04-05-2017, 09:07 AM
all depends on storage!!!!
Yes.
I'm quite familiar with growing, packaging, shipping, and transporting food products. As well as dealing with slugs and snails and their capabilities in crawling, climbing, etc.
Let's assume produce arrives in Hawaii from the mainland slug and snail free.
* Does the harbor or airport have slugs? Both could, but with the large paved areas and small amount of soil it's not likely. But, yes, it's possible a slug could fall off a truck that drove into the area. In general however, neither of those places are likely as slug habitat, and if one does show up, it wouldn't live very long.
* Next, transport. Can a truck have slugs on it, perhaps from a previous load of cargo? Yes it's possible. How likely? Depends on the previous cargo. Most transport trucks however tend to carry the same type of cargo repeatedly, so it would be unlikely they would carry a load of slug infested green waste right before they pick up vegetables at the harbor. It's possible, though unlikely.
* Storage facility and docks at warehouse or grocery. Again, they are generally large paved areas with limited soil in the loading unloading areas. Produce storage rooms in Hawaii are mostly concrete or metal. Slugs could enter on the boots of workers, delivery people, boxes, etc. But not likely.
It is possible to find slugs along the food distribution network, just as tarantulas have been discovered in boxes of bananas, but the prospect of fear is greater than the actual number of tarantulas or slugs likely to be encountered. The evidence can be seen when you bring home produce. I have never found a slug in my produce purchased at a grocery store in Hilo. Has anyone else?
I hope this thread doesn't devolve into an ebola fear mongering we're-all-going-to-die diatribe. As you suggested Carey, "Even if the ONLY research you had done was reading the RLW posts on Punaweb you should have learned,.." - - and what I have learned is that we just don't know. The research has not been done. That is why the appropriation to study the issue has been passed. In the meantime, what we do know is that slugs can be seen occasionally in many places, but not everywhere. They can be found on locally grown produce, but not imported produce (unless someone can point me to a news report stating otherwise).
The argument "anything is possible" isn't proof that something is currently taking place.
You could never convince a monkey to give you a banana by promising him limitless bananas after death in monkey heaven.
Yes.
I'm quite familiar with growing, packaging, shipping, and transporting food products. As well as dealing with slugs and snails and their capabilities in crawling, climbing, etc.
Let's assume produce arrives in Hawaii from the mainland slug and snail free.
* Does the harbor or airport have slugs? Both could, but with the large paved areas and small amount of soil it's not likely. But, yes, it's possible a slug could fall off a truck that drove into the area. In general however, neither of those places are likely as slug habitat, and if one does show up, it wouldn't live very long.
* Next, transport. Can a truck have slugs on it, perhaps from a previous load of cargo? Yes it's possible. How likely? Depends on the previous cargo. Most transport trucks however tend to carry the same type of cargo repeatedly, so it would be unlikely they would carry a load of slug infested green waste right before they pick up vegetables at the harbor. It's possible, though unlikely.
* Storage facility and docks at warehouse or grocery. Again, they are generally large paved areas with limited soil in the loading unloading areas. Produce storage rooms in Hawaii are mostly concrete or metal. Slugs could enter on the boots of workers, delivery people, boxes, etc. But not likely.
It is possible to find slugs along the food distribution network, just as tarantulas have been discovered in boxes of bananas, but the prospect of fear is greater than the actual number of tarantulas or slugs likely to be encountered. The evidence can be seen when you bring home produce. I have never found a slug in my produce purchased at a grocery store in Hilo. Has anyone else?
I hope this thread doesn't devolve into an ebola fear mongering we're-all-going-to-die diatribe. As you suggested Carey, "Even if the ONLY research you had done was reading the RLW posts on Punaweb you should have learned,.." - - and what I have learned is that we just don't know. The research has not been done. That is why the appropriation to study the issue has been passed. In the meantime, what we do know is that slugs can be seen occasionally in many places, but not everywhere. They can be found on locally grown produce, but not imported produce (unless someone can point me to a news report stating otherwise).
The argument "anything is possible" isn't proof that something is currently taking place.
You could never convince a monkey to give you a banana by promising him limitless bananas after death in monkey heaven.
“We do this thing not because it is easy, but because we thought it would be easy.”