[TheRealPomax]

tl;dr:

  Color matters to turmeric purchasers, and turmeric that is more vibrantly yellow typically sells for higher prices. The Stanford University team learned that this color-linked perception of quality may have started in the 1980s, when a flood interrupted the drying process, turning rhizomes brown and moldy.

  To mask flawed turmeric, some processors began dusting the roots with lead chromate — an orange-yellow industrial pigment used to color plastics and furniture. From the interviews, Forsyth learned that this coloration step continued for four decades after the flood and that most processors weren’t aware that the pigments were toxic

Even tl;dr-er: they color low quality tumeric with lead-based pigments to make it look like high quality tumeric. Like how China spray paints dead grass green. But with more lead.

[WirelessGigabit]

China? Grass paint is booming business in SoCal. All because they don't realize they live in a desert. People bash on Arizona for spending water when it's super dry but take a look at Southern AZ lawns vs SoCal lawns. The Southern AZ ones are much more adept to the desert.

[TheRealPomax]

Not at the same scale, but sure, I'm perfectly happy to call out SoCal too. Except SoCal sure as hell won't be using lead paint.

[umanwizard]

Grass lawns are way more common in Phoenix than Tucson, for whatever reason.

[TheRealPomax]

Fascinating downvotes for a perfectly accurate tl;dr. Not everyone is interested in wading through 1000 words of scene-setting before actually getting to the point.