Global Food Chain Ensures Ills Never Go Out of Season

On the heels of a tomato scare, US consumers need to look closely at the risks and ever-rising costs of the global network that supplies produce no matter the season, Tim Rutten writes in the Los Angeles Times. "When one packer's tainted produce goes to three or four countries, what would have been a local problem becomes an international one," he notes.

The globalized produce industry also compromises flavor, writes Rutten, noting, "tomatoes and tree fruit grown and shipped in this fashion seldom come even remotely close to tasting the way a tomato or a peach is supposed to taste." Yet another factor to consider "next time you get the urge for insalata Caprese in March." (More tomatoes stories.)