Washington Post: If caught, tainted Chinese products try, try again

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Washington Post: If caught, tainted Chinese products try, try again

By Gina Spadafori

May 19, 2007

I’m guessing more than “activists” are demanding changes. I gotta say, I’ve never in my entire life called the corporate offices of three supermarkets chains — Raley’s/Bel Air, Safeway and Whole Foods, all with stores near my home where I buy almost everything — before this, talking about concerns about my own food, not “just” my pets’.

The pet-food recall has been a serious wake-up call for me on the issue of food safety. And I know in this I’m not alone.

For years, U.S. inspection records show, China has flooded the United States with foods unfit for human consumption. And for years, FDA inspectors have simply returned to Chinese importers the small portion of those products they caught — many of which turned up at U.S. borders again, making a second or third attempt at entry.

Now the confluence of two events — the highly publicized contamination of U.S. chicken, pork and fish with tainted Chinese pet food ingredients and this week’s resumption of high-level economic and trade talks with China — has activists and members of Congress demanding that the United States tell China it is fed up.

Dead pets and melamine-tainted food notwithstanding, change will prove difficult, policy experts say, in large part because U.S. companies have become so dependent on the Chinese economy that tighter rules on imports stand to harm the U.S. economy, too.

“So many U.S. companies are directly or indirectly involved in China now, the commercial interest of the United States these days has become to allow imports to come in as quickly and smoothly as possible,” said Robert B. Cassidy, a former assistant U.S. trade representative for China and now director of international trade and services for Kelley Drye Collier Shannon, a Washington law firm.

[...]

John C. Bailar III, a University of Chicago professor emeritus who chaired a 2003 National Academies committee that recommended major changes in the U.S. food safety system — which have gone largely unheeded — said he has become increasingly concerned that corporations and the federal government seem willing to put the interests of business “above the public welfare.”

“This nation has — and has had for decades — a pressing need for a wholly dedicated food safety agency, one that is independent and not concerned with other matters . . . to bring together and extend the bits of food safety activities now scattered over more than a dozen agencies,” he said in an e-mail.

Here’s the piece. We’ve said from the first this was a bigger story than was being reported, and not really at its heart about pets at all. We really had no idea how much bigger it was — and is still becoming.

We’ll add more news in the morning.

Filed under: 2007 food recall,animals: pets,news — Gina Spadafori @ 11:55 pm

Comments (174)

174 Comments »

OMG!!

“… with more than 1,000 shipments of tainted Chinese dietary supplements, toxic Chinese cosmetics and counterfeit Chinese medicines.”

and that’s just what they inspected in their 1% attempt?! I now feel very justified for stopping all supplements when ChemNutra’s name was finally given and i saw their website. very scary!!!!OY!

Comment by straybaby — May 20, 2007 @ 12:13 am
China and U.S. come to trade talks at odds

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18748617/

Comment by Tammy — May 20, 2007 @ 2:35 am
newlurker posted this article late last night:
Its terrible; its about importing Chinese chicken.
http://www.boston.com/business.....rom_china/
Chicken from China?
Questionable farming practices fuel skepticism of US plan to import poultry
Boston Globe By Diedtra Henderson, May 9, 2007

China’s suspect agricultural practices could soon affect American consumers. Federal authorities are working on a proposal to allow chickens raised, slaughtered, and cooked in China to be sold here, and under current regulations, store labels do not have to indicate the meat’s origin.
According to the US Department of Agriculture , China’s top agricultural export goal is opening the US market to its cooked chickens. Representative Rosa DeLauro , who is fighting the change, says China does not deserve entry to the coveted, closed poultry market.
[…]
“There is deception. There is lax regulation, and they’ve got unsanitary conditions,” DeLauro said.
According to Lucius Adkins , president of United Poultry Growers Association , the idea “should be strangled in infancy.” The group represents more than 700 producers in Georgia , one of the nation’s leading poultry producing states.
“You don’t know what conditions existed in that plant [in China]. You didn’t have a government representative there watching [poultry] being slaughtered and processed. It’s going to come here packaged,” Adkins said. “They’re already killing our pets. Do we want to eat their food?”
The National Chicken Council , which represents companies that produce 95 percent of US-grown poultry, has not taken a position on the USDA’s proposal.
In China, “there are hundreds of thousands of these little farms,” Doyle said. “They have small ponds. And over the ponds — in not all cases, but in many cases — they’ll have chicken cages. It might be like 20,000 chickens in cages. The chicken feces is what feeds the shrimp.”
/blockquote>

National Chicken Council: http://www.nationalchickencouncil.com/

This is scary. It won’t even have “Made in China” on the label.
They already export shrimp don’t they? Wonder if that is labeled, fish is marked but I don’t know if that includes shrimp?

Comment by Peggy (AKA: Big Fat Momma Cat) — May 20, 2007 @ 5:08 am
The Washington Post story appears to the the page one headline story, at least on their website.

And an even larger # of people who use MSNBC.com as their home page will see the following at the top of the page, with a photo, when they turn on their computers Sunday morning.

MSNBC.com headline Sunday am: “Exporting Anxiety”

MSNBC>com subhead: “Tainted pet food shines light on poorly regulated Chinese imports”

Sanjay Gupta’s story on CNN last night only touched on the pet food aspect, but was strong on dangers in our food supply. He began by tracing the e-coli spinach story in California and had a couple of good interviews. The gov. spokespersons seemed impotent by comparison (including Mr. Acheson).

Comment by Maureen — May 20, 2007 @ 5:09 am
I wonder how many people truly are aware of the extent that our government and businesses put public welfare at the very bottom of the list - or omit it from the list.

I sent an email to Kraft and asked what they thought was cheaper- their products or the doctor/drug/hospital bills from eating foods potentially adulterated with unknown contaminants (milk protein concentrate) and potentially eating foods with no nutritional value even though it’s advertised as nutritious.

Basically, it’s cheaper to boycott than to eat it.

And, that leaves a very small grocery selection these days and the same thing on the menu multiple times.

Oh well, if they knock off the baby boomers earlier than they planned, their bottom line will also decrease earlier than they planned.

You cannot sell to a market that isn’t there anymore.

Comment by Ann H — May 20, 2007 @ 5:09 am
Ann H, If its not a whole food I don’t buy it. I have not bought anything processed in about 6 weeks now. For cereal, I get the whole rice krispies or puffed wheat, etc; none of the flake varieties. Except bread and Evo dry; if I could bake these I wouldn’t buy them either. Boycotting is very cheap and healthy, too!
As soon as the garden comes in there will be no market for anything in this house outside of milk and chicken.

I’ve been looking for chicken plant seeds, wish I could find some, and we do have milkweed for the Monarch butterflies but that is not quite the same.

Comment by Peggy (AKA: Big Fat Momma Cat) — May 20, 2007 @ 5:25 am
Sorry, I left off URLs for the Animal Wellness article and reasons I came to that conclusion.

http://www.animalwellnessmagaz.....V93_62.htm

http://www.biointegrity.org/list.html

http://www.biointegrity.org/FDAdocs/21/view1.html

http://www.biointegrity.org/list.html

http://oversight.house.gov/Doc.....-62297.pdf

Heaven only knows what we’ve been eating and feeding our animals. ChemNutra even stated that they didn’t mark their order NON GMO.

Sigh.

Comment by Ann H — May 20, 2007 @ 5:26 am
We really need to get COOL passed. I don’t get why food producers here don’t want it. (that it will cost more is BS, since all costs are passed on to us consumers, anyway) But I think they should be hollering in favor of it.

We want to buy American, they make American products; therefore we would be buying from them.

I don’t get it. It’s very simple and means more business for them. What reason do they have to fight it?

Comment by Peggy (AKA: Big Fat Momma Cat) — May 20, 2007 @ 5:32 am
I worked at our State Farmers Market for awhile some years ago- Naturally ripened tomatoes. Guess what, when supplies were low, they gassed them to ripen them.

Several of the foods weren’t “local” at the market and the number that were bought just to be bring to the market for sale was astounding.

It wasn’t local farmers, they were businesses using the Market to sell produce. Not local produce, just produce from all over.

Buyer beware - the extent is beyond comprehension.

Comment by Ann H — May 20, 2007 @ 5:35 am
Ann H, that is actually unbelievable. How is one to know if a place is run by farmers or by a “business”?

Comment by Peggy (AKA: Big Fat Momma Cat) — May 20, 2007 @ 5:46 am
The only suggestion I can make is to ask at the Market main office for the location & names of the local farmers and local produce vendors. Or ask at one of the companies who are doing business out of the Farmers Market spaces they often know who imports and who is local.

Comment by Ann H — May 20, 2007 @ 5:56 am
Ahhh, that’s it; ask the other vendors. They will know and should be very willing to talk. ;)

Comment by Peggy (AKA: Big Fat Momma Cat) — May 20, 2007 @ 6:09 am
Seconds straybaby’s OMG…..
“stomach-turning details of FDA “refusal reports” Yuck, anyone else had the urge to fast?
What really got me was:
“smuggled into the US….US teams seized hundreds of thousands of pounds (tons) of prohibited poulty in crates labeled “dried lily flowers”, “sliced prunes”, “vegetables”. I can’t believe “dried lily flowers” were heading for a dried lily flower producer. The guy opening these crates at that plant, “Hey boss they sent us chickens, lots of chickens.”
What was the destination of these “tons” of chickens? Why was the receiving company not fined “tons” of money? Did they not know it was being sent over as “dried lily flower”?
Are these the examples of the FDA inspecting 1% of exports from China? The huge tip when chicken producers are recieving “tons” of “dried lily flower”.
OMG!
I googled “dried lily flower” one of the top results a recall on it in 2005 in New York state.
Then there is that one pink bag of melamine in the flour gluten, an oops? Doubtful.
The lingering fact that China has had a ban on US beef for four years. One case of mad cow and that’s that, banned.

Gina and Christie, thank you for your uniting us all here, daily. Keeping us posted in current events since this scandal started.

Comment by Maudigan — May 20, 2007 @ 6:10 am
I just finished reading the Washington Post article and I am both depressed and angered. Worse, I have a sense of hopelessness. I knew that large amounts of poison and filth were coming into the US from China, but I didn’t fully appreciate the extent until reading the article.

Our government is more interested in trade than in the health of its citizens, the corporations are more interested in profit, and thousands of our beloved pets are ill or dead.

Has China won? That appears to be the case. The government agencies that are supposed to be protecting us are too politicized or too much in bed with the multinational corporations, or both, to do their jobs. The government is protecting China at the expense of its citizens - the corporations only care about larger and large profits – the lives of our pets and our own lives don’t count!

So far this hideous and unconscionable policy has cost the lives of thousands, including the loss of my special and beautiful cat friend, and sickened thousands of others.My heart goes out to all who have suffered over the loss of a pet - it hurts terribly.

How long are we going to put up with our corrupt government and the amoral corporations that control it?

Comment by MFEMFEM — May 20, 2007 @ 6:25 am
Ann H, That first article you posted is very moving. I was in almost in tears then I saw the picture of Kearsey, who looks just like my Stormy, a huge black cat, at which point I lost it. Only one of mine got real sick but they all ate the same (still un-recalled) food.

