods using synthetic fertilizers and "highly toxic" pesticides.

"When you choose organic," it says, "you're not only protecting your family's health, you're helping to protect the environment."

Its "earth-friendly alternatives" to chemicals include recycled plants and "sometimes animal waste materials."

You learn elsewhere on the Web site that these materials include chicken manure and "pelletized bat and bird guano," raising questions about the risk of not just E. coli, but also avian flu.

"This ingredient list may sound unappealing," Earthbound concedes, "but utilizing these waste products enables us to grow healthy plants without the use of petroleum-based fertilizers" that could harm the earth.

The more than 100 people battling E. coli poisoning from organic spinach — half of whom have been hospitalized — probably don't care about "earth friendly" alternatives right now. The outbreak has already killed an elderly woman and an infant.

Earthbound maintains that "organic is the healthiest choice for kids." A Dr. Alan Greene is quoted on its Web site saying, "I advocate feeding kids organic foods whenever possible . . . to reduce children's pesticide exposure."

EPA studies show no health damage from trace consumption of pesticides in produce, but we all know E. coli is a killer. And this outbreak is no isolated case. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says fruit and vegetables are responsible for more large-scale outbreaks of food-borne illnesses than meat, poultry and eggs.

Produce accounts for 6% of the outbreaks, up sharply from previous years. Organically grown lettuce, sprouts, green onions, tomatoes and melons (bacteria thrive on melon rinds) appear to be especially troublesome.

And as more school cafeterias go organic, more kids are getting sick. A 2002 federal report revealed that the number of school-lunch outbreaks caused by E. coli and salmonella doubled between 1990 and 2000.

The number of outbreaks will only get worse as stores stock more of the potentially dangerous organic produce, which happens to cost more than conventional produce. Organic farming is big business. The Agriculture Department says certified organic acreage has more than doubled over the past decade.

Thanks to the green lobby, consumers have been talked into thinking more expensive organic is safer and healthier. What a load of manure.

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