Poison produce
June 8, 2011
Leonhard Palm is nervous. The normally jovial farmer operates a small organic farm in Bornheim, near the western German town of Bonn, and he's growing increasingly concerned about the fallout from the E. coli outbreak.
"Initially our sales weren't impacted - we're a small, organic farm, people can see where the produce comes from," Palm said. "But the longer this outbreak lasts and the more products are cast under suspicion, the more uncertain the consumer gets."
Recently, the demand for his lettuce has dropped by about 50 percent. Palm only harvests what he can sell, meaning he leaves half the heads on a field, at a loss of about 1,500 euros ($2,100) a week. His tomatoes and cucumbers are ready to be harvested now, and he's worried they may suffer the same fate as the lettuce.
Call for action
On Tuesday, the European Commission announced it will ask EU member states to release 150 million euros in aid to European vegetable growers whose sales have plummeted as a result of the bacteria outbreak. But Palm doubts he'll see any of that money.
"As a small farm, we only sell things directly to consumers or at the farmers' market and I don't think were going to get any compensation for our losses," he said, adding that he believed larger corporations were more likely to receive compensation.
Serious consequences
At least 24 people have died of E. coli bacteria poisoning, all but one of them in Germany. The credibility of German health authorities has slowly been eroded, as they've erroneously singled out suspect produce - first Spanish cucumbers, and more recently, sprouts - which tests still haven't confirmed were behind the outbreak.
But Palm says he understands their zeal in warning consumers.
"It's a matter of life and death, so of course they should take every precaution. But the way they're doing it now - it's like a different story every day. First they incriminate a product, and then they analyze it."
Both frustrated farmers and anxious consumers are eager for authorities to identify the source of the outbreak quickly. In the meantime, health officials continue to warn consumers off raw tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and bean sprouts - for all they know, the E. coli bacteria could lurk in any of those things. Or in none of them.
Author: Sarah Harman
Editor: Nicole Goebel