Over a half-billion eggs have been recalled since the salmonella outbreak first occurred. Experts have said that this particular strain of salmonella, salmonella enteritidis, is passed from rodent droppings to the hens. Infected hens actually transmit the bacteria to the eggs before they lay them. This means that the bacteria is inside the egg. So bacteria from rodent feces somehow got inside the hen and is passed on inside the egg that millions of Americans eat for breakfast? Nasty.

I tell you  though, I’m not worried about the egg recall. In fact, I’ve had eggs for breakfast every day since the salmonella outbreak started. I may not be in one of the affected states, but more importantly, the eggs I eat aren’t on the list. I eat Organic Valley omega-3 exra-large brown eggs. They’re organic (meaning the hens were fed organic feed) and cage-free. Even more important is I’ve done research on Organic Valley. I’ve read articles about their company, perused their website, and I’ve even watched an interview with the CEO talking about how they started and what their vision is. Although I’ve never visited any of their farms, I have a much better idea about where my eggs are coming from than most Americans.

It’s time to WAKE UP and see the connection between our health problems and the way food is processed in this country. I’m not into organic food because I believe we should all be wearing loosely-fit hemp clothing, live in communes, and listen to the Grateful Dead all day. I do it because I care about my health and I don’t trust the factory farming methods that are in place . Let me be more specific: I trust factory farms to deliver food at a low economic cost but it’s how they keep their costs low that is the problem. It’s the old economic adage: you get what you pay for.

There’s a cost to keeping the price of food low. In many cases that cost is your health.

Although many people are skeptical about the growing organic industry, I believe that organic and local food are the future. Organic farming and smaller farming operations are here to stay and for good reason. Outbreaks like this just add to the mounting evidence that there is something terribly wrong with industrial farming methods.