To Eat or Not To Eat?

For those of you who know me, you'll know that I'm a talk radio addict. And I mean ADDICT! I podcast various different talk radio shows from Democracy Now! to Science Friday. There's been a lot of talk, on Science Friday, Here on Earth, Living on Earth, etc. about this E. coli outbreak from spinach.
I also know that there has been talk about some of the spinach being organic, which leads to discussion about how organic foods may be more prone to bacteria, etc. I must say PHOEY! I'm not just saying this because much of the food I eat is organic but because bacteria such as E. coli do not effect only organically grown foods.
From all I've heard, the cause of the bacterial contamination, in this specific instance, is not yet known. However, there are only a few sources of E. coli. The main one of which is cattle feces (I chose to use the more technical term over jess's 'poo'). If you've ever lived anywhere where there's a dairy near some sort of water source, you know that when it rains, manure runs into the water contaminating the water with whatever sort of bacteria, parasite, etc. that is in the manure.
Because most of the produce we get in the US comes from California (and the Governator), if the irrigation water the farmers use has been contaminated by manure, the produce grown using this irrigation water also becomes contaminated. This happens regardless of whether the produce is grown by 'conventional (i.e., pesticides, herbicides)' manner or organically.
Sure you can decrease your chances of getting the bacteria by not purchasing the contaminated food. But, here's something interested I learned, the store with possible contaminated foods on their shelves are NOT required to remove those foods. The recall is totally voluntary. This is the case regardless of whether the contaminated food product is meat or plant.
You can also wash your produce, cook it, keep it refigerated or purchase it from someone locally. Buying produce and products from local sellers doesn't necessarily exempt you from getting contaminated products but you can see (if you so choose) the irrigation water being used to grow the plants. You can see manure running from the containment pond into the water source and you actually know the people growing your food. It's in their best interest to retain you as a customer (because they don't have that many). Therefore, you might actually be able to effect the way they produce their produce (hooray for the English language).
Honestly, I miss living in a place where I can grow my own food. So, I compromise by hitting the Farmer's Market every Saturday Morning and let me tell you, I get loads of awesome, freshly picked produce for cheap. I know not everyone has this option but I'll wager there are more options available to you than you think.
I'm getting off my soapbox now but just thought I'd jump in on the E. coli bandwagon and put in my 2 cents worth and maybe spread a bit of information (NOT manure!)

ps- Thanks for reading