There are probably millions of pets that ate at least some of this food and now have at least some kidney damage. I am really very concerned for the long-term outlook for all these pets.

I especially worry about kittens and puppies born during this time; what is their long term prognosis? Not only will their growing kidney’s have been compromised but they will be/are malnourished from the lack of real protein in their diet. What kinds of problems will these kittens and puppies face? I care about all the pets, not just mine; what’s going to happen to all of them in the future? How many kittens and puppies were born into this last year? I have 2 kittens, I doubt they even had any good food until a few weeks ago. Two seem fine, but one of them I worry about, a lot. She isn’t quite right… I don’t know what to do for her. She’s to be spayed next week but I really wonder and worry about her future. What’s it gong to be like for her going forward? She is a real sweet-heart and we love her. There is nothing else to do; we just gotta keep moving forward. We can only love her and care for her; that’s all I know to do…*crying now; must go love on kittens*

Comment by Peggy (AKA: Big Fat Momma Cat) — May 20, 2007 @ 6:38 am
^Have 3 kittens^ *can’t count and cry at same time*

Comment by Peggy (AKA: Big Fat Momma Cat) — May 20, 2007 @ 6:42 am
Comment by Peggy :I don’t get it. It’s very simple and means more business for them. What reason do they have to fight it?

As far as I can figure, it’s quantity not quality. They export a tremendous amount too. Several countries have banned on genetically modified products.. wonder if China did? Do they get it, make the gluten and send it to us a la melamine too?

Horrendous thoughts.

Comment by Ann H — May 20, 2007 @ 6:57 am
Comment by Ann H — May 20, 2007 @ 5:26 am

http://www.animalwellnessmagaz…..V93_62.htm

Thanks to Ann for pointing out this article. I’m pulling out Dr. Fox’s quotes here so that we don’t become myoptic on only China’s exports. The U.S. is involved in genetically modified/engineered crops in which pesticides are embedded in the crops themselves. It’s not approved for humans in the U.S., but we all read about its drift to other fields. And it isn’t forbidden for animals here (which animals fed this stuff have gotten into the human food chain). COOL is only one tool to fix this broken food system.

When we were in early shock over the disclosures of so many of our pets’ deaths and illnesses, a lot of information flew by. I remember someone posting about Dr. Fox’s remarks about GMO grain getting into our food supply and what that could mean. I remember a hostile poster questioning my motives when I wrote that I wanted government to explore all potential contaminants, singly or in combination (there’s that pesky synergy again). It’s more comforting to think that we know what the culprit is — melamine and cyanuric acid in combination — but is that “IT”?

From the Animal Wellness Magazine:

“But according to Michael W. Fox, B. Vet. Med, Ph.D., D.Sc., M.R.C.V.S, melamine is “not cheap” and costs about 50% more than wheat gluten. “I believe the China contaminant is the tip of the iceberg, and could become the scapegoat,” says Dr. Fox. In fact, he speculates that the Chinese wheat was genetically engineered or modified (GMO), and this is the source of the problem.

“It most probably was,” he states, “since it was not imported for human consumption, and was possibly an experimental crop with anti-fungus blight and viral disease genetic insertions that could have gone haywire as a result of ‘overexpression’. Melamine, the parent chemical for a potent insecticide cyromazine, could possibly have been manufactured within the wheat plants themselves as a genetically engineered pesticide.” Alternatively, the culprit could be glyphosate, says Dr. Fox, an herbicide that is absorbed by crops that are genetically engineered so that they escape harm while the weeds in the field around them die.

To date, the FDA has not stated whether or not the wheat is GMO. Mark Ullman, legal counsel for ChemNutra, the company that imported the wheat gluten told Animal Wellness that the wheat gluten “was not supposed to be [genetically modified] but that ChemNutra did not specify non-GMO on its order” so in fact it may well have received a genetically engineered product. Thus far, GMO wheat has been frowned upon for human consumption in North America, but the FDA does not regulate its presence in pet food or animal feed. Furthermore, as with human products, genetically engineered foods do not have to declare their “altered” status on North American labels.”

Comment by Maureen — May 20, 2007 @ 7:11 am
Here’s Michael W. Fox’s website if you want to read his bio and other articles.

http://tedeboy.tripod.com/drmichaelwfox/id74.html

For myself, I had to see how long he had been involved and that he was not just jumping on the band wagon of this major government & food scandal.

Comment by Ann H — May 20, 2007 @ 7:29 am
And, here is an example of sometimes things do work to protect us:

http://www.familyfarmdefenders.....ngineering

http://www.familyfarmdefenders.....fGEAlfalfa

Comment by Ann H — May 20, 2007 @ 7:36 am
The Center for Food Safety has a lot of letters you can send and download for mailing.

http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/

They’re the ones who sued and got the Court to stop the project referenced above.

Comment by Ann H — May 20, 2007 @ 7:44 am
I read this article last night after seeing a link at Itch, wrote a long reply to post here but became so disguted I hit delete, stepped away & went to bed.

I’m still not past the fact our government is even considering allowing China to import their own home grown chickens to the U.S. Or any of China’s food stuffs, poisonous chemicals & what not. Seriously, what crack are they smokin’ in our nation’s capitol?!!!

Comment by Ally — May 20, 2007 @ 8:15 am
Comment by Ally — May 20, 2007 @ 8:15 am

“what crack are they smokin’ in our nation’s capitol?!!!”

GREED, it’s all about greed. Greed trumps ethics, morality, honesty, loyalty to one’s country,national security, everything. Our government and the corporations that control it feed on greed. The rest of us can die, they don’t care. People need to realize this or the horrors will only get worse.

Comment by MFEMFEM — May 20, 2007 @ 8:22 am
Sigh, I wish we could make the presidential election happen sooner…the last hurrahs out of the lame duck could be far-reaching.

Comment by Ann H — May 20, 2007 @ 8:38 am
I am sick and nauseous after reading the “Fox” report.

Should I write to our U.S. Attorney General. Will he help us or is he exiting his position?

Maybe some of the packages from China are labeled “snakeskins” but are really chickens for human consumption.

So disguisting—cannot express that much horror.

Al Gore for president, I say.

Comment by Evelyn — May 20, 2007 @ 8:59 am
Comment by Maureen — May 20, 2007 @ 7:11 am

Boy am I glad you’re still around!!

“It’s not approved for humans in the U.S.”

is that a current law or outdated? Because it’s currently in our food - those GM seeds are being used and are our food-it’s in Soy and Corn for sure and if it’s not approved for humans - - do you have any links to where it’s not approved for humans yet? I’d really really like to see that.

Comment by shelly — May 20, 2007 @ 9:29 am
Who would have guessed back in March, where this food story is today. I never dreamed I’d be reading what the FDA turns back or what toothpaste might contain! It has been a very rude awakening!!!

Greed, Greed and more Greed. What happened to business ethics. On CNN last night I got the feeling the gov’t officials accept without remorse - Americans will die from contaminated food. It’s a given and not much they can do about it.

I wish they could give up the Crisis mode model and move to being Proactive! I know it’s “complicated”..

Katie

Comment by Katie — May 20, 2007 @ 9:30 am
Those of you that weren’t on the blog late yesterday, we had some great finds last night on this blog -

http://www.petconnection.com/b.....ts-of-bite

Comment by shelly — May 20, 2007 @ 9:46 am
Comment by Ann H @ 5:56am
Thanks Ann. Good information. Ask at the office of the market as to who local growers are. Good to know. I’ll tuck that away for future reference.

Comment by VJ — May 20, 2007 @ 9:51 am
Just as a reminder: COOL is already a law. S 404 which passed in 2002. The problem is that every year, the appropriations (budget) committee won’t fund it because of pressure from lobbying efforts of the big food manufacturers.

The article says that it would hurt our economy to ban China imports. Why does anything think that this food and other items are so cheap? Because they are made with cheap ingredients (melamine instead of protein, anti-freeze instead of glycerin, etc.) The cost of a major recall has cost all of us more than just buying a good USA product to begin with. The companies will raise the price of their products to recoup their losses from this recall…we’ll end up paying more for more junk. If I’m going to pay more, I’d rather it be good food from the USA. I agree with a poster above: no more processed or packaged “food.” I don’t consider myself an “activist” per the comments above, but I do think I’m smart enough not to keep poisoning myself and my loved ones (my furkids).

Comment by Cheryl Hansen — May 20, 2007 @ 9:52 am
In the Washington Post it referred to dried apples that were stopped because they were preserved with a cancer causing chemical. Has anyone seen the import documents etc on the apples? What company etc. QVC was selling dried apples that I purchased and you would have believed they were grown right here in the good ole USA. Home grown company etc. However, after I ate about a can of them I looked at the label closely, “Made in China”. I threw them away. But I wonder about them.

Comment by Shawn — May 20, 2007 @ 9:58 am
to find out who’s at your farmers markets:

http://www.localharvest.org/

http://www.eatwild.com/index.html

http://www.organicconsumers.org/

http://www.farmandfood.org/directory/farms.html

and our large market in NYC has it’s own site:

http://www.unionsquarejournal.com/greenmarket.htm

and we can also use this site to find things:

http://www.cenyc.org/site/

when I was looking around for a CSA and other ways to get food aside from the grocery store I used these links and was able to read up on the farms and such. I can get EVERYTHING except maybe some condiments/grains, I need with out walking into a grocery store. I did take notes on which farmers I wanted to check out at the large market, and the small one in my park has all organic farmers, many who do local CSA’s with us. I can take the dog for a walk in the park and come home with produce and dairy! Beats the heck out of reading labels in the grocery store ;)

I also found an organic food co-op that’s convenient for me also.

Comment by straybaby — May 20, 2007 @ 10:00 am
Here’s a great post from Laurie on Itchmo. May have already been put here but never hurts to load it again for the newbies:

http://www.api4animals.org/fac.....038;more=1

Comment by Nabiya — May 20, 2007 @ 10:04 am
Comment by MFEMFEM May 20, 2007 @ 6:25am
My heart goes out to you for your loss. Reading your post brings tears to my eyes. You use the word hopelessness. Gawd you are so right. After all we have commented and investigated and brought to light here, do we really think things will change. Yes, maybe some. Maybe Sen Durbin and Rosa DiLauro will get some changes through Congress for the good of citizens. But in the long scheme of things, nothing will change. It will only continue to get worse. There was a breakdown this time and many pets were poisoned and died. Unfortunate. Unfortunate because so much has been brought to light. What all these rich bas***ds & corporations really want to do is make us just sick enough so they can continue to get richer & richer from our illnesses. Sure, people & pets will die because they do not have strong enough systems to fight off all the poisons. Most of us will hang in there and just have all varieties of illnesses…until our systems cannot endure. That, my dear people, is what is to become of all of us because that is the goal of “business”. It’s a good thing that atrocities such as this are brought out and strong people like all of you, all of us, fight against it. Even small victories are better than none.

Comment by VJ — May 20, 2007 @ 10:13 am
SMUGGLED MEAT

Deception by Chinese exporters is not limited to plant products. Some of their most egregiously unfit exports are smuggled in.

