Local produce companies frustrated amid romaine lettuce e-coli outbreak [KSBW TV, Monterey-Salinas]
Salinas produce growers are upset because they say even when they have scientific validation their products are clean and there is no cross contamination, they still have to stop shipments. They said they want the FDA to focus on the investigation and the cause and not on shutting down the Salinas romaine lettuce industry, especially right before Thanksgiving….Frustration is mounting as local growers and shippers say the recent e-coli outbreak on Salinas grown romaine lettuce calls for everyone in the produce industry to step up their game.
Opinion: Our food is tainted with E. coli, yet the FDA is rolling back safety rules [Los Angeles Times]
…These outbreaks lay bare an alarming truth that contradicts a century of germ consciousness and progress in public health in the United States: Our food system still is not safe. And the Trump administration’s aversion to safety regulations means that this will not be the last outbreak….Stronger safety regulations for irrigation water would prevent romaine from becoming the pariah of the agricultural industry and would keep consumers safe.
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2019-11-25/romaine-lettuce-ecoli-food-safety-fda
Lawsuit aims to save desert ag: Draft groundwater sustainability plan would end large-scale agriculture in Indian Wells Valley [Bakersfield Californian]
Water managers trying to bring groundwater into balance in the severely overdrafted Indian Wells Valley basin near Ridgecrest laid out a draft plan last month that would essentially mean the end of large-scale agriculture in that desert region….Last week, several ag companies fired back with a lawsuit. It is the first lawsuit related to the state’s new groundwater law in Kern County,…Rather, the lawsuit aims to force a “physical solution” to the valley’s groundwater woes without having a court specify how much water each user is allotted, which is the result of an adjudication.
Housing versus agriculture: The battle for California’s land [KXTV, Sacramento]
California loses one acre of farmland every five days, according to the state’s Department of Conservation….The department has spent decades mapping out how land has changed due to urbanization. It’s a battleground that’s been brewing and could reach the tipping point soon with Governor Newsom’s call to add an additional 3.5 million new housing units by 2025….It’s a delicate balance, trying to house a growing population and preserve some of the most productive farmland in the world.
Salinas contractor pays $56k in back wages, fines to farm workers [Salinas Californian]
A Salinas-based farm labor contractor was ordered to pay $56,673 in in back wages and penalties after a Department of Labor investigation uncovered abuse of H-2A workers, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Monday. Empire Farm Labor Contractor has paid $38,260 in back wages to 79 employees for multiple violations found under the H-2A temporary agricultural worker visa program and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA), the department of labor said….Department of labor investigators found that Empire Farm Labor Contractor violated H-2A requirements when it rejected a qualified U.S. worker who applied for a job. Empire also failed to pay H-2A workers’ transportation expenses from their home countries and confiscated H-2A workers’ passports and visas, which are vital identification and legal documents.
Inside the mass-tort machine that powers thousands of Roundup lawsuits [Wall Street Journal]
…Tying exposure from everyday products like Roundup to cancer often is less straightforward than linking illness to medications or medical devices, said Chase Givens, a lawyer with the Cochran Firm…Three years later, more than 42,700 farmers, landscapers and home gardeners have sued Bayer AG, Roundup’s manufacturer,…Behind the surge in lawsuits is a little-known, sophisticated legal ecosystem that includes marketing firms that find potential clients, financiers who bankroll law firms, doctors who review medical records, scientists who analyze medical literature and the lawyers who bring the cases to court.
