• shalafi@lemmy.world
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    11 hours ago

    Do tell how that works. Are you imagining herds of cows roaming among the lettuce rows?

    • cymbal_king@lemmy.world
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      10 hours ago

      Here’s an FDA report on a Romain lettuce E. coli outbreak that resulted in 5 deaths. There’s a couple of ways E. coli can get from cow intestines to lettuce: cow manure gets into irrigation canals/streams, and a downstream farm uses that to water their crops; manure used for fertilizer is not properly treated; cows get into farm fields that they shouldn’t be in. Lettuce is particularly susceptible because it is often eaten raw.

      • shalafi@lemmy.world
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        3 hours ago

        Ah! Makes sense. Your reasoning makes far more sense in the former rather than the latter examples. :) Yes, I’m sure livestock gets into vegetable fields now and again, but farmers and ranchers are mostly two different professions.