Under Agriculture Department rules, countries cannot export meat and poultry products to the United States unless the USDA certifies that the slaughterhouses and processing plants have food-safety systems equivalent to those here. Much to its frustration, China is not certified to sell any meat to the United States because it has not met that requirement.

But that has not stopped Chinese meat exporters. In the past year, USDA teams have seized hundreds of thousands of pounds of prohibited poultry products from China and other Asian countries, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns announced in March. Some were shipped in crates labeled “dried lily flower,” “prune slices” and “vegetables,” according to news reports. It is unclear how much of the illegal meat slipped in undetected.

Despite those violations, the Chinese government is on track to get permission to legally export its chickens to the United States - a prospect that has raised concern not only because of fears of bacteria such as salmonella but also because Chinese chickens, if not properly processed, could be a source of avian flu, which public-health authorities fear may be poised to trigger a human pandemic.

Last year, under high-level pressure from China, the USDA passed a rule allowing China to export to the United States chickens that were grown and slaughtered in North America and then processed in China - a rule that quickly passed through multiple levels of review and was approved the day before Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in Washington last April.

Now the rule that China really wants, allowing it to export its own birds to the United States, is in the works, said Richard Raymond, USDA’s undersecretary for food safety. Reports in China have repeatedly hinted that only if China gets its way on chicken exports to the United States will Beijing lift its four-year-old ban on importing U.S. beef. Raymond denies any link.”

http://www.mercurynews.com/new.....ck_check=1

Comment by shelly — May 20, 2007 @ 10:21 am
All the while, more and more contaminated ingredients and products cross our borders, lying in wait to fuel next week’s recalls…

Comment by Palomino — May 20, 2007 @ 10:26 am
“I’ve been looking for chicken plant seeds, wish I could find some, and we do have milkweed for the Monarch butterflies but that is not quite the same. “(Peggy AKA BFMC)

LOL,Peggy.Thanks for the chuckle in a not-so-funny thread.

I think the way it goes is,”You guys take our beef and we’ll take your chicken,OK?”

Lorna

Comment by Lorna — May 20, 2007 @ 10:26 am
Oh,just saw your recent post,Shelly.I think that second last sentence is pretty close to the truth…whatever THAT is.
But,of course,if Raymond denies it…well…bring on the bafflegab.

Lorna

Comment by Lorna — May 20, 2007 @ 10:29 am
Why does anybody think doubling the FDA’s budget will have any effect? With such a dismal record, and importers coming back for a second or third try on shipments which have already been turned away, how can increasing our inspections from 2% to 4% make any appreciable difference? We must be ready and willing to engage in a trade war with China now, or kiss our own desires for a healthy life ahead goodbye.

Comment by Palomino — May 20, 2007 @ 10:30 am
Syngenta is to acquire a 49 per cent take in Chinese seed company Sanbei with a view to jointly developing corn seed products to meet growing demand driven by changing food patterns and agronomic trends.

Agricultural trends, such as the decline in arable lands, also create demand for high-yield, disease-resistant crops. By combining their technology and knowledge of corn, the two companies expect to create more varieties of corn seeds and different products that can combat disease and environmental factors, and to speed development of new products to suit the Chinese market.

http://www.truthabouttrade.org/article.asp?id=7537

Comment by shelly — May 20, 2007 @ 10:51 am
http://www.foodnavigator.com/n.....corn-China

Comment by shelly — May 20, 2007 @ 10:52 am
http://www.truthabouttrade.org/article.asp?id=7563

Three years after a series of controversial field experiments with genetically modified

****(GM) wheat, ****

Swiss scientists are planning similar crop trials.

Emphasis mine.
GM Wheat
Hm…

GM Wheat

China does GM, so does US

Comment by shelly — May 20, 2007 @ 11:02 am
RE Comment by Ann H — May 20, 2007 @ 5:09 am

Ann, sadly many major corporations have staff dedicated to calculating the probability of product liability exposure. Translation: Which is cheaper? Cost of converting to safer, but not mandated, source material? Or to pay out product liability claims?

Example: If they estimate they will lose $25M in lawsuits under the current method and it costs $50M to convert their method, then it’s cheaper to settle lawsuits.

Disgusting, isn’t it? But that’s business.

Comment by Lynn — May 20, 2007 @ 11:20 am
Doubling the budget of a corrupt federal agency isn’t going to make any more difference than appointing a cronie to food czar. We need to throw every elected official who has not taken a stand on this out of Washington and hope their greed comes back on them in the form of karma. The Bush administration is responsible for this. I don’t understand how any of them can sleep at night. I guess it’s easy if you don’t have a conscience.

Comment by Sharon — May 20, 2007 @ 11:20 am
http://www.organicconsumers.or.....e_4592.cfm

Here is an idea -

The large stores like Safeway told the dairy farmers that they didn’t want the milk with the hormones in it - if that’s what they provided they had to pay a premium. So that milk wasn’t sold to these stores that objected.

We need to get these large markets to object to the GM products, too - leave no market for it

Comment by shelly — May 20, 2007 @ 11:22 am
Comment by Palomino — May 20, 2007 @ 10:30 am

“We must be ready and willing to engage in a trade war with China now, or kiss our own desires for a healthy life ahead goodbye.”

I agree completely. We as a nation have shown that we lack the courage to address a problem that is killing our pets, poisoning our food and posing a threat to our national security.

Our lust for “cheap” is backfiring as we pay a higher and higher price for the consequences of importing garbage and poisons. One $1000+ vet ill will wipe out that savings on those athletic shoes - they are all made in China anyway. Let’s not be deceived by some who will play the racist card. The problem is the corrupt and brutal communist Chinese government, not the Chinese people who are suffering more than anyone.

Comment by MFEMFEM — May 20, 2007 @ 11:24 am
“Welcome to the Eat Well Guide, the easiest and most comprehensive way for you to find wholesome, fresh, sustainable food in the US and Canada. Find food in your neighborhood and when you travel that is healthful, humane, better for the environment, and that supports family farmers”

A source for food!
http://www.eatwellguide.org/

I linked to the above site from here:
http://www.organicconsumers.or.....gguide.cfm

Comment by shelly — May 20, 2007 @ 11:27 am
RE Comment by Peggy (AKA: Big Fat Momma Cat) — May 20, 2007 @ 5:32 am

Many companies negotiate contracts for the purchase of source materials that cover multiple years; this results in reduced cost per unit. Cancellation clauses vary and can be costly.

Comment by Lynn — May 20, 2007 @ 11:29 am
Actually, I LOVE GROCERY SHOPPING these days!! I get a BIG CHARGE out of it.

I don’t buy anything without it coming from the US. I consider MX & Canada, but they are both right up there with China for high rejects.

If I THINK I want a certain product, and the package doesn’t state where it’s from, I CALL THE COMPANY RIGHT THERE FROM THE STORE. If they tell me the food’s grown in the US, I buy it.

If they hem-haw around & give me some BS about grown in North America I clean their clock! North American?? “Well, would that be Canada, Mexico, Guatamala, the US? North American is a continent — not a country. So, WHICH COUNTRY is it GROWN IN???” I had that discussion with Quaker Oats.

Sanderson Farms is NOT mela-chicken. Their grains are not contaminated. Their farms are in TX, GA, & MS. I’ve talked to them twice. They are a bit more expensive. I told her I would continue buying their chicken.

On Thurs. it took me nearly an hour to buy salsa. I called about 10 of them. One of the brands told me it came from the ground & he really didn’t care where it came from. That brand is Clint’s Texas Salsa. I told him I will not be buying his product.

Hodgson Mill is another that I will not be buying. I’ve talked to them on the phone & sent several emails. They are vague. First, it was “proprietary info”. Weeks later they said US & Europe (great!) “Europe is a continent, so WHICH country in EUROPE?” She says: “The vital wheat gluten comes from the Netherlands in Europe and US. All Hodgson Mill grains come from North America.” It took nearly 2 months to get that tiny bit of info out of them.

Yes, actions speak louder than words. Buy NOT purchasing a product is PASSIVE. Actually, calling them & telling them what YOU WANT as a consumer & what you will not be buying of their’s, sends a far greater message. You took the time — and gave ‘em heck!

I FEEL ~ENERGIZED~ when I do it.

Also, if customer no-service is no-help. I ask to speak to someone who will know.

Comment by Kat — May 20, 2007 @ 11:46 am
I keep coming back to one basic question: Isn’t our government supposed to be “for the people, by the people, and of the people”?

I’m thinking maybe we’re better off getting a robot that’s tapped into the citizens’ wishes to run the country.

Comment by Lynn — May 20, 2007 @ 11:46 am
Comment by shelly — May 20, 2007 @ 11:27 am

earlier i posted a bunch of links for finding farmers markets and info about the farmers participating along with some other links for finding local food. must have gotten trapped in the spam filter, so hopefully it will show up soon.

Comment by straybaby — May 20, 2007 @ 11:51 am
RE: Sigh, I wish we could make the presidential election happen sooner…the last hurrahs out of the lame duck could be far-reaching.

Comment by Ann H — May 20, 2007 @ 8:38 am

That man — our President — needs to pick up his little pad of blank “executive orders” & immediately HALT all FOOD/FOOD ADDITIVES/FEED/VITAMINS & anything else orally consumable from China — until further notice.

president@whitehouse.gov

Comment by Kat — May 20, 2007 @ 11:53 am
That man — our President — needs to pick up his little pad of blank “executive orders” & immediately HALT all FOOD/FOOD ADDITIVES/FEED/VITAMINS & anything else orally consumable from China — until further notice.

I second the motion!

Comment by Palomino — May 20, 2007 @ 11:56 am
“wipe out that savings on those athletic shoes - they are all made in China anyway.”

-SOME- athletic shoes are still made in USA - I’m still seeing some New Balance sneakers assembled here. I remember reading about the President or CEO (not sure which), vehemently pushing for tariffs on Chinese and Indonesian sneakers about ten years ago. His pleas fell on deaf ears, over and over again. I hope he’s still with us.

Comment by Palomino — May 20, 2007 @ 11:59 am
*** The Other Pat ***

Hope you catch this once you’re on - this is for you -

Your dried fruits - you can get them local to you, locally grown and prepared, and organic. Place your zip code in and then on to your choices (more here than just dried fruits, but I thought of you when I saw it)

http://www.localharvest.org/store/local.jsp

Comment by shelly — May 20, 2007 @ 12:01 pm
I third the motion.

Just DO IT!

Comment by Lynn — May 20, 2007 @ 12:01 pm
“Just DO IT!” Good snipe, LOL! (Some New Balance sneakers are still made in USA.)

Comment by Palomino — May 20, 2007 @ 12:03 pm
Congress is as much a problem, too. More funding had been presented for USDA, FDA, Boarder patrol, etc by Bush and Congress said no. I was shocked when I found that, had not seen it in the news. It was a gov doc that I read I believe. Bush had a lot of great stuff lined up and Congress shot it down. Note - I’m not protecting Bush or anything, it’s really what I read. I’ll have to search for that thing.

