Small farm advocates are urging regulators to rein in corporate agriculture consolidation following a cyclospora outbreak that sickened at least 300 people across more than half of Iowa’s 99 counties. The outbreak was traced to Taylor Farms of Mexico, whose lettuce reached fast food chains, restaurants, and grocery stores nationwide, with Taco Bell’s shredded lettuce drawing the most attention. Public News Service reports Joe Maxwell, cofounder of the advocacy group Farm Action, says consumers’ apparent brand choices mask how concentrated the supply chain really is.
“40% of the mixed salad kits in the country are Taylor Farms. 40%. So regardless of where you walk into, the likelihood is that you could be dealing with Taylor Farms. The restaurants and the others need to be asking more questions of their suppliers.”
Maxwell says Taylor Farms, a $7 billion company with more than 25,000 employees, reflects excessive market consolidation, and argues only policymakers can fix the problem.
“Government is the largest food purchaser in the United States and it needs to focus its purchasing power on helping secure local and regional food systems and stop going to the one-stop shop of the Taylor Farms and the other big concentrated companies.”
The CDC has investigated the outbreak since Taylor Farms lettuce was recalled in mid-July.
Our thanks to Public News Service for this story.
