What Would Popeye Do?

I'LL BE THE first to admit that I hated spinach as a youngster. Not even Popeye could convince me that the green leafy vegetable was good for me. Of course, I'm going to partially blame my parents (sorry mom and dad) because the only way they used to serve it at dinner time was...boiled! Come on, how were my sister and I supposed to learn to like boiled spinach?

Now comes word from the CDC that eating spinach might kill you. 10-yr. olds haven't been this happy since 'High School Musical' came out on DVD. But the impact of the E. Coli scare goes far beyond 5th grade classrooms -- it also hits the agriculture and food-service market in a big way as this article helps to explain. The economic impact could be felt for months according to the FDA, and even then, there's no guarantee that the source of the bacterial will be known.

Meanwhile, spinach is off limits until further notice. Stores are pulling it off shelves and restaurants are pulling it off menus. Too bad, because I now love spinach -- as long as it's not boiled.


Here's today's WaPo cartoon on the subject.