1 tomato, 2 tomato, 3 tomato...

So the Food & Drug administration today declared that we can all go back to eating tomatoes again. Gee, I have warm & fuzzy feelings again. Oh, but wait, they still don't know what is causing the outbreak of salmonella. David Acheson, one of the head feds, states, and I quote:
"it's possible tomatoes caused some illnesses and that it's impossible to prove that they didn't cause any."
What? So why were tomatoes implicated in the first place? Why not poultry, eggs, or meat? After all, "it's impossible to prove they didn't cause any" either. "Trust us" seems to be the message. "We're getting down to the bottom of it." [insert quizzical look here]
Let's take a brief stroll through the history of the FDA to examine why we should trust them:

• The FDA was formed in 1906 under the Food & Drug Act, despite the entire legislation being unconstitutional, but that is a blog for another time.
• During its 102 year history, over 13,000 products TOXIC to human beings have been approved.
• The FDA has a recent history of rushing approval through for some medications (from the same few pharmaceutical companies no less) while dawdling for some life saving medications. (See Vioxx, Rezulin, Imclone cancer treatment, etc.)
• Interesting fact: More people have died from medications approved by the FDA than those substances not approved, including illegal drugs)
• FDA botched the Iams/Eukanuba pet recall so badly that Americans ended up discarding tons of good pet food, and keeping tons more of tainted food.
• Does anyone really need reminding of the HSUS/PETA video inside the slaughterhouse last year?

Suffice it to say, imho, they do not instill a great deal of confidence in me. Thanks, but I'm growing my own tomatoes & peppers this year. Grow your own folks! At least until the FDA recalls YOUR produce. Just keep out of my garden...