| Weston A. Price Foundation | Contact: Kimberly Hartke, Publicist |
| For Immediate Release |
DEADLY CANTALOUPES IN COLORADO:
ARE CONFINEMENT ANIMAL OPERATIONS TO BLAME?
Washington, D.C. –September 30, 2011—The deadliest foodborne illness outbreak in a century may be linked to confinement animal operations. Over sixteen people have died from possible listeria illnesses traced to Colorado cantaloupes.
Although Jensen Farms, producer of the cantaloupes, does not use pesticides, it is located in Prowers County, Colorado, which has a very high concentration of Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO).
According to the Food and Water Watch website ( http://www.factoryfarmmap.org/#animal:all;location:CO;year:2007 ) Prowers County has an “extreme” concentration of CAFOs, with over forty-four thousand cattle and almost one hundred forty thousand hogs in confinement. Animals outnumber people in Prowers County by twelve to one.
“Filthy runoff from confinement operations can contaminate water used in irrigating crops,” says Sally Fallon Morell, president of the Weston A. Price Foundation. “We hope that public health officials will include irrigation water and waste water lagoons in their investigations of this tragic outbreak.”
The Weston A. Price Foundation advocates consumption of pasture-raised animal foods, for both health and environmental reasons. “Consumers can play a role in fixing our food safety woes. By choosing to purchase their meat directly from local farmers engaged in small scale grass based farming, they can remove support from these toxic factories that pose the greatest food safety risk,” says Fallon Morell.
Research continues to show that beef raised on grass is much less likely to harbor pathogenic organisms; and local-small scale processing minimizes the risk of contamination. Grass-fed cattle and pigs, free to roam on pasture rather than confined to a feedlot, produce highly nutritious beef and pork, without the risks.
The Weston A. Price Foundation, a non-profit nutrition education foundation with five hundred chapters worldwide, actively promotes farm-to-consumer direct sales. The Foundation’s volunteer chapter leaders provide a list of local food resources to those interested in consuming meat, eggs and dairy products raised naturally on pasture.
MEDIA CONTACT: KIMBERLY HARTKE
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I know that the ideal is eating only locally and in season, which we do for the most part, but there are times when that cantelope jumps into the grocery cart. What are your suggestions for making sure that it comes from a location nowhere near CAFOs??? Thanks!
I just make sure its ORGANIC!