Lettuce crisis triggers mass rush: 'Like nothing I've ever seen'

The cyclospora parasite outbreak in the US has changed shopping habits: consumers are avoiding supermarket lettuce, and farmers markets are seeing a surge of about 30% in visitors. One farmer from West Virginia sold $7,000 worth of lettuce in a single day, three times the usual amount, and expanded his crop. Health experts stress that not all supermarket produce is dangerous.

The outbreak of the intestinal parasite cyclospora in the United States has changed the shopping habits of millions of Americans. While many consumers are avoiding buying lettuce in supermarkets, farmers markets are experiencing a sharp increase in visitors and sales. According to data from market research firm NielsenIQ, Americans purchased about 7.6 million pounds less lettuce in the four weeks ending July 18, compared to the same period last year. In California, some growers have had to plow lettuce crops back into the soil after demand from supermarket chains weakened. On the other side of the market, the picture is reversed. Eli Cook, a farmer from West Virginia, said demand for his lettuce reached levels he had not seen in decades of work. On the day he posted on social media that his produce goes directly from field to consumer, he sold about $7,000 worth of lettuce – three times his usual sales volume. To meet demand, Cook increased his planting and began planting three acres of lettuce every two weeks, instead of just one acre as before. FreshFarm, an organization that operates 25 farmers markets in the Washington area, reported an increase of about 30% in visitors since the beginning of July. In Michigan, the state with a particularly high number of cases, market operators reported that some farmers are selling out of vegetables before closing time. According to market operators, the public has not stopped eating lettuce – they are just changing where they buy it. Many consumers are willing to pay a higher price to buy produce directly from local growers, out of a sense of greater security and transparency about the food's origin. "Today people want to know who grew their food, how it was packed, and how it got to them," said Kat Oker, CEO of FreshFarm. She said the trust created by the direct meeting between farmer and consumer is one of the main reasons for the surge in demand. Alongside the increase in sales at farmers markets, health experts stress that this does not mean all produce sold in supermarkets is dangerous. However, the recent outbreak has managed to shake consumer confidence and turn lettuce – one of the most basic products in the American kitchen – into a focal point of changing shopping habits across the country.