Taco Bell saw what was happening and started pulling fresh veg off the menu over a week ago.

I’m mad at the administration that cut monitoring programs for cyclospora.

I’m mad at Taylor Farms. Very Mad. They are huge, don’t have a great track record, and supply produce to a LOT more places than just Taco Bell.

Do you think there is just one contaminated irrigation system at one of their farms in Mexico? (Which makes for a very convenient “foreigners are bad” scapegoat to boot.)

I really hope it’s just that one farm, but do I think a venture capital backed firm would be cutting corners anywhere and everywhere, putting profits over safety? Hmmm…

Is Taco Bell perfect? No. But they don’t grow the damn lettuce, onions, tomatoes, and whatnot, but they at least pulled it because someone had two brain cells to rub together and said “there are already enough jokes about gastrointestinal distress, let’s not add to it” and did the right thing.

And while we may know *one* point of origin for this outbreak, I will be treading lightly on raw veg for a little while longer. Increased heat this summer means additional irrigation, which means more chances for a contaminated system to be in operation somewhere. It’s going to take a few weeks to see if we truly have gotten it out of the food supply chains.

Will I still eat some Taco Bell if the mood strikes? Hell yes, get me a sack of crunchy tacos and some pintos & cheese! Sure, let’s 86 the lettuce & tomatoes for a wee bit, but hell yes.

Taco Bell isn’t the villain here.