Comment by shelly — May 20, 2007 @ 12:04 pm
I had a long post that’s gotten canned :( It didn’t even have any links…

Comment by Kat — May 20, 2007 @ 12:04 pm
Kat - mine, too! Not sure what triggered it… possibly copying too much of someone else’s post?

Comment by Palomino — May 20, 2007 @ 12:06 pm
“Duplicate post” filter is probably active, so it may be best to put spaces or something into anything long that you copy from another post.

Comment by Palomino — May 20, 2007 @ 12:09 pm
One of the biggest problems with boycotts (and a big part of the problem they’re not effective,) is that when you boycott a particular “class” of products, e.g. Chinese imports, it creates a surplus in that “class”. If 10,000,000 Americans start boycotting Chinese products tomorrow, this will reduce the value/price of Chinese products already onshore, and make counterfeiting and smuggling that much more cost-effective and attractive. It becomes suddenly economical for a “broker” to by 10 containers of New Balance sneakers made in China, and replace all the labels with “made in USA” stickers.

Only Federal intervention can solve the problem, or at least begin to tackle it.

Comment by Palomino — May 20, 2007 @ 12:14 pm
As an extension of the reasoning in my earlier post, a boycott can actually double the existing problem. Whereas before we had a singular problem, cheap, dangerous and/or poisonous Chinese imports, now we have a dual problem: the poison imports, and a black market which didn’t exist before the boycott.

Comment by Palomino — May 20, 2007 @ 12:19 pm
It’s posted now & I didn’t have anything copied in that one… all my own original thoughts….. hahaha!

Comment by Kat — May 20, 2007 @ 12:25 pm
Just sent our own el presidente an email:

Dear Mr. President:

I am a VERY concerned citizen of the United States, regarding the tainted food/food additives/feed coming from China.

Their soils are polluted. Their water is polluted. They’ve added toxic chemicals to our food & feed which has killed our loving pets. They’ve sent filthy foods which were rejected by the FDA, only to be resent.

We have no screening process for this sort of constant bombardment. Although, nearly every U.S. citizen thought we were being protected, we weren’t. A very minimal 1.3% of inspections finds all these problems, yet nothing is done to block or inspect new shipments.

I URGE ~YOU~ our President — to pick up your little pad of blank “executive orders” & immediately HALT all FOOD/FOOD ADDITIVES/FEED/VITAMINS & anything else orally consumable from China — until further notice.

Thank you for your consideration,
Katrinka Lawson

Comment by Kat — May 20, 2007 @ 12:26 pm
Copy of letter emailed to Congress, Senate and President, Saturday, May 20, 2007. Please feel free to use parts of this - but alter enough to avoid “mass mailing” deletion:

Dear xxxxxx,

In the past, I have contacted your office twice concerning trade with China. The first time was in 1999, when China was granted MFN status, paving their way into the WTO and permanent normal trade status. I opposed this measure, because of China’s low manufacturing, environmental and human rights standards, and continue to oppose these measures to this day.

Since that time we have seen the loss of millions of American manufacturing jobs to unfair overseas competition, (when a circuit board manufacturer moves to China, many other adjuncts and outsources to this manufacturer will also generally move there, or to closer locations such as Singapore or Thailand).

The second time I contacted your office was last summer (2006), shortly after North Korea attempted to test long range missiles over the Sea of Japan, on July 4th. The North Korean regime can only continue on their dangerous, and ultimately self-destructive course with the blind eye and encouragement of the Peking government. We have still seen no substantial action toward sanctioning this Communist regime, which may pose the most significant threat to international peace and security since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Two weeks ago, my once healthy cat almost died from eating poisoned pet food with the poisoned ingredients originating in China. This is the final straw for me. Until this event occurred, I wasn’t even aware that the United States, my entire life referred to as “the breadbasket of the world,” was getting ANY ingredients from China to begin with.

How is it that our manufacturing and now agricultural sectors can be allowed to fall into abandonment and decay, at the hands of an infantile Communist government, and a handful of “free trade” lobbyists, while the President, my senators and congressional representative stand idly by? Is there any reason I SHOULDN’T feel disparaged, humiliated and mocked by my own government, as these betrayals occur, year after year?

You can answer me with legislation and action only. I don’t need any more cheap rhetoric. Take action now, or lose your job. Thank you.

Comment by Palomino — May 20, 2007 @ 12:26 pm
Comment by Kat — May 20, 2007 @ 11:46 am

Kat: Can you share your findings on Quaker Oats? I was just researching that this morning and came up with very little except PERHAPS manufactured in Canada.

Comment by Nabiya — May 20, 2007 @ 12:30 pm
Comment by shelly - May 20, 2007 11:27am
Thanks for the information http://www.eatwellguide.org
Checked it out and within 50 miles have lots of places to choose from.

Comment by VJ — May 20, 2007 @ 12:35 pm
shelly, thanks for the link on the dried fruits.

My problem is actually with Sojos - one of the pet food companies that’s benefitting BIG TIME from all of this since they present themselves as one of the “niche market” specialty food makers - “all natural”, add your own meat, etc.

Turns out their Europa blend - almost primarily ddried fruits and veggies - is made up of dried fruits and veggies FROM CHINA.

When I emailed to urge them the reconsider that in light of recent events, their reply to me was rather dismissive:

“In fact, when we used to buy our fruits and veggies domestically, we found out those ingredients originally came from China. The thing to remember is that China differentiates between human-quality and feed-quality ingredients just like we do. The same protocols for human-quality are followed over there as they are here.”

This bothers me on SO many levels. But I guess I feel pretty strongly that a company which is profiting nicely right now from consumers looking for an alternative to kibble out to have the integrity to either ‘fess up on where they’re getting their ingredients, or quit posting messages like this on their homepage:

“Our foods offer the superior nutrition of naturally-occurring vitamins, minerals and enzymes that you can’t get from a cooked, processed pellet. No preservatives. Nothing artificial. Just all-natural, human-quality ingredients.”

It’s not fair to those of their competitors who really ARE doing it right, and it’s taking unfair advantage of consumers’ fears.

Comment by The OTHER Pat — May 20, 2007 @ 12:44 pm
Comment by The OTHER Pat — May 20, 2007 @ 12:44 pm

“Free trade” is never free. Boycotts are often counter-productive. Increased “inspections” foist the costs of free trade upon the consumer. Only a ban on all imports can make a dent in this problem. Contact your senators, representative and the president, NOW! The Chinese “free trade invasion force,” is on the ground in Washington RIGHT NOW!

Lawmakers ready trade bills as US, China talk - Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....00405.html

Comment by Palomino — May 20, 2007 @ 12:54 pm
A couple of more sites to help you find local produce and meat are:

http://www.localharvest.org
http://www.eatwild.com

Comment by Sandy C — May 20, 2007 @ 12:55 pm
Palomino, if Sojos wants to continue using products from China, so be it. They should say that’s what they’re doing rather than just trumpeting how their products are “all natural” and “nothing artificial” in their product descriptions. (Given what we’ve learned about the way China treats commercial food preparation, I really don’t think ANYONE can claim with 100% certainty that ANYTHING they got from there has “nothing artificial” in it).

This is why COOL needs to be implemented. If we know where the stuff is coming from, we can individually boycott (or not). But without COOL in place, we don’t have the ability to make those choices because we don’t have the INFORMATION to make those choices.

Without information, we’re helpless.

Comment by The OTHER Pat — May 20, 2007 @ 1:02 pm
I’ve mentioned several times here that I’m having a major problem with Gerber baby foods admitting to where their corn starch is manufactured (or any of their grains for that matter). I have occassionally fed a sick cat baby food to entice eating and vets also recommend feeding baby food to sick ones. The no. 2 ingredient in some of their jarred foods is corn starch. I’ve emailed and called numerous times.

Last week I was “fortunate” enough to get a “desk supervisor” on the phone who stated all of their ingredients are manufactured in the US. I told her I wanted that in writing, from a senior management person at Gerber’s, that all grains are manufactured in the US and I didn’t want to hear anything more about distributors or I will continue to blog about it.

Yesterday I received a letter from Karla Karnematt, Senior Correspondent, Gerber Parents Resource Center. In it she states:
“Although we are unable to give distributor information, we can assure you that all of our grain based ingredients are purchased from suppliers in the United States.”

So I will continue to blog about it. They continually skirt the issue IMO and think we are all idiots to not know the difference between “distributors” and “manufacturers.” They could VERY WELL be using grains from only the US, but the fact that they will not concede anything in writing lends to being suspicious.

I will send a return letter to Ms. Karnemaat and ask her again where the grains are grown and what country (not distributed and/or the continent).

If anything changes I’ll post it here. Otherwise I will refuse to use their products.

Comment by Nabiya — May 20, 2007 @ 1:03 pm
Running out of time…

This coming from the generally “free trade” Bloomberg:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/.....refer=home

to “the OTHER Pat”, I’m certainly not opposed to honesty in food labeling, or honesty in any other trade or industry. “Honesty is the best policy.” A Chinese friend of mine used to say to me, tongue in cheek, that this was an “ancient Chinese proverb!”

I still believe that boycotts are often counter-productive, and “personal reform,” is not the key to the overall problem of dishonesty. Let’s be honest with OURSELVES, here, too.

Comment by Palomino — May 20, 2007 @ 1:08 pm
As others have already stated many times on this blog, COOL is already the law. Implementing and enforcing the law seems to be nearly impossible (from what I’ve been able to glean on this very blog — please correct me if I’m misguided), though. Solutions have to be workable, or they only provide the illusion of progress.

Comment by Palomino — May 20, 2007 @ 1:10 pm
Comment by Sandy C — May 20, 2007 @ 12:55 pm

Sandy, I posted some earlier in the thread also. Scroll up as one or 2 may be different than yours. I found that when I checked them out, not all farms/programs showed up on each. Just a heads up on expanding your local options :)

Comment by straybaby — May 20, 2007 @ 1:11 pm
I am still reading posts on this thread, but had to say crap on that cooked chicken with no country of origin label. I don’t WANT to eat chickens that cooked in China and then sent on a flipping slow boat to here. What the hell are people thinking?

You know, I have ranted that I am going to become as self sufficient as possible. And honestly, something like this makes it clear - I for sure am not going to walk into grocery chains anymore and buy things UNLESS I FREAKING KNOW WHERE THEY CAME FROM.

And if I know it comes from China, well, they are on my banned list for 5 years. And won’t ever get back on unless there have been demonstrable changes in safety issues.

Comment by TC — May 20, 2007 @ 1:14 pm
Organic Conusmer has some very interesting articles. I’ve been checking their site for several weeks due to the recall & growing need to question most things consumable.

Some interesting reads for anyone curious or with too much time on their hands:

“USDA to Allow More Conventional Ingredients in Organics?”
http://www.organicconsumers.or.....e_5217.cfm

Discusses a proposal to allow 38 additional substances including non-organic colors, starches and oils, when an organic counterpart is not available commercially. Most of substances have already been in use due to some confusion and some thinking they were approved. Most of them don’t look so bad (although not considered “organic” per se), but this part makes me go “eeeuuuw”:

“In addition: casings from processed intestines (used as sheaths in the manufacture of sausages)” will be allowed. Non-organic pork anyone?

