After last week’s blog, reader comments indicate solid support for the “gotta get exposed” theory explained in the blog entry below. Several country folks added insights such as these: 

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• “We ate enough wild mulberries to clean out our systems.”  
• “We milked the herd while eating popcorn every Sunday night in the barn.” 
• “My city cousins got sick often. The bad germs seemed to leave us farm kids alone.”  

Of course, personal anecdotes aren’t scientific, but another news article did pop up after we published the blog. A study published in the Journal of Clinical Pediatrics says city children are more likely to have food allergies than kids who grow up in rural areas.

For a different take on rural life and foodbourne illnesses, check out the CAST blog from April 6, “What’s Making us Sick?“.  We look at the ten most deadly outbreaks of food and waterborne illnesses in United States history and relate the incidents to growing up on a farm. 

You also might want to visit the CAST Pinterest site, including its section on “Food and Food Safety.”

Note: The next new blog entry will be posted on June 27.