Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

I went to a Subway® sandwich shop the other day and ordered my usual monster sub with all the fixins' and to my utter shock and dismay, they were NOT serving tomatoes! They gave me some song and dance about this here "Sam-and-Ella" poisoning. So naturally I asked who the hell Sam and Ella were and why are they poisoning tomatoes. Well color my face red when I realized they were actually saying salmonella poisoning and some people have gotten very sick because of this bacteria. Hold on, I need a cigarette.... That's better...Anyway; they have been saying that this bacterium has made over 200 people across the U.S. sick, although I have heard of no fatalities. (Thank God!)

I have also found out that some fast food restaurants are also banning tomatoes for the time being until they find the source of the contamination. I love my tomatoes and I hope they find the cause of this and lift this ban. Thanks to the FDA (the Food and Drug Administration) for taking such quick and decisive action on this matter.

The FDA does for the most part do a good job keeping the meat and vegetable supply in check as well as....I need another smoke, be right back...... the drugs we take in this country. When Fen-Phen was taken off the market because it showed the combination of the 2 drugs (fenfluramine and phentermine) caused heart valve disease and hyper -tension, we were relieved that this dangerous drug was discovered before too many people died because of its use. Oh by the way, for those of you who don't remember what Fen-Phen was for, it was for fighting obesity in this county. Anyone see where I'm going with this yet? There are other countless drugs that the FDA has banned over the years because they don't want the American public getting sick from the foods and medications that are being sold to us every day.

Agencies like the FDA and The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) exist to protect us from things like salmonella, botulism, heart vale disease and any other evil things that happen to us when we ingest unsafe food or drugs. SO WHY IN THE HELL ARE THEY STILL ALLOWING THE SALE OF CIGARETTES IN THIS COUNTRY?! Is it because you don't eat it? This absolutely makes no sense! Cigarettes kill more people every year than botulism and salmonella combined. Why would they allow the sale of something that we know causes heart disease, lung disease, strokes and cancer? It makes me sick that these agencies will make a meat packing plant throw away millions of pounds of beef because, just maybe, there might be some contaminated beef when we know that every pack of cigarettes sold in this country will eventually kill you or at the very least, shorten your life. Cigarettes have absolutely no medicinal value and are by far the most dangerous and addicting poison we have on the market

Let me make one thing perfectly clear. People who smoke do not offend me. Their cigarette smoke does, but not them. I feel sorry for people who still smoke because it is killing them and they can't find a way to quit. I smoked for the better part of 35 years and finally I kicked the habit I do not want to be one of those asshole former smokers that think they are better than the active smoker because I have seen these people at work and they are worse than someone who has never smoked. Yes cigarette smoke stinks and you smell like an ashtray but that's not the point I'm making. If there were no cigarettes in this country, we wouldn't be spending billions of dollars on health care for the terminally ill and saving the lives of those who smoked their whole lives. I am all for outlawing cigarettes in the U.S. My point is you can't blame the smokers anymore for the offensive smells, the soaring death rate among smokers, or the ridiculous amounts of money that smokers spend every year for nothing. You blame the agencies that don't want us to get sick from food poisoning or from taking bogus meds but are perfectly fine letting us die and even helping to kill us.

I know you may think I'm nuts but let me give you an example. Have you ever gone into a grocery store, picked up a package of meat and read a label that said; "Warning, consumption of this product make cause cancer and low birth weight in babies." Or "Warning, if you eat this product, you might get a little sick or could die but we're pretty sure it's safe". The Answer is NO! This is because beef, pork, chicken and a slew of vegetables that we eat are supposed to be safe. But when one of this food sources becomes contaminated, they are removed from store shelves immediately. So maybe all we have to do is put warning labels an all the fruits, vegetables and meat and there won't be any more recalls. Taste at your own risk! The tobacco companies get away with it why not food producers.

To the people who smoke, find any way you can to kick this deadly habit. In New York State, cigarettes are at $6.50 a pack so if you smoke a pack a day, that's $2,300, give or take a year to voluntarily kill you. Does that make sense to you? I wish you all good health and plump, ripe tomatoes