From Organic Authority:

“Get to Know Your Source, Even if it’s “Certified Organic”
http://www.organicauthority.com/blog/?p=210

Watch what organic milk you buy:

“Secret Letter Exposes Major Organic Dairy Brands Lobbying USDA to Eliminate 30% Pasture Feed Requirement”
http://www.organicconsumers.or.....e_4549.cfm

From Root Wisdom:
“The Real Truth About Soy”

“soy byproducts have been cleverly marketed to resemble traditional foods; soy milk malteds, soy baby formula, soy yogurt, soy ice cream, soy cheese, soy hot dogs, and the list goes on and on. These are fake products and certainly not health foods!”

“Soy milk and baby formula is often made with soy protein isolate, an extremely refined product lacking all minerals and vitamins. Soy formulas in some cases are rich in trypsin-inhibitors which can stunt growth. They all contain staggering amounts of mineral-depleting phytates. The aluminum content of soy formula is 100 times greater than unprocessed milk. Aluminum has a toxic effect on infant’s kidneys and may be a cause of Alzheimer’s. Soy formula can lack important nutrients found in all milk; cholesterol, essential for brain development, lactose and galactose, very important roles in the development and functioning of the nerves.”

http://www.rootwisdom.com/the-.....about-soy/

And finally:

“The Truth About Organic Food”
http://www.spiked-online.com/i.....icle/2691/

I’m not saying I agree with all of these articles, but they have opened my eyes to continue questioning what I used to take at face value. Obviously you have to do your own research, weed through the articles and decide for yourself what to believe. There is so much floating around on the ‘net your head may explode trying to decipher all of it. Sound familiar? ;)

Anyhoo, we’ll see when this post arrives. Lots of links so I might have filled my monthly link quota per the spam filter. Heh.

straybaby, in case you’re stopping by, now maybe my posts over at Itchmo’s forums re: questioning even “certified organic” might make more sense. I don’t trust much anymore, another side effect of this recall. Though in the long run, I do think this will evolve into being a positive.

Comment by Ally — May 20, 2007 @ 1:15 pm
Whoa. All those links made it through on the first try. Kewl!

But I did forget one from the Whole Life Times:

“Voting Beyond Our Forks:
Attention shoppers: it’s going to take more than consciousness at the checkout line to fix our broken food system”
By Christopher D. Cook

“Voting with our forks, while a useful first step, falls distressingly short of the needs and possibilities of this historical moment. From contaminated industrial food, to intensely polluting factory farms, to the millions of pounds of toxic pesticides still showered on our produce and ever-proliferating genetically manipulated crops, our food system is in desperate need of fundamental change. We can’t simply shop our way out of this mess. We need a compelling, coherent alternative that channels today’s excitement about good food far beyond the grocery checkout line, to cast votes for public policies and investments that restructure how food is made, marketed and consumed.”

http://wholelifetimes.com/2007.....d0702.html

Comment by Ally — May 20, 2007 @ 1:19 pm
I still believe that boycotts are often counter-productive, and “personal reform,” is not the key to the overall problem of dishonesty. Let’s be honest with OURSELVES, here, too.

Comment by Palomino — May 20, 2007 @ 1:08 pm

While I’m not sure boycotts aren’t productive, personal reform seems rather important right now. We need to find safe food sources for ourselves/family/pets. And that involves reforming some eating/shopping habits. We also NEED to let congress, our state governments, food manufacturers, grocery chains and others KNOW how we feel at the same time. Our personal reform actions will effectively back up our words in this case.

Comment by straybaby — May 20, 2007 @ 1:19 pm
“Our personal reform actions will effectively back up our words in this case.” Nothing wrong with personal reform as a “backup”. We have to remain alive and healthy to fight the up and coming battles.

Comment by Palomino — May 20, 2007 @ 1:21 pm
i don’t see it as a back up. why on earth would anyone change anything if we keep our buying habits the same?

when i write to people on this subject and related issues, i can say that i am no longer doing **** or plan on stopping because i have OPTIONS and i am exercising my right to not buy into this mess.

and i would like my state and national reps to follow suit, not just words, ACTIONS. Nobody gets my vote until i see them fighting as hard as i am for a safe meal.

Comment by straybaby — May 20, 2007 @ 1:25 pm
Comment by Nabiya — May 20, 2007 @ 12:30 pm:

I buy (or WAS buying) Quaker Oats Old Fashioned Oat Meal - for years. I decided to give them a call to see what was the county-of-origin.

This is almost verbatim:
Calling: 1800-FOR-OATS (800-367-6287)
ring-a-ding-ding…

“How can I help you?”
“I am inquiring about what the country-of-origin is for your Old Fashioned Oat Meal?”
“What is in regards to?”
“What is in regards to? This is in regards to where your product is grown —that is, the country-of-origin…”
“Let me look. I show it’s from North America”
“North America? North America is a continent — not a country.
“Thanks for pointing that out….”
“I would like to know the country-of-orgin for your oat meal!”

We went back n forth like that a couple of times, then I asked to speak to someone else.

I told the next lady I would like to know which country their oat meal was grown. And, that many people are just like me, in that, we are NOT buying food without proper labeling stating where the food originates.

She said PRIMARILY from the U.S. & Canada. I told her “I am taking the box out of my cart & I am choosing NOT to buy your oat meal today. Canada has a high rate of import denials & I will think about buying your products in the future, but not today.”

I turned around & pulled Bob’s Red Mill off the shelf (about $.75 higher). It clearly states it’s grown in the “Great Northwest - some of the best oat-growing country in the whole United States!”

Comment by Kat — May 20, 2007 @ 1:27 pm
Kat, check amazon for Bob’s RM products. Free shipping ;)

Comment by straybaby — May 20, 2007 @ 1:30 pm
Comment by straybaby — May 20, 2007 @ 1:25 pm

All very much true. I wholeheartedly agree.

Unfortunately, the “powers that be” in this country have unwittingly offered us two alternatives: 1 - Descend into poverty by spending all of our time and resources on acquiring healthy foods; or, 2 - Eat poison and don’t complain. I won’t accept either of these alternatives for the long term.

A ban on all Chinese (and probably Indian) products could be implemented with an affordable increase in customs, border patrol and coast guard enforcement. It would benefit all American industry and agriculture, too. If China really wants to overreact with a trade war, so be it. This is the third alternative. But it takes courage - something obviously lacking in Washington.

Comment by Palomino — May 20, 2007 @ 1:32 pm
Stray? Palomino? Would either of you like a tall cool drink or is the ping pong match still going?

Comment by Ally — May 20, 2007 @ 1:33 pm
Kat - From what I know “Bob’s Red Mill” is really good stuff. I’ve bought their pastry flour in the past.

Comment by Palomino — May 20, 2007 @ 1:35 pm
Thanks to those (straybaby,shelly & sandy) who posted the localharvest.com link. I found a couple of local farms & a csa right down the road from me and a couple of markets to check. I wrote for their info,contracts, price list etc.

Comment by Ann H — May 20, 2007 @ 1:35 pm
Comment by Nabiya — May 20, 2007 @ 1:03 pm

“manufactured in the US” just means it was brought in from who-in-the-heck knows where & mixed up together, then, sent somewhere else for labeling & packaging, then on to a food distribution center, then on to our grocers.

country-of-origin is what you probably meant…???

I always tell “them” “that manufactured in the US doesn’t mean much any more, as you may well know…”

Comment by Kat — May 20, 2007 @ 1:36 pm
Comment by Ally — May 20, 2007 @ 1:33 pm

I actually don’t disagree with straybaby on much, but I guess a good-natured ping-pong match is healthy fun for a Sunday afternoon.

Comment by Palomino — May 20, 2007 @ 1:36 pm
Palomino - I would love nothing more than to see a shift back to supporting our own industry and farmers. But it’s going to be a heckofa fight and as you said, take courage. I don’t know if our voices here are loud enough to fire up the rest of consumers but it’s sure worth a try. Yahvo knows I’ve been spreading the wealth to as many family, friends and neighbors who will listen to me. Even if many of them do think I’m nuts.

Comment by Ally — May 20, 2007 @ 1:39 pm
Comment by Palomino — May 20, 2007 @ 1:36 pm

Thanks Palomino for taking my comment in the fun it was given. You two sure were going fast & furious there for a spate but excellent thoughts and comments were share from both points of view. ;)

Comment by Ally — May 20, 2007 @ 1:41 pm
Day late - Dollar Short:

Menu Foods “phasing out” Chinese ingredients & won’t resume until…

(Oh please- define phasing out. I guess it’s safe to assume that “phasing out” isn’t the same as No, as a pet owner, I’m longer buying pet foods manufactured by Menu Foods no matter what path they take.}

http://www.usatoday.com/news/h.....oods_N.htm

Comment by Ann H — May 20, 2007 @ 1:45 pm
When I used to be in the natural dog treat business, I used a lot of Bob’s Red Mill products and they were always excellent. But this was BC (before contamination) and I haven’t ordered anything from them recently so I don’t know if they’re all U.S. grown but I do know that many of them are certified organic. They have many items on their website.

http://www.bobsredmill.com

Comment by Sandy C — May 20, 2007 @ 1:45 pm
A ban on all Chinese (and probably Indian) products could be implemented with an affordable increase in customs, border patrol and coast guard enforcement. It would benefit all American industry and agriculture, too. If China really wants to overreact with a trade war, so be it. This is the third alternative. But it takes courage - something obviously lacking in Washington.

Comment by Palomino — May 20, 2007 @ 1:32 pm

that’s part of the actions i would love to see, and if we can’t do all, at least stop food/supplements/drugs. and while i keep bugging them to get off their collective a$$’s and do something, i will be supporting my local folks and bugging the heck out of family and friends to do the same ;) luckily, family and friends are getting in the ring with me on more than just the shopping part!

*passes Pal a tall cool drink. Clink!*

Comment by straybaby — May 20, 2007 @ 1:47 pm
It’s a good alternative to baseball, which just resumed after a slight rain delay…

Comment by Palomino — May 20, 2007 @ 1:49 pm
Comment by Kat — May 20, 2007 @ 1:36 pm

What if the corn is grown in the US, shipped to China, manufactured into cornstarch and shipped back? Shouldn’t we be asking for both then, manufactured and country of origin?

Comment by Nabiya — May 20, 2007 @ 1:49 pm
Comment by Ally — May 20, 2007 @ 1:41 pm

*adds Bailey’s to the coffee* ;)

lots o’ Sunday articles make one very passionate about the subject of safe food. . .

Comment by straybaby — May 20, 2007 @ 1:50 pm
Comment by Ann H — May 20, 2007 @ 1:45 pm

“phasing out” to me means the same as when I see those “going out of business” sales that hang on storefronts for years…

Comment by Nabiya — May 20, 2007 @ 1:51 pm
no baseball until 8PM for me . . . so i think I’ll knock off tomorrows work and maybe tuesdays also so i can enjoy the nice weather coming in! :)

Comment by straybaby — May 20, 2007 @ 1:51 pm
Straybaby, I must’ve missed your post with the links when I first read thru. There’s some good ones there that I didn’t have. Thanks!

