Attack of the tomatoes
Tomatoes have been on people's minds recently and for all the wrong reasons. Tim Rutten, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times, recently added his two cents on the reasons for the current salmonella crisis.
One part of the story that has not been covered as much as it should is the positive role that home gardening can play in providing safe, healthy, and delicious foods to those who hunger for them. That's where KGI steps in as an organization. Below is the text of the letter to the editor from KGI's founder, Roger Doiron, where he offers a couple of cents worth of his own thoughts on the latest scare. The letter was published in the Los Angeles Times this past Sunday.
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Safe and homegrown
Re "Attack of the killer tomatoes," Opinion, June 11
You say industrially grown tomato, I say salmonella. Tomato, salmonella, spinach, E. coli: Is it time to call the whole salad bar off?
Well, not quite, but the latest cases of tainted produce give further evidence that we must simplify the complex food chain connecting field to fork. Tim Rutten's column correctly points out that the more links there are in the chain, the greater the chances that disease and adulteration can find their way into it.
I was encouraged, if not amused, to read that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had given home-grown tomatoes the all-clear in its recent tomato warning. With gas and food prices hitting historic highs, it is time that our government made even stronger statements about the healthfulness and desirability of home-produced foods in society.
As a home-grower, I know of no better flavor-enhancer than peace of mind.
Roger Doiron
Scarborough, Maine
The writer is the director of Kitchen Gardeners International.
