"The Science is clear: Dirty Farm Water is making us sick" Topic

Be careful…

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Amicalement
Armand

Seriously, do people not wash their produce anymore? They think they can grab anything out of the ground and stick it in their mouths without consequences?

Has anyone really ever irrigated farms with clean pure drinking water, ever? Since time immemorial plants have been grown in manure and human feces, and irrigated with all sorts of runoff.

And the same "safe zone" people who expect farms to be irrigated with pure water are probably the same ones who complain that the world is ending because there's a shortage of drinking water. Geesh.

Dan
PS. That's why most of my salad is fried (called an egg roll), or boiled (called soup). My sushi is deep fried in beer batter or well cooked on a fire.

Killed by kale. LOL

Seriously, do people not wash their produce anymore?

In this case it may have helped. However, most pesticides and other industrial spraying won't come off with a rinse. Wouldn't be that useful if these sprats were water soluble and come off in the rain.

…the same ones who complain that the world is ending because there's a shortage of drinking water.

Pretty flippant comment there Dan, seeing that 3 million + people die worldwide from unsafe drinking water every year. The world did end for them.

water.org

Glup!….

Amicalement
Armand

Why I eat mostly meat.

Mithmee

So, as in my case, your food consist mostly of vegans then. :)

Dan

Bowman

Nice try. This is what I really said in that paragraph:

"And the same ‘safe zone' people who expect farms to be irrigated with pure water are probably the same ones who complain that the world is ending because there's a shortage of drinking water."

I was clearly talking about the "safe-zone" ("hipsters") types here, whom we often see protest over the use of partially treated water in irrigation. Their picket signs sometimes read that irrigation water is unfit to drink. (Duh!) Then, when they're told to "MoveOn" over to another protest, they pick up new picket signs that read that the world is running out of drinking water. Surely you must have bumped into those types, on campus at least.

You're the one trying to make it look as though I'm cruel or poking fun at the people in the other countries where there might be drought or perhaps not enough potable water processing facilities.

Dan

I was clearly talking about the "safe-zone" ("hipsters") types here….

Like who?

The second clause of your quote was what I was commenting on, and my comments stand. I didn't say or insinuate that you were cruel, you were flippant.

Sorry, the deaths from drinking gray or dirty water occur in third world countries whose governments refuse to properly protect their citizens. And it will remain thus until the citizens demand better protection from their government. It is their lives and it is up to them to change the situation. Until then, it sucks to be a citizen of those countries.

Dave

Perhaps Dave, those countries would do a better job on water and other things if energy were cheaper.

As to the OP, when my grandfather stayed with us for a week or so, he harvested some dandelion greens for salad one day. Mother never would do it after he left. I asked her why, she replied that dandelion growing in the yard or field was exposed to animals urinating or defecating. Of course she washed everything from the store.

Per the article Bowman, the problem isn't pesticides but good old E. Coli. Washing will do the rick.

Proper food handling techniques, such as basic washing of your fruits and vegetables, is just common sense. Unfortunately, common sense and common curtesy are no longer common.

StoneMtnMinis – Perhaps I'm misreading your statement but it seems rather Having had the opportunity to have traveled to many of the poorest third world countries in my day, it is not the government that refuses to properly protect their citizens, it is they do not have the financial resources to do so. It costs money to make water safe for drinking. This is a benefit of being not being a third world country in that our governments are properly funded. The countries in which people die from lack of clean drinking water generally lack enough of an economy to fund the basics.

Per the article Bowman, the problem isn't pesticides but good old E. Coli. Washing will do the rick.

I think I mentioned that. The pesticide comment was there to illustrate the fact that washing your fruits and vegetables is not the panacea that many believe.

As for washing E Coli from vegetables, specifically Romaine lettuce, well it's been shown to be not that effective. They have evolved the ability to use their flagella, normally used for propulsion, for adhesion. In mass, they can form a plaque, with the flagella actually penetrating the cells of the lettuce. So imagine hook like structures grappling onto the vegetable surface. That is why washing is not always effective.

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As for clean water issues in 3rd world countries I think there is truth in what StoneMtnMinis, goragrad and Private Matter say. The problems are multifactorial and not cut and dried. I don't think these countries are ignoring their problems, they don't have the resources and funds to protect their citizens properly. Then again, some prefer to spend their limited resources on weapons.

Yes, poor 3rd world leaders*.

I'm sure they (and their appointees) get plenty of perfectly clean water imported in every day, along with stacks of hard currency and many other things. And lots of ice for chilling their champagne.

Dan
* Both the elected and unelected types.