Comment by Sandy C — May 20, 2007 @ 1:51 pm
Comment by Nabiya — May 20, 2007 @ 1:49 pm

i think everyone does do manufactured by or distributed by. we need to drop the distributed by or make it sep from manufactured by and add country of origin. of course, many could save themselves the trouble by just saying product of the USA. ;)

Comment by straybaby — May 20, 2007 @ 1:54 pm
RE: Comment by Aunt Granny — May 19, 2007 @ 11:27 pm on another thread
The beef people want to sell theirs to China, I understand that.
———————————
That’s so the Chinese can get our USDA beef, then, chop it up & process with their “secret ingredients - mela-whatever” & send it back to us as nutritious USDA-grade beef stew!

With a soon-to-be “Certified Organic by Quality Assurance Internation” logo on it…

beware…..

Comment by Kat — May 20, 2007 @ 1:55 pm
Comment by straybaby — May 20, 2007 @ 1:50 pm

stray: but,do you know where the ingredients from Baileys originate from before you take your next swig??

Comment by Nabiya — May 20, 2007 @ 1:55 pm
International…ooops! typo!

Comment by Kat — May 20, 2007 @ 1:56 pm
Comment by Nabiya — May 20, 2007 @ 1:55 pm

well that just took the fun out of my Bailey’s! I’ll pour a nice chilled California Chard until i verify the ingredients in my Bailey’s. lol!~ ;)

Comment by straybaby — May 20, 2007 @ 1:58 pm
Comment by Nabiya — May 20, 2007 @ 1:55 pm

We have “Emmetts” in the fridge. It says “produced and bottled by R & J Emmett, Dublin, Ireland”. It doesn’t, however, say “product of xxxx” anywhere on the bottle. Tastes great, though, glug, glug!

Comment by Palomino — May 20, 2007 @ 2:00 pm
Sox just scored 4 with 2 outs! And more food labeling is a great idea, etc.

Comment by Palomino — May 20, 2007 @ 2:01 pm
HEY! Bailey’s says product of Ireland on the label . . . does that mean what i think it means?! . . . .

Comment by straybaby — May 20, 2007 @ 2:03 pm
Probably moving to new thread …

Comment by Palomino — May 20, 2007 @ 2:03 pm
Some points to ponder.
When Chinese exporters attempt to import stuff into the USA that has fake labeling, it will take two to tango. In other words an American importer that must be fully aware of the attempted fraud. Yet, we never see the importer put in jail or fined.
Companies like Syngenta, Monsanto have practically free range in countries like China with their experimental frankenfoods. Any regulations that do exist, can be overcome by bribes. People in those countries come a lot cheaper than US politicians/regulators. Few are ever exposed(Monsanto’s bribes in Indonesia did however). Chemicals/drugs banned in the USA,are not necessarily banned in other venues. Makes a great market for Pharm/Chem companies to offload their excess inventory and eventually re-enter the USA via imports.. Sometimes they get caught, like Bayer “Factor VIII” with the blessing of the FDA, most of the
times they donot.
GMO pharm crops are probably the greatest danger right now with their ala Nazi Dr. Mengele child/baby experiments in defenseless third world countries(bet they like twins). Again sanctioned by the FDA, because human experiments will add six months to the patent expiration date. Example Ventria Biotech in Peru.
Next on the Biotech agenda will be cloning with no labeling again ofcourse.
Welcome to the “Isle of Dr. Moreau” previously the USA.
It is all about money and profits.
However, there is light in this dark tunnel. If many consumers are reading the limited information on the labels and pestering manufacturers with questions, something has to give.
In the meantime anything fresh that you cannot peel or scrape, cook or steam. Especially if the food is destined for a very young,sickly, old person/pet.
Humming the old song “Eve of destruction”

Comment by Serijna — May 20, 2007 @ 2:03 pm
On Itchmo, Menusux just posted this link

http://www.usatoday.com/news/h.....oods_N.htm

You might want to read it because its VERY interesting. “Chinese imports nixed by key firm”

Comment by Sandy C — May 20, 2007 @ 2:13 pm
I’ve never done CafePress before, but just took a stab at it:

http://www.cafepress.com/FoodSafety4All

I put $0 markup on these.

Comment by The OTHER Pat — May 20, 2007 @ 2:14 pm
Kat, check amazon for Bob’s RM products. Free shipping ;)

Comment by straybaby — May 20, 2007 @ 1:30 pm

Thanks! Will do. We are rural. Anything to safe a $10 going back n forth to San Antonio!!

Comment by Kat — May 20, 2007 @ 2:15 pm
Comment by straybaby — May 20, 2007 @ 2:03 pm

stray: on Baileys website it says 80% of the ingredients are from Ireland…..uh oh…..

Comment by Nabiya — May 20, 2007 @ 2:35 pm
Yesterday I went shopping at Costco and I bet I turned down twenty purchases because the labels said, PACKED IN THE USA. I know what that means: it came in a barrel from China (or some suspect place) and the company put it in jars for us and slapped a flag on it. Pickles, sauces, dips… yuk.

BTW, noting the other thread. Menu is only about one year too late (July, 2006 is when they went cheap and foolish) and I don’t care if they never buy another ounce from China, I will never buy another product produced by them, now and forever.

Comment by Jay — May 20, 2007 @ 2:37 pm
http://www.us.baileys.com/know/ingredients.php

hmmm. i wonder if the rest is the chocolate? i’ll shoot them an email just for the heck of it. they’re gonna think i’m a yank gone mad! lol!~

Comment by straybaby — May 20, 2007 @ 2:43 pm
Comment by Jay — May 20, 2007 @ 2:37 pm

Jay, be sure and write Costco and let them know. It may help them in decisions as to where to get product ;)

Comment by straybaby — May 20, 2007 @ 2:45 pm
Comment by Kat — May 20, 2007 @ 1:36 pm

What if the corn is grown in the US, shipped to China, manufactured into cornstarch and shipped back? (Tell then you want ScoringAg.com web-based traceback records to the field of source !)

Shouldn’t we be asking for both then, manufactured and country of origin? ( In that
case you can require full traceback records of who signed off on each shipping container by having them use http://www.scoringcontainers.com records along with the ingredients used and their country of origin source all recorded in realtime.) Problem is cheater’s will not use this database system !

Comment by William Kanitz — May 20, 2007 @ 2:45 pm
Isn’t Bailey’s IRISH Whiskey??

80% from Ireland: http://www.us.baileys.com/know/ingredients.php

Comment by Kat — May 20, 2007 @ 2:50 pm
“Problem is cheater’s will not use this database system !”

there has to be a way to flag the companies that haven’t used the data base. seems to me like they could scan the imports and if they do NOT show up in the database, they get held and inspected.

last night on the CNN special, they showed how Dole was tagging all the farm products in the field so if there was an issue, they could tell by the code where in the field it was grown, and where everything from that section (row/s) ended up. they contain the same code from field to store if i understood it right. this is their response to the spinach issue, which i think sounds like a good idea for faster tracking if a problem arises.

Comment by straybaby — May 20, 2007 @ 2:51 pm
yup! that’s why i was wondering if it was the chocolate that wasn’t from their. not sure how much Irish chocolate there is. I’ll take it with Irish dairy and whiskey, but if they need to get the chocolate from Belgium, who am i to complain ;) I will be verifying it though.

*prays that China isn’t involved!!*

Comment by straybaby — May 20, 2007 @ 2:55 pm
their should be there! sheesh!

Comment by straybaby — May 20, 2007 @ 2:55 pm
Sure, we want & NEED both — where it’s manufactured and where grown. Grown, to me is the most important because of pesticide use, etc. Manufacturing would have health/cleanliness issues — that’s very important too.

Many packaged products have manufactured location/country on it.

What irritates me is the term “Packaged for blah, blah, blah, Any Town, Any State, USA”
Then, no phone number…….eerrrrrrrr!

That equals = NO SALE to me!

Comment by Kat — May 20, 2007 @ 2:57 pm
Kat, here are a couple of traceback codes that can be searched at the http://www.ScoringAg.com website the will give you information on what you are talking about, Go to the search, then click on SSI-EID then enter this code in the box SSI_85BEBF5733 for watermelon or for Trout this SSI-EID code SSI_106CCC33CF

Comment by William Kanitz — May 20, 2007 @ 3:01 pm
hey Kat!

go here:

http://www.amazon.com/grocery-.....d_i=507846

and read the little Beta link near the top. It explains the free shipping. I guess it’s always free. I didn’t buy the bulk 7th Gen paper towels because I didn’t realize they had free ship also. It will save me $ from what i pay here and i can not support one of the big corps at the same time. i’m becoming a natural/organic savings freak!! it’s kinda funny, some of my food costs have increased, but i’m finding ways to save on my other earth friendly stuff. hehe . . . i may work it back to my old monthly total after all!

take that big biz!!!!

Comment by straybaby — May 20, 2007 @ 3:04 pm
Kat, The watermelon that is coded is at your local grocery’s this week and next. the grower is exceited about letting consumers know about the crop he ships from his fields and its quality.Even Walmart is getting melons as they see The Light and want happy customers.We hope to this technology gives the consumer a Choice .

Comment by William Kanitz — May 20, 2007 @ 3:10 pm
Re; FDA OASIS data base

I hunted for the US importer identification on this data base for rejected/refused articles at point of entry but came up with zilch.
Will it take an act of Congress to name the importer on their data base or did I miss it on their database.
I think it would be very valuable for us grass root researchers to know the American importer.

Comment by Serijna — May 20, 2007 @ 3:20 pm
Straybaby,We are already into organic’s and natural foods.The Pet Food company’s can use our technology to prove source of ingredients in ever bag or can of pet food. If they had been using our Traceback technology ,the problems with who got what, when,and where would have been solved within seconds,not months ! Lot’s of pet lives would have been saved .

Comment by William Kanitz — May 20, 2007 @ 3:23 pm
On Lou Dobbs just now:
“Over 70% of the world’s fish consumption comes from China.”

Lou: “What is it with the FDA, what’s their deal!” “The consumers have to fend for themselves. Great.”

Comment by Nabiya — May 20, 2007 @ 3:25 pm
a lot of pet lives would have been saved if they would have come forward immediately! and didn’t play the B.S. game. ANY brand that would have stepped up and said please don’t use our food until we can verify it’s safe, would have spared their company. they may have lost a week of sales, but after the all clear (or whatever) they would probably still have consumer’s trust.

thanks for clarifying the track back :) i don’t use much in the way of processed food, so traceability never really struck me as to how big an issue it was. the spinach recall actually looks good next to this latest mess. and that’s scary.

Comment by straybaby — May 20, 2007 @ 3:31 pm
Comment by Nabiya — May 20, 2007 @ 3:25 pm

yeah, his comments added a nice touch at the end. basically, eat at your own risk . . . compliments of the Federal Government.

Comment by straybaby — May 20, 2007 @ 3:32 pm
We are starting to help local farm markets prove that what they sell is from their local operations. We have seen some selling local food that was imported at farm markets and flea markets claiming it was grown locally.What a Lie … What is considered local?50, 500 miles or 5000? Personally 50 miles is enough.Just about every thing can be purchased in season.

