All this “Listeria Hysteria” that followed the reports of contaminated cantaloupe reminds me of a Twilight Zone episode.
We’re destroying a relatively healthy food by the ton, issuing dire warnings about deadly pathogens, and generally scaring an already scared public, all without taking stock of what’s really going on. I don’t mean to downplay the tragedy of listeria-related deaths, or the troubling increase in food-borne pathogens. But blaming cantaloupe is an example of shooting the messenger, if ever I saw one.
Listeria is an opportunistic infection, and only causes illness in people with compromised immune system complexes. Instead of destroying millions of melons, we need to be working on strengthening and supporting our patients’ innate defense systems.
