Environmental tradeoffs

Fresh Express is in the news again relating to its buying standards, this time with coverage focusing on the environmental tradeoff of its buying requirements. Here is coverage of the story by Jacob Adelman of the AP:
From the story:

Trying to prevent more E. coli outbreaks and regain consumer confidence, some produce distributors are pressuring farmers to abandon practices that have long been considered environmentally friendly. Fresh Express, the nation's No. 1 maker of packaged salads, is refusing to buy lettuce and spinach from farmers who don't stop using compost and recycled water. Farmers complain that they are being subjected to requirements based more on conjecture than sound science, and that the mandates could undo years of work aimed at making farming less disruptive to the environment.
''There's been some real knee-jerk decisions made in the industry,'' said Dirk Giannini, who operates a lettuce farm in the agriculture-rich Salinas Valley. ''We may overreact, and that might shortfall the environment.''

Not all distributors are adopting the stringent policies regarding farm practices. Will Daniels, food safety chief for Natural Selections LLC, which also distributes packaged produce, said there wasn't enough evidence linking compost use and non-crop growth on farms to the spread of E. coli. "It's difficult to put blanket statements out there to say, 'There will be no use of grass for erosion control,'" he said.

Distributors have until April 1 to sign a statewide self-regulating agreement coordinated by the Western Growers Association, which represents the fresh produce industry in California and Arizona. The most recent draft of the plan would prohibit deals with farmers who use raw manure as fertilizer and allow livestock near crops, among other practices.

Farmer George Fontes said companies have already stopped buying lettuce grown on his Salinas farm using compost that sometimes contains manure.
''There's no real proven connection between contamination and compost,'' he said.
Fontes believes that using compost instead of chemical nutrients is better for the long-term health of his fields. Fertilizer can harm nearby waterways because runoff contains nitrogen and other elements that promote algae growth and decrease oxygen, killing fish, he said.

TK: Taking away the use of compost may seem like a Draconian measure to some consumers, who may finally see in these tradeoffs the cost of reducing food safety risk.