[Darkwolf377]

They’ve managed to squeeze three things I’ find disgusting into one headline—including Organic food.

[autumnraine]

Guess what all you “naturalists” out there who want food without nasty chemicals and pesticides, you get things nature intended. Like LUNGWORMS.

Good grief.

[buffyt]

Yikes, that is SCARY!

Obama’s Fault!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mamelukesabre]

So...I gather from the headline that the envirowhackos are upset that organic farming is causing all the rats to catch lungworm?

Funny. What a quandary the envirowhackos must be in.

[Global2010]

Great find Andrew.

Personally I cant garden worth beans.

But we do live on an ocean/bay in a rain forrest.

Rats/banana slugs are just two of a variety of varments that are rampant here.

I have had rats chew the frame around the steel door to try and get in our home during winter.

Rat D Con pellets are our friends. : )
(in the garage away from other critters and we keep the garage pristine so no nests are built)

[abigkahuna]

Here's what I really don't understand. Is rat-lungworm a Hawaii specific parasite? What kills it? I have never heard of this disease and find it problematic. Because here we are heading into a severe economic downturn where lots of folks might turn to backyard gardening to supplement their diet and now there is something new to worry about?

Has rat lungworm always been with us? What are the low cost ways to prevent it? Is just washing leafy greens the answer?

This article leaves out some important details I think. Either there is an agenda against organic farming, or it is a true hazard that organic farmers realize and DO counter?

Or is this a scare article to give folks the idea to not raise their own veggies and leave it to industry farming.? I went and read the original article and I am still puzzled. TIme to do more research.

[Pontiac]

More here on Rat Lung Worm problem.

WATCH OUT HAWAII: VEGGIES MAY HARBOR RARE PARASITE

[LibWhacker]

Is this related to democRAT Brainmaggot disease? Please, God, don’t let me get that.

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

Surely, global warming must be the root cause. /s

[FrankR]

It's a hawaii news release. Obama was just in Hawaii, how could he allow such to invade America. It's all obama's fault.

What is he doing about it?

Women and minorities hit worst.

Impeach him now. Obama is lying and people are dying.

[truthguy]

Many today have a strange belief that organic is necessarily better. That's to say more nutritious, better tasting , less harmful, etc. But the evidence of this is not to be found. There are many toxins and poisons that are found in nature. In a strange sense, the bite (poison) from a pit viper is organic. It certainly occurs “naturally”.

[truthguy]

Many today have a strange belief that organic is necessarily better. That's to say more nutritious, better tasting , less harmful, etc. But the evidence of this is not to be found. There are many toxins and poisons that are found in nature. In a strange sense, the bite (poison) from a pit viper is organic. It certainly occurs “naturally”.

[altura]

I won’t even walk down the organic food aisle. Self deluding idiots.

[familyop]

We no longer live in the informative '50s and early '60s, so most people are indulging in the trend toward increasing willful ignorance.

Parasite makes men dumb, women sexy
The Sydney Morning Herald ^ | 12/26/06

Excerpt:
"Human infection generally occurs when people eat raw or undercooked meat that has cysts containing the parasite, or accidentally ingest some of the parasite's eggs excreted by an infected cat."

[LiberConservative]

RAT LUNGWORM disease?!

(shudder)

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

Is this something Republicans can get also?

[JustaDumbBlonde]

"Rauch was an anti-GMO activist instrumental in pushing for the Hawai`i County Council’s ban on GM coffee and taro passed last November."

Forgive me, but I really hate these activist anti-GM folks. If you don't like GM, try not to consume GM products. In fact, try not to consume anything at all ... that will keep you safe and make you much less of a pain in the butt to others.

It also strikes me that people that eat raw foods without washing them are posing a greater risk to themselves than they ever imagined. I don't eat food from my garden that hasn't been washed ... even to the point that I won't pull a cherry tomato and pop it in my mouth when I walk by. Of course, that is mostly because I use lots of pesticide, but the reason doesn't seem to be as important as the practice of washing the food.

[TribalPrincess2U]

Mmmmm, organic rats, yummy.

I know. Couldn’t help myself.

[The Great RJ]

I have always believed that the reason why organic produce costs more than non organic produce is that you have to pay for the extra rat feces and insect fragments.

[Easthawaiian]

Rat lungworm can be contracted by anyone who eats raw produce from the big isla d whether or not it is genetically modified or organic. The slug which carries the disease is present on at least four of hawaii’s islands. Raw produce includes greens and herbs you may grow in your yard. Spraying them with pesticide is no guarantee against slugs depositing their larvae. At least one of three people now in a coma did not attend the raw food festival. I have no idea about the other two.