YEAR OF THE VEGGIE?

The Sacramento Bee rewrites the "vegetarians aren't gloating, or at least they better not be" story that was widely done a couple weeks ago, but includes this proclamation: "Mad cow disease and salmon scares may make this the year of the veggie." It's an interesting prediction, and we'll watch how it plays out, but it's hard to put much stock in an article that replays such tired fallacies as equating the hepatitis-scallions link with BSE. This quote, for example, passes without comment... "'The actual risk of mad cow disease is far less than getting salmonella or (another illness) off a potato salad that's sat out in the sun too long,' says Louis Grivetti, a nutrition professor at the University of California, Davis." Well, gosh, since the preceding paragraphs pertained to VEGANS, it's worth pointing out that the odds of getting any foodborne disease from a VEGAN potato salad are absolutely miniscule, unless it's been cross-contaminated with what? ANIMAL PRODUCTS! Sheesh.