Lettuce farmers plow crops back into soil as cyclosporiasis fears tank demand for fresh greens

The nationwide cyclosporiasis outbreak has forced some American farmers to throw out their entire lettuce crops, according to a report.One such farmer in California’s Salinas Valley told the Wall Steet Journal this week that he had to chop up 300,000 pounds of romaine hearts and plow it back into the soil.This came with no evidence that his crops were infected with the parasite causing explosive diarrhea that has sickened thousands of people in nearly every state.WHITE HOUSE ADDRESSES GROWING PARASITE OUTBREAK AFTER MORE THAN 400 AMERICANS SICKENEDCox’s Coastline Family Farms supplies major grocery stores and top restaurants around the country, but the outbreak has lowered the demand for his greens by as much as 30%, he said."It is incredibly demoralizing," Cox told the Journal. "I would’ve been better off taking a vacation in the South of France than planting the crop."The region is known as "America’s Salad Bowl" and supplies the country with nearly half of its lettuce.CYCLOSPORA OUTBREAK: IS IT STILL SAFE TO EAT AT RESTAURANTS?