We Can Grow Our Own

Published on Monday, October 9, 2006 by the Seattle Times (Washington)
Time to Become a "Locavore"
by Neal Peirce

The first OK to buy spinach after the big E. coli scare was for crops shipped out of Colorado or Canada. Then the Food and Drug Administration cleared California spinach — except the suspect packages sent out by Natural Selection Foods.

Great. But why is three-quarters of all U.S. spinach grown in California, then shipped to markets as far distant as 3,500 highway miles? And especially at this time of year, when spinach can be grown successfully almost anywhere?

Agribusiness — that's why.