\u201cJust because of the world we live in,\u201d I heard the woman to my left say to the server, with a bit of a nervous laugh. \u201cDoes the burger have lettuce?\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer was no, and she proceeded with her dinner order. As I eavesdropped on my neighboring table at a Brooklyn restaurant last Thursday\u2014and ordered charred green beans instead of a salad\u2014I felt a twinge of satisfaction. I\u2019d found a kindred spirit: a fellow worrier amid the cyclospora outbreak<\/a>.<\/p>\n You know that friend? The one who\u2019s the first to sound the group chat alarm during a food recall, virus, extreme weather event, or some other fresh hell coming our way? That\u2019s me. So when I first heard about cyclospora a couple of weeks ago, it made me more than a little wary. I mean, what diarrhea-causing, food-borne parasite wouldn\u2019t?<\/p>\n Since then, I\u2019ve been second-guessing my office salads and wondering if \u201cseared\u201d truly means cooked. I ordered a chicken dish at a restaurant and eyed its garnish\u2014a tuft of greens\u2014with suspicion. And I\u2019m not alone in this. Sara Tercero<\/a>, a food influencer who goes by the \u201cSalad Queen,\u201d is currently steering clear of all leafy greens, according to an article in The New York Times<\/a> that declared that the country is in the throes of \u201cthe Great Lettuce Scare.\u201d<\/p>\n An informal poll of my Vogue colleagues revealed that some people have been switching from leafy greens to cucumber salad and forgoing their beloved chicken Caesar wraps. (Visits to salad-focused chains are reportedly down, according to multiple outlets.) \u201cAs someone who already has a fragile immune system, I\u2019ve been avoiding lettuce altogether. And I can\u2019t believe I\u2019m saying this, but I actually miss salad,\u201d Vogue beauty commerce writer Con\u00e7etta Ciarlo<\/a> says.<\/p>\n Online, some people have been relishing the opportunity to avoid salad. Others are finding themselves desperately missing their greens. Some seem to be courting chaos, filming themselves eating salad and simply crossing their fingers and hoping for the best.<\/p>\n More than 4,100 confirmed cases of the illness have been documented<\/a> across 41 states. Some cases have been linked<\/a> to iceberg lettuce grown in Mexico, which is sold at some Taco Bell locations. (Taco Bell has said<\/a> it has removed the lettuce.) Taylor Farms, America\u2019s largest salad producer, has voluntarily recalled<\/a> lettuce from central Mexico. For the record: The CDC recommends<\/a> not eating shredded lettuce at Taco Bell in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia, and of course, not eating the recalled lettuce.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, it\u2019s not just lettuce. Raspberries, basil, salad mixes, cilantro, berry and fruit mixes, and snap peas are among the produce that have been linked to past outbreaks. So what can we eat?<\/p>\n Like a lot of things, it depends on your risk tolerance. But generally, it\u2019s a good idea to thoroughly wash your vegetables<\/a>. If you\u2019re immunocompromised, you may want to cook them, because heat can kill the parasite. The director of food safety at Consumer Reports<\/a> said in an article that \u201cfruits and vegetables from a home garden, farmers market, or community-supported agriculture (CSA) program may be a less risky option.\u201d Experts told CNN<\/a> they recommend avoiding pre-cut or packaged produce. Essentially, it seems, the fewer hands involved in the chain from harvest to plate, the better.<\/p>\n So maybe it\u2019s time to finally join that CSA you\u2019ve been eyeing? I know I\u2019m thinking about it.<\/p>\n