Video: Vegetable Grower Puts Cyclospora Outbreak in Context for Consumers

While the current Cyclospora outbreak continues to persist without a definitive source of food contamination, the consumption of fresh vegetables and those that grow and sell them take a hit. This shouldn’t be the case if you put the foodborne illness outbreak in the right context, says Shay Myers, CEO of Owyhee Produce in Parma, ID.

Myers, who also is a social media farming influencer, tackles this topic in a recent post on his LinkedIn account. Hey says, “The rare parasite has infected about, as far as we know today, about 8,000 people. Let’s put this in context. How many people is that really infecting? And, how many servings of raw produce are we eating every day?”

According to Myers, statistics indicate about 900 million servings of fresh produce are consumed every day! Here’s where Myers drives home his point in the video. “If you’re getting in a car, did you know you’re 50 times more likely to have a serious injury or death driving in your car on a daily basis than consuming your fresh fruits and vegetables? Would you stop driving your kids to school tomorrow because it’s too risky?”

What do you think? Check out the entire clip below and leave a reader comment.