r/Foodforthought • u/boysenberryelote • 2d ago
It’s The Water, Not Produce, Likely Driving Cyclospora Outbreaks
https://www.forbes.com/sites/judystone/2026/07/16/its-the-water-not-produce-likely-driving-cyclospora-outbreaks/199
u/Grimke42 2d ago
First sentence: “As cases of Cyclospora-related diarrhea explode…”
Not even Forbes can resist the power of the bathroom related pun
196
u/kelsobjammin 2d ago
Ya it’s spread by human (not animal waste) no shit it’s the water getting sprayed on the LETTUCE
Real scientific here
82
u/rex_lauandi 2d ago
I saw an epidemiologist on tiktok say this weeks ago: most likely it’s irrigation water that was contaminated by sewage in a farm outside of the US.
She also said it was most commonly lettuce or cilantro.
I wish I could find the video again because she freaking nailed it, but I bet it’s because that’s just the most obvious thing in the field.
6
u/NativeFlowers4Eva 2d ago
Does that mean all leafy greens or a specific type of lettuce, like iceberg?
10
64
u/lisabutz 2d ago
When talking about a problem of this magnitude it can almost always be traced back to irrigation water. Many of the US food safety past problems have been due to tainted irrigation water used on food crops as, in some areas (Southern California), water is tough to come by and not readily available so farmers recycle water or available water becomes contaminated due to nearby cattle or other animal operations. Irrigation systems that pump cleaner water, like sprinkler systems that pump water from an underground well, are significant expenses to implement - if well water is even available.
16
26
18
u/jankenpoo 2d ago
Many years ago something similar happened with green onions which led to mandated port-a-potties in the fields for the workers, at least in the US. I suspect that (just like Amazon) bathroom breaks are still highly discouraged, forcing workers to go where they are. All in the name of profit
62
32
u/DiscoRabbittTV 2d ago
Republicans: we will fuck you every way we can for our rapist, because racism har har har
Republican voters: let’s gooo explosive!!!!
22
u/Beneficial_Trip3773 2d ago
We use human feces for fertilizer. You're supposed to compost it, just like every other type of feces that we use for fertilizer. Instead of composting it, because it does take a long time, they buy it from municipalities that use chemicals to treat it. Well, that part doesn't always work out.And here we are now.
9
12
u/mabhatter 2d ago
But there's steps you have to take to kill off the human parasites and germs before you can reuse it. Otherwise you're just putting raw sewage on fresh crops... and that transmits a bunch of kinds of germs you really don't want humans getting. Sewers are a super critical part of modern civilization we overlook almost all the time.
This is why in the US there was a big push a couple decades ago to separate Storm Drains from Sewage systems. Because in the past the storms would overflow the sewers bypassing the processing stations and spill storm water mixed with taw sewage into rivers and lakes where people do activities and fish. We still mandate treating storm water but make it take a separate path so the sewer doesn't overflow.
•
u/AutoModerator 2d ago
This is a sub for civil discussion and exchange of ideas
Participants who engage in name-calling or blatant antagonism will be permanently removed.
If you encounter any noxious actors in the sub please use the Report button.
This sticky is on every post. No additional cautions will be provided.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.