Huh?! Do you mean carotenosis? Nope!
It turns out soil may be the ultimate breeding ground for highly potent forms of the prions responsible for Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (aka “mad cow disease”).
The details, published in the Public Library of Science Pathogens journal, are all here as a PDF. This more accessible article describes the study in layman’s terms and explains how the findings were unexpected.
So, should we concern ourselves? As long as you’re washing your veggies well, probably not. The greater issue may be “leaching from landfills,” according to this brief recap from Environmental Science and Technology online.
Speaking of crazy, check out the size of these monsters! I picked up this zucchini for $2 at the farmers’ market yesterday, along with the Japanese eggplant, the garlic (oh, so sweet!), the hot peppers, and the other squashes, a huge pattypan and the bi-colored one (a zephyr?). That papaya is from the grocery and is equivalent to about three or four of the regular ones.
What do you think? Am I having too much fun on this simultaneously sunny and rainy Saturday? 
(Went looking for a rainbow, but don’t see one.)
I notice you’ve moved towards more of a raw-ish approach of late.
At the risk of being nose-y, would you mind breaking down your general diet these days? Things like average daily calories, meals, CRON history, BMI history, etc…
Just curious, as I’m rather new to this CRON stuff, and like your approach. I think I could learn a great deal.
Thanks in advance-
Mike J.
So what did you do with the zucchini?
Nicole, almost finished the zucchini. I’ve been hacking off close to a pound every night since picking it up. Just in time to grab another on Friday.
Mike, indeed, I have increased the “percentage” of raw food in my diet, but have no plans to go all the way. I’m too convinced of the benefits of legumes. Studies have shown them to be a consistent factor across all longevous cultures.
Thank you for the compliments on my approach and welcome to CRON! Seems I should do another “day in the life” post in the near future. Stay tuned (sign up for the FeedBlitz on the right to be alerted to new posts automatically).
thats exactly the place i settled on with regards to raw food. thank you for the brewers yeast tip. I tend to add it to the bean dips and use collard leaves as wraps, that also helps me to get more greens in.
keda – talking about beans, I just picked up this recipe from my friend, I haven’t made it yet, but it sounds fantastic – it is call Three Can Bean Salad. You take one can of black beans, one can of garbanzo beans, and one can of pinto beans (all drained of course) and mix them up in a bowl and take one or two
Slim Jim beefjerkys, and cut it up into little pieces and toss them in for flavor. Enjoy.Karen, sounds like the start of a decent chili. But, I had to axe the now crossed out part. This is a vegan blog, after all. We can just sub with tofu jerky or tempeh or TVP or seitan, or…
What an appropriate post for that little faux pas though, heh? Considering we’re talking about mad cow disease.
Hi Erin
You can consume legumes on a raw diet by sprouting them, then using them in salads or pates. But it sounds like you like cooking the legumes.
Cheers,
Arturo
That and it seems to me sprouted legumes would be closer to greens than to the beans of the longevity findings, referred to in my response to Mike above.