The reason for the spike? It’s not just inflation and supply-chain problems.
Crop disease is ravaging lettuce fields in Salinas Valley — the “Salad Bowl of the World” — causing a shortage across the country. And as farmers and researchers desperately search for a remedy for the insect-spread virus, shoppers, grocers and restaurant owners are left to face the sticker shock.
“Seven dollars for a head of lettuce — iceberg lettuce, not the fancy stuff?” said Candice Schwab in disbelief as she pushed her shopping cart down the produce aisle at the high-end Draeger’s. “It’s outrageous.”
Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News 