German Greens and their European Union acolytes have long fought
scientific advances in food production and protection. After a
spice manufacturer in Stuttgart employed the world's first
commercial food irradiation in 1957, West Germany banned the
practice in 1959 and has since allowed few exceptions. So it's
no small scandal that the latest fatal E. coli outbreak has been
linked to an organic German farm that shuns modern farming
techniques.  WSJ Europe editorial writer Anne Jolis explains an
E. coli outbreak and the dangers in allegedly healthy foods.
Officials on Saturday confirmed that sprouts grown south of
Hamburg were contaminated with the deadly strain that has so far
killed 35 people and sickened thousands. The news will comfort
European consumers, who have been afraid to eat greens for
weeks. But the panic isn't over: Farmers want hundreds of
millions of euros in reparations from Berlin, which initially
named Spanish cucumbers as a suspect and cautioned against all
salad greens, and there are calls