OK I keep seeing people refer to the Michigan parasite outbreak and then others will chime in “it’s in my state too!” so to clarify this for everyone it is a NATIONWIDE outbreak reported in 31 US states as of today, July 12th 2026. There is no reason to assume it is not present in the rest of them
NBC News’ tally shows at least 26 states have reported cases of the parasitic stomach illness, as health authorities race to find the source
The CDC is tracking cases but they are significantly lagging behind the states on numbers (their data is weeks behind) so it’s probably going to be most effective to check your individual state’s infectious disease tracking.
This is a parasite that usually causes about 3000 cases of illness per year in the USA, Michigan currently has reported about 2900 (the confusion about “Michigan outbreak” is because Michigan is the first that caught an uptick in cases and has been very proactive about trying to trace them). Last official update from Massachusetts was 18 cases here centered in Greater Boston. The CDC recommends NOT assuming there are no sources of the parasite in your state even if no cases have been reported.
It isn’t an unknown illness but it is an unusual quantity of cases, and the fact that they haven’t been able to pin down the source after weeks of tracking is what makes it particularly concerning this year (harder to contain).
Wash your hands, wash your produce, cook it ideally, and advocate for farm workers to have access to safe and hygienic toilet facilities
that last part is extra important. nearly every one of these produce outbreaks are because of poor hygenic practices on the fields, and particularly, because field workers do not have adequate access to bathrooms. nobody wants to poison your food, but they often don't have a choice. they also often lack proper access to water, cooling equipment (such as sun hats and portable fans), and management; this can make it significantly harder to think clearly and make a wise decision, let alone survive the day. when this comes up in conversation, call this out. make sure everyone around you KNOWS that the reason the lettuce is constantly unsafe is because farms are not giving a shit about worker welfare, and the people growing and picking your lettuce have to walk ungodly distances in 100+ degree weather without water just to take a shit. oh, and if they DO choose to do that, they may be punished for taking an unscheduled break.
if you wanna go further, let everyone know that the majority of labor laws have an exception carved out for agricultural workers.
Republicans on Capitol Hill are starting to talk about one facet of immigration reform: how to expand the popular H-2A visa program for farm
Worth keeping up with developments in the fight over farm workers’ visas because while trying to get legal documents for workers, agricultural producers are also trying to fight for those legal documents to have fewer human rights provisions in them
Also, the reason a lot of people would rather come and work without a visa and be undocumented than go through the proper system is ... mostly these days individual farmers don't handle their own visas to get foreign workers, they subcontract that out. and the subcontractors are horribly corrupt, and often outright criminal. as in. they are literally organized crime using the visa system to enslave their workers.
Once they have your information and you are working for them, they know who your relatives back home are, and they can and will send contacts with organized crime in your country to attack your family if you do anything they don't like. So they can just ... not pay you, or house you in barns with no toilets or running water and minimal food, and if you try to complain or escape your loved ones will be attacked.
On the other hand, if you're an undocumented worker working under the table, and the working conditions are awful or they're trying to not pay you ... you can just leave. and they probably won't be able to track you or your family down.
Biden got a lot of protections for farm workers through congress and passed into law. Trump got them repealed.
This made things worse for farm workers, and also made it harder to enforce food safety regulations.
Thanks, Trump!
