Avoiding Cyclosporiasis Might Mean Visiting This Fallbrook Farm

The rise of cyclosporiasis is making many people turn to lettuce straight from farms instead of big-name grocery stores. Bret Burkhart and Veronica Carter spoke with the owner of Jana Farms in Fallbrook, Justin Van Dyke.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Produce is in the news once again. This time lettuce
from Tailor Farms grown in Mexico is believed to be
responsible for two deaths and at least eighteen thousand people
sick in forty five states.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Justin van Dyk from Jena Farms in Fallbrook is with us.

Speaker 3 (00:15):
Justin.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
Now, you are a regenerative farmer. Explain to us what
that means.

Speaker 3 (00:21):
Basically, what it is is the next step from organic.
In other words, we don't use any chemical inputs. And
what we're trying to do is use nature to produce
healthy soil, which then produces healthy plants without adding inputs.

Speaker 1 (00:37):
That is amazing. And you guys grow lettuce. Are you
seeing kind of pushback on your product at all? I
know you're not related to any of this.

Speaker 3 (00:46):
No, No, I've had many people join our community, which
is a community supported agriculture, so people subscribe. I grow
food organically by hand and deliver it to our community
every week. And because of this in the news, we've
had quite an influx of new community members.

Speaker 2 (01:07):
You know, I've heard this everywhere. People are telling me, oh,
I'm only getting my lettuce now from like a farmer's market.
And if you go to the grocery store. Everything that's
tailor farms. The label on the bag right now has
got a discount sticker on it. Is that right because
people are afraid of it. Describe how you believe it's
safer to grow small scale by hand than the big

(01:29):
factory farms.

Speaker 3 (01:31):
Well, there's so many pieces that are not part of
the process. When I grow lettuce, so I grow it
by hand using water, and I harvest it the day
before I hand it to our customers. Whereas lettuce grown
you know Mexico, the source of everything there, the water

(01:55):
they use right contribute to a circumstance like this, the
processing that let it goes through before it reaches you know, packaging,
and then it travels for thousands of miles often and
then it sits in a store and depending on the product,
it could be misted with chemicals or kept in storage.

(02:16):
And all these different pieces in the supply chain contribute
to potential problems and lack of nutrients and flavor and
all those kind of things.

Speaker 1 (02:27):
This is super interesting. We're speaking with Justin van Dyk
from Jena Farms in Fallbrook. I have a question. I
know it makes people healthier and safer, but how is
it for the environment the way that you're growing your produce.

Speaker 3 (02:41):
That's an extremely good question that the impacts of how
we farm here go far beyond just the produce. It
actually sequesters carbon and the soil can retain more moisture,
so when it rains, it doesn't just off and the
topsoil doesn't just leave the farm because the soil is

(03:05):
healthy and able to receive that moisture. So there's lots
of impacts on the community other than just providing tastier,
healthier food.

Speaker 2 (03:15):
Justin If someone wants to find out more, how do
they get a hold of you?

Speaker 3 (03:19):
JENNAFARMSCA dot com.

Speaker 1 (03:22):
Justin Vandike, thank you so much for joining us on
San Diego's morning news.

Speaker 3 (03:26):
Absolutely my pleasure.

Speaker 1 (03:27):
Justin Van Dyke Jana Farms in Fallbrook,