Neal's Workshop

Per the Atlantic City Press:

The market is dead:

Spinich warning over E. coli contamination hits New Jersey growers with sales drought

Dan Graiff spent a beautiful Monday afternoon on a tractor, only to come off the field to hear more bad news: Another local farmers market had called to cancel its spinach order.

“Right now, the field is sitting unharvested,” said Graiff, who grows about 40 acres of baby spinach. “There’s no orders right now. No one wants it. The market is dead.”

Somewhere Popeye, "the Sailor Man", is crying. Unfortunately, spinach is one of my favorite leafy greens -- though it doesn't endow me with super-strength and massive forearms. Sigh.

And in case you're wondering, no, terrorism is not suspected in this outbreak of E. coli. This is despite some belief that our food sources are particularly susceptible to terrorist acts:

Federal officials have also raised concerns that the food supply is vulnerable to contamination by terrorists. Just before leaving office in December 2004, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said he worries "every single night" about a possible terror attack on the food supply.

"For the life of me, I cannot understand why the terrorists have not attacked our food supply because it is so easy to do," Thompson said.

Great. Food terrorism. What on earth will they think of next? Not sure? Well I've got a hunch: bathroom terrorism. Where else are we more prone to being taken unawares, vulnerable and incapable of protecting ourselves? Could there be anything worse than having to do your business scared shitless? I don't think so!

And yes, the pun was very much intended.