Life sciences/Biochemistry/Pharmacology/Bioactive compounds/Pesticides
Organically grown vegetable sprouts caused the E. coli outbreak that has killed 31 people and sickened nearly 3,100 in Europe, investigators at Germany's national disease control center announced last week.
E. coli is a virulent bacteria found in cattle manure, which organic farms use instead of chemical pesticides, to fertilize their crops.
E. coli is not the only toxin that can enter our food supply. Potato peels, tea leaves, peaches and apricots all have naturally occurring toxins in them that can have deadly consequences on people who consume them.
In a reading from his book "NATURALLY DANGEROUS: Surprising Facts About Food, Health, and the Environment," author James P. Collman, a professor emeritus at Stanford University and a member of AAAS, offers some sobering facts about the food we eat.
- Stanford: Naturally Dangerous: Surprising Facts About Food, Health, and the Environment
- Stanford: James P. Collman biography