Stop the Idiocracy: The hidden cost of fresh produce

Sunday, July 26, 2026

The hidden cost of fresh produce

A warmly lit, mid-century-inspired illustration depicts a red-haired woman standing barefoot in the doorway of a modest vintage kitchen. She wears an off-the-shoulder cream floral dress with pink roses, lifting one side of the skirt slightly as she faces the viewer with a composed but questioning expression. One hand rests beside a wooden bowl containing lettuce, tomatoes, and strawberries on the worktop, subtly drawing attention to the fresh produce. Sunlight streams through the open doorway and gingham-curtained window, illuminating a cream enamel refrigerator, an old-fashioned stove with a red cooking pot, and well-worn cupboards that evoke an ordinary domestic setting. The nostalgic décor and gentle golden light contrast with the sparse bowl of salad ingredients, suggesting concern over the safety or availability of fresh food while preserving an atmosphere of quiet domestic resilience.

image generated via ChatGPT

Poll suggests large numbers of Americans are changing their eating habits due to cyclospora outbreak. {CBS News 26 July}

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cyclospora-outbreak-fda-opinion-poll/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab7e&linkId=986445447

Tellingly, Republican voters tend to approve of the job the Trumpist-occupied FDA is doing, whilst other Americans do not. At almost any point in the past, it would be Democratic voters expressing more faith in a given government agency in an emergency. But this is Trumpistan now, and the GOP is not the same party it once was in normal times. All told, who can be trusted anymore? Neither government nor private industry nor individuals. And the older I get, the more I consider eating to be a chore and a necessary evil.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

🪐💔 #QueSeraSera 𓅨 🕈