Comment by William Kanitz — May 20, 2007 @ 3:46 pm
So many of you have posted links to great websites of different groups working for safe food, better labeling, COOL, etc. I thought it would help to have one place to find them all so I started a new topic in the Itchmo forums. Please add your great finds there.

Comment by kb — May 20, 2007 @ 3:53 pm
Comment by William Kanitz — May 20, 2007 @ 3:46 pm

100 miles or so is my goal. not everything is possible, so i try and hit at least 80%. then we try for at least the same state and from there US.

Comment by straybaby — May 20, 2007 @ 4:05 pm
So glad Lou Dobbs is diligently helping to solve this food disaster. I’m watching Lou right now…he’s a True American that would get my vote for President. Thanks Mr. Dobbs.

Comment by Bee — May 20, 2007 @ 4:18 pm
If we just could stop buying any food stuff that only has “marketed by” Wal-Mart or any other large chain store.
Not picking on Wal-Mart per se, just used as example, retailers would get the message if enough consumers would practice this. Also, when at the Deli at any supermarket, ask to see the ingredients on the item/country of origin if available, prior to slicing, and then decide. You will be unpleasantly surprised on some of the socalled deli stuff.
We can and will make a change as consunmers if persistent. Afterall , we ultimately hold the purse strings.

Comment by Serijna — May 20, 2007 @ 4:22 pm
I can see the point clearly that a boycott can be ineffectual as far as its “real world effects.” And understand that we have to have our freaking worthless government actually do something, like stop unsafe imports - and besides, that is a situation of their own making. This ineffectual FDA and other cohorts have been worthless through several administrations. This admin should have its butt kicked for continuing to behave this way, in the face of a crisis like this. However, don’t think that unless something fundamental changes, that a mere change in administration will help one single bit. The whole thing just makes sick when I think about for just how many changes in administration this and other crap has been going on. Greed just isn’t the new kid on the block here.

But individually? I have to “boycott” immediately, these products to prevent their use by me and my family. It would make no sense to keep using products from China to avoid the increased mess a “boycott” would create. Only thing it would do is likely bring harm to my family directly, buying contaminated good from the chinese. Completely understand too how easy it will be for dishonest people to get things by my even sharpened radar on this, but that won’t stop me from trying my best.

So I am boycotting/banning use of products from China in the TC household.

Comment by TC — May 20, 2007 @ 4:36 pm
I am working my way through all the valuable links on this thread, and thanks to everyone who has posted them. Learning things I never knew.

Including the one I just last read - that we send chickens grown & slaughtered here to CHINA for processing? How old is that nasty thing by the time it gets back here to our grocery store? I am appalled. I would like to know who is doing this. How do we find that out?

I mean, I thought it was bad enough that “they of no safe standards” wished to sell us their own cooked chickens. But apparently, according to the article, potentially the chicken in my supermarket starts here, dies here, takes an after death holiday to China, then comes back to a final resting spot at the local grocery store.

Comment by TC — May 20, 2007 @ 4:40 pm
Interesting article about human genes and rice fields here in the US .. See the following website below..

http://www.organicconsumers.or.....e_4472.cfm

Comment by Bee — May 20, 2007 @ 5:03 pm
CNN special on now about “Poisoned Food”…

Comment by Bee — May 20, 2007 @ 5:06 pm
I had saved some articles to my computer at one time about modified product IS in our human food supply, i’ve since gone to those links and the info is gone. Go figure.

I’ve found some more, I’m pasting the info here for obvious reasons ^

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7188

Unapproved GM corn found in US food chain

A Swiss company accidentally sold unapproved genetically modified seed corn in the US for four years. The mistake resulted in about 133 million kilograms of the corn making its way into the food chain.

Officials for the company, Syngenta, and the US Environmental Protection Agency insist there is no danger to human health. But the EPA and the US Department of Agriculture are investigating to see if any laws or regulations were broken. The EPA confirmed the investigation was underway in a statement to the journal Nature.

Between 2001 and 2004, Syngenta accidentally sold an unapproved corn variety called Bt 10, mistaking it for the approved variety Bt 11. Both varieties produce a bacterial toxin that kills insects, using the same inserted gene and producing the same protein. The only difference is the location of the inserted gene, Syngenta says.

The company says it discovered the mistake for itself when it switched to a new quality control system that tests for DNA directly. Previously it had tested only for proteins, which meant the two varieties appeared identical.

In all, about 15,000 hectares in four US states were planted with the unapproved variety. This amounts to about 0.01% of the corn grown in the US over those four years. On average, about 70% of corn in the US is fed to animals, while the other 30% is consumed directly by people.

Allergic reactions
In 2000 a GM corn variety called Starlink was discovered in the human food supply, even though it was approved only for use in animal feed because of possible allergic reactions in humans. That discovery prompted a massive recall and new methods for segregating GM and non-GM corn. It also raised concerns among overseas buyers of US corn.

Critics say the Bt 10 release demonstrates that regulations and methods for controlling GM crops are still faulty.

“This really makes us wonder what else is in corn that has not been approved but that has been field tested. It seems that companies either won’t or can’t control it,” says Jane Rissler, a senior scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists in Washington, DC, US.

The Starlink contamination was originally discovered by the environmental group Friends of the Earth and Bill Freese, an FoE research analyst, says regulators should not assume the unapproved variety is harmless without further testing.

“The US government should immediately institute a testing programme, at Syngenta’s expense, to remove Bt 10-contaminated grain, seed stocks and processed foods from the food chain,” he adds.

Note -Syngenta is also the same company that is buying 49% of a China GM company as well, posted that article today somewhere here

Comment by shelly — May 20, 2007 @ 5:30 pm
I am watching the CNN special. I am glad food safety is an issue showing up on the radar.

So far, though, not impressed. The atty (and FDA I think) point to the cows as the source, which is pure guesswork. Also mentions as a factor how close a road is to the fields. I don’t know how to break it to him, but yeah. Cows around fields, with nearby roads? Yes. Always been like that. Further, if there are cows directly by crops, there WILL be fences to keep said cows out of crops. So you don’t typically have cows wandering through the produce (because they would eat said crops). I assume they pretending it is a ground water issue?

Wild pigs? Absolutely. People been farming with wild pigs descending into row crops for YEARS. Not good. But we even have them in our area. You decide to buy local? From local ranchers and farmers? There will be cows, pigs, etc. All nearby. Dogs, cats, and here, much other wildlife will run through crops, no matter the fencing. Sorry, I don’t buy that it came from the wildlife or cattle or pigs.

I heard the guy say anything that can cause an ecoli outbreak needs to be BANNED from entering the fields. Well, that would also be the human workers. No matter how much we try to educate, it keeps happening - worker contamination. Look at the health records in your city - you know how outbreaks there are in restaurant workers, and straight to your plate? Happens much more than field contaminants. The guy also chirped on about how this is happening in “bagged” products - okay, maybe he should look for the answer there, and the people handling those bagged products. Not the whole field theory - takes a city boy to make those assumptions.

Comment by TC — May 20, 2007 @ 5:41 pm
shelly - wow. Thanks for that info. I had no idea.

Comment by TC — May 20, 2007 @ 5:42 pm
:::::: Monsanto’s GM corn MON863 shows kidney, liver toxicity in animal studies :::::

http://www.newstarget.com/021784.html

The corn in question, MON863, is made by the Monsanto Company and approved for use in:
Australia
Canada
China,
The European Union
Japan
Mexico
The Philippines
The United States

It has had a gene inserted from the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), which causes the plant’s cells to produce a pesticide.

The mechanism that causes the toxicity is not yet known, but the researchers say there is evidence that the Bt toxin may cause the perforation of blood cells

• Quote: “Our counter-evaluation shows that there are signs of toxicity, and nobody can say scientifically and seriously the consumption of the transgenic maize MON863 is safe and good for health.” - Lead Author Gilles Eric Seralini

Comment by shelly — May 20, 2007 @ 5:47 pm
Now onto rice

GM rice invades food supply; scientists baffled over source
Monday, August 21, 2006 by: NewsTarget

http://www.newstarget.com/020069.html

Comment by shelly — May 20, 2007 @ 5:50 pm
Hmmm….sure beginning to sound like an epidemic is beginning the more I look. There’s a ton of this stuff to find (at the moment)

11 December 2006

American GM rice found in Africa

The presence of illegal genetically modified (GM) rice in commercial rice imports from the US has found its way to many countries, the latest being Ghana and Sierra Leone. Tests initiated by Friends of the Earth the environmental group, show contamination in long grain rice with LL RICE 601 believed to have originated from food aid from the US of which Africa is a major recipient. The following report describes the situation and the measures taken across the globe to stem the menace.

http://www.twnside.org.sg/titl.....lth057.htm

Comment by shelly — May 20, 2007 @ 5:52 pm
The modified rice crop in Kansas was approved -

Published online: 18 May 2007
Rice with human proteins to take root in Kansas
Pharmed food crop approved for growth despite controversy.

http://www.nature.com/news/200.....14-17.html

Comment by shelly — May 20, 2007 @ 5:55 pm
Oh, I had such a wonderful day even though I was one day late for the Calaveras Frog jumping contest, the pups were great, the stream shady and cool, and the sweet roll and coffee wonderful in one of my favorite places - Murphy, Ca - and then I checked the blog. So depressing.

So, I’m going back to dream land and think good thoughts and smell the roses and leave the world changing to all of your good hands - can’t take too much more bad news. Now GM corn and what else I can hardly imagine.

Toot-a-lou!

Comment by Linda — May 20, 2007 @ 5:56 pm
“A release of experimental GM rice is at the origin of the most recent cases of
contamination of our food supply. In August 2006 it was confirmed a serious case of
contamination of the rice supply by an experimental GM rice variety from Bayer. The
US Department of Agriculture (USDA) revealed on ********AUGUST 18, 2006 ******that a GM rice
unapproved for human consumption has contaminated commercial rice seed.vi The
statement did not reveal how widespread the contamination is nor when or how it took
place.”

*********AUGUST 2006**** ^^^^*****contaminated commercial rice seed****

Way more here, way more (pdf document):

http://www.foei.org/en/publica.....092006.pdf

yea, mix that w/ a bit of melamine & cyanuric acid, wonder whatya git

Comment by shelly — May 20, 2007 @ 6:02 pm
Okay. Per CNN special, if lettuce is contaminated by ecoli, washing won’t help. It will only remove some ecoli, but the amount remaining is still far greater than that needed to either sicken or kill you. So neither their washing prior to bagging nor my washing of a normal nonbagged head of lettuce is going to do squat to remove any ecoli present.

And again, they harped on the fact that this is happening in bagged foods primarily. Why should ecoli be more of a problem in bagged than in non bagged if it is a cow or other animal thing? Bothers me - tells me they just don’t know where the problem is really coming from. They need to figure why ecoli in bagged produce is a killer.

