Avocados recalled in 6 states over POSSIBLE listeria...

It's a combination of a few things.  Recalls definitely happened, but decades ago, food tended to be more regional so the idea of food being shipped all over the world wasn't something as prevalent as it is today.  It happened, obviously, but today you can walk into a grocery store and buy pretty much anything from anywhere.  As such, the safety protocols weren't as stringent back then because food was generally more locally sourced.  When you find yourself in more remote parts of the country, you see this and where food is imported, it's vastly more expensive. 

As food started being imported from all over the world and shipped all over the US with increasing regularity, the safety protocols became more intense for obvious reasons.  As opposed to keeping a banana in good shape for a few days so it get from a farm to a store that is 100 miles away, now it has to last a month and traverse the planet to find its way into your hands. Totally different animal.  To go along with that, we also have national and international news media whereas when I was a kid that wasn't the case so you wouldn't hear about food safety issues going in, say, Florida, California, or elsewhere in the world.