Thanks to Carolyn Lochhead of the San Francisco Chronicle for examining the effect of the salmonella outbreak--and its unclear origins--on California's tomato growers:
By the time the Food and Drug Administration cleared tomatoes Thursday in its investigation of a salmonella outbreak, California's tomato sales had plummeted more than 40 percent.Complaints about the FDA's failure to properly study and respond to the salmonella outbreaks are increasing: Read the complete article on the SFGate site. (A reminder, too, of Marion Nestle's excellent summary of criticism and concern about the handling of the salmonella investigations.) Posted to Farm , In Other Media by Lisa, July 19, 2008 11:32 AM"It's a government-made disaster," said Melanie Horwath, office manager and a member of the fourth generation of the family that runs Gonzales Packing Company in the Salinas Valley that saw estimated crop losses of $2 million. "The government has a responsibility to only provide facts, not idle speculation. They're going to put us all out of business."