Lead pigment in turmeric is the culprit in a global poisoning mystery (2024)

I think this NPR article is too quick to put a positive spin on this. They have made a nice little story here with a happy ending. Farmers had blackened turmeric -> they used a random yellow die they found -> massive lead spike in everyone's bloodstream -> Americans came in with a xray gun and saved the day -> no more lead in the blood.

But if you ascribe even the slightest but of agency to any of the non-Americans involved, you have to wonder if this problem will come back.

in the article it asserts that the farmers didn't know the effects of lead chromate on human health, they were just "expanding their business".

I guess since it's just fraud and negligence, we should forgive it?

Well, it’s more about the origin of the farmers than anything else. If they where American or European farmers, you can be sure NPR would mark them as the villains of this story.