Comment by TC — May 20, 2007 @ 6:11 pm
E coli in bagged products keeps the product fresh for a longer time, thereby allowing the E coli bacteria to multiply for a longer time . Also due to processing on an assemmly bagging line , any tainted leaves have more chance to comingle with untainted leaves. Elementary, Watson!
Anyway, E coli and other bacteria/virusses/spores are so common. Just plain boiling, steaming, safe food practices when preparing food completely eliminate this danger , like your grandmother use to preach. depending on your age maybe your great grandmother.
It is the stuff that you cannot destroy by heat/washing/peeling, like chemicals, growth hormones, pesticides, herbicides in the actual cells(due to genetic splicing), rogue cells you be should be worried about.
Not impressed again with the second CNN special. Nicely protecting their big biotech Ag sponsors.

Comment by Serijna — May 20, 2007 @ 6:31 pm
Traceback in the form of Point-To-Point traceback would have told the researcher every place the spinach had been handled by machine or man .

TC Quote;Bothers me - tells me they just don’t know where the problem is really coming from.

In this case TC ,at least there would be a map of where the points of the problem arose at and when ,with the database from http://www.ScoringAg.com all tracing is completed at the speed of google.Thus you have the path of the problem. Too bad the Menu company didn’t use this system for their purchased ingredients for their recalled pet food.

Comment by William Kanitz — May 20, 2007 @ 6:32 pm
“It is unclear how much of the illegal meat slipped in undetected.”

I’d say it’s about 99%, based on our import inspection rates…

———————

As for trying again if refused at one port… I have described how Russia frequently blocked ‘enriched’ flour as ‘contaminated’ but usually cleared it, frequently with fees paid in vodka and cigars…

But on the occasion they actually turned a shipment out, it would be routed to a different port where it woule likely be accepted…

We do it, too. All around the world different ports have different standards, even in the same country.

Comment by steve a — May 20, 2007 @ 7:01 pm
Serijna - thanks for the explanation. OTOH, it means that if I want to have a fresh salad, there isn’t much I can do, right? Until I want a wilted lettuce salad:) I have steered away from bagged myself, just because in the past, there would be an odor that smelled “off” to me in some bags. Plus, tummy upsets occasionally, and that was it (been years now since I’ve used bagged).

William - if I understand the ScoringAg site correctly, it will tell me where the product came from. Which we can already do now, correct? During the CNN special, they showed the exact physical location of the tainted product, ie the actual field where the tainted spinach was harvested. That knowledge has helped perhaps in a general sense, ie that particular farm should review its practices.

But it didn’t reveal with exactness what actually caused the ecoli to be deposited. I am not sure how the system could help identify the exact cause. And without that, we are just shooting in the dark as to a solution. Just doing a shotgun approach - which, if humans deposited the ecoli, but we assume it to be the cows infecting irrigation water, well, we won’t accomplish a thing by establishing “safe” distances for cows from crops. Okay, other than just more “sounds good, so feels good, so must be good” sort of thinking. Which is pretty much killing us right now.

Comment by TC — May 20, 2007 @ 7:48 pm
What a system like that could help with, and which is an area that our government is failing with presently, is giving me the information I need for determining what I am or am not comfortable purchasing.

If this is only for domestic things, I am not thinking that is the issue I care about at the moment. I want all federal and state available dollars to go towards policing the imports we currently receive, and enforcing an importation ban on all foods from China, for at least the same period as they have banned our beef. Then take a look at India, and see what similar things need to be done.

When that is accomplished, and successfully so, only then do I care to go bigger on what we do domestically. It is simply not as grave an issue as what is happening with imports from certain countries with no standards whatsoever.

Comment by TC — May 20, 2007 @ 7:59 pm
I couldn’t believe the wild pigs in spinach fields story, because the farmer would have fenced to keep them out, if it could be a problem. A more plausible story would have been that the little birdies stepped in hog doo and then flew into the field for a spinach snack.

The bagged lettuce from Fresh Express, tho packed in Salinas, CA, contains lettuce from S. America and Mexico, and they only occasionally put that on the label.

Mexico and probably S. American farmers use raw sewage for fertilizer, I have heard. And there is also a problem with farm workers in U.S. fields using the field for a toilet.

I know this is icky, but it is so!

Comment by Elaine — May 20, 2007 @ 8:10 pm
William, regarding the Scoring Ag program…

According to Menu’s Annual Information Form issued on May 22/07, they installed the J.D. Edwards One World system in November 2001 in their Streetsville plant. 2002 in Emporia and Pennsauken facilites. 2003 in North Sioux City.

It tracks every item and ingredient.

They knew where everything was and when it was there. It just gave them time to sell off their shares of Menu Foods.

Vote with your dollars, it hurts them where it counts and it’s immediately felt. Regulatory change could take a long time.

Comment by Sindy — May 20, 2007 @ 8:53 pm
Comment by Sindy — May 20, 2007 @ 8:53 pm

didn’t someone mention a clerical error also as a reason for delay/didn’t know where the product was?

and dog forbid they reveal anything . . it’s not like we need to know . . .

Comment by straybaby — May 20, 2007 @ 8:59 pm
Well, may the PFI bless CNN for still holding the 16 confirmed pets dead, not even mentioning most of the 16 were lab test animals… They did passingly say it could number in the thousands, but they really emphesized the 16 well… Hold the line, CNN…

Comment by steve a — May 20, 2007 @ 9:02 pm
is there a place on the CNN site where we can comment on the show, perchance? *EG*

Comment by straybaby — May 20, 2007 @ 9:10 pm
Elaine,

I didn’t know that, thanks for the info.

Everyone thank you for the great links, really helpful now that I’m switching me and the family over to organic and grown in the US.

Bob’s Red Mill is great! makes awesome fresh bread and the steel cut oats are the best!

Katie

Comment by Katie — May 20, 2007 @ 9:13 pm
Thanks for the links William & StrayBaby! I was off here for awhile & just checking back in.

Comment by Kat — May 20, 2007 @ 9:22 pm
I live in China, the stuff that goes on here is absolutely disgraceful, if it makes money it doesn’t matter how many people they kill, as long as they can keep the government on the payroll.

It’s a sad state of affairs to see that its going to start affecting more than just the Chinese.

People back home in the US need to wake up to themselves and start taking action, China is not the soft and peaceful nation that you all think, its a rogue state, north korea on steroids, and its us Americans who are giving it everything it wants so it can do whatever it wants to whoever it wants. Are the cheap toys really worth it?

Comment by Gaz Hayes — May 20, 2007 @ 9:29 pm
RE:Comment by William Kanitz — May 20, 2007 @ 3:01 pm

All I can say is WOW! That is incredible info! How do you obtain the numbers to enter to track?

Thanks!

Comment by Kat — May 20, 2007 @ 9:29 pm
Katie,

FYI and others, Azure Standard is an organic farm in Oregon and has a website to buy their grain products as well as supplements. I am sure some of their products are imported, but they would tell you if you asked. I think they even have lamb? they raise organically.

Another good website to obtain U.S. beef, bison, pork, chickens etc, (and their chickens and pork are NOT Melamine contaminated) is http://www.ranchfoodsdirect It is grass fed and aged beef.

They also sell the same meat for pet foods, and the guy that owns the company is well aware of the contaminated pet food and has done what he could to spread the word. He has been actively involved in trying to get COOL passed.

Comment by Elaine — May 20, 2007 @ 10:21 pm
As we search out those USA based products for ourselves and our pets I found this one and have used it. If anyone is looking for a great USA flour source try:

http://www.wheatmontana.com

Chemical Free, GMO Free, Nothing Added, Nothing Removed, All Natural

Comment by Sandy — May 21, 2007 @ 5:15 am
In that area, and I’ve driven it many many times, I can’t remember fences - and I don’t believe there are any to speak of - nothing that a wild boar couldn’t get through and and the pigs use the water and the water runs into the fields.

Comment by Linda — May 21, 2007 @ 8:58 am
Thanks Elaine re the Azure Farms being in Oregon, had not heard of them.

Bob’s Red Mill has been in Milwaukie, Oregon for years. I knew of it from growing up here, but have never purchased anything there. Going to look into that as well.

Comment by TC — May 21, 2007 @ 9:38 am
Here is Oregon, I don’t know of a single fenced crop area. There must be some, but I have never seen them and I have never lived anywhere else. Nurserys will fence landscaping shrubs, etc. Big farming equipment is happier when it needs to turn around, if there it can just run past the fields, unencumbered by a fence, turn where it can, and then head back into the fields. Amongst other reasons.

If animals were always getting into crops, they would be doing major damage. And then fences would go up, even if it reduces the area that can be farmed.

Yes, if the pigs & cows and other ecoli capable animals including humans are kept out of crop areas, then you’d also have to elimate birds as well. We have have farmed like this since we took this land from its previous inhabitants, and people haven’t been dropping like flies over the years. So what is different now - or is anything different?

Comment by TC — May 21, 2007 @ 9:53 am
Comment by TC — May 21, 2007 @ 9:53 am

One thing that is different is produce is bagged closer to the source and sits on shelves longer.

As someone mentioned earlier, the bags tend to protect the bacteria and allow them to spread more effectively within each serving, yummers…

Other than that sort of change, more people growing crops with less experience introduces more human error.

It is more likely lots of little things, possibly including bacteria more resiliant due to ineffective use of antibacterial agents.

Consider that when you treat produce to eliminate the bacteria, you mostly kill the weak ones, and leave the whole environment to the stronger ones that survive with less competition.

Comment by steve a — May 21, 2007 @ 11:52 am
Kat said, “Canada is right up there with China for high rejects”.

And there I was in the middle of having my morning bowl of oatmeal here in the Great White North.

I’d just finished reading some statistics somewhere that suggested that Canada actually had a much lower rate of rejects than China (nowhere near “up there”), especially considering that y’all import way more than us, and maybe even (up until now) check more of our stuff at the border. Our government tells us we have one of the safest food systems in the world, just like yours does.

Anyway, after I wiped down the computer monitor, I went hunting for some data on Quaker Oats for you.

Although QO is owned by an American company (check Wikipedia for Pepsico), I’ve read that about 80% of your morning cereal originates in Saskatchewan. And much of it is packaged in the picturesque Ontario town on the pristine Otonabee river, where I spent my formative years.

Greenpeace.ca identified QO products as being liable to contain GM grains. QO does use GM corn in its yellow corn meal and corn cakes, although they claim not to use GM oats. But you just never know.

“Canada is the world’s largest exporter of oats and is expected to account for 70 - 80% of world oat exports in 2006-7. Canadian exports, predominantly to the US food market, are expected to increase to a record high, due to the strong demand for corn in the US related to the biofuel market”, (as well as a dramatic decline in U.S. oat acreage and production.)

http://tinyurl.com/2rzads

Well, I for one will be looking for a for-sure non-GM oatmeal source if there are any left in Canada.

In other news, we are able to get spinach here again, but on the downside, we are being pressured to harmonize our levels of pesticides with the U.S. (ie. use more).

For all the protectionist posturing that goes on in both of our countries, we are joined at the hip.

Comment by shibadiva — May 21, 2007 @ 4:40 pm
Shibadiva,

Here in Maine, we are so fortunate to have Fiddler’s Green Farm as a resource for freshly-milled, organic, non-GMO grains, including oats. You may have similar farms in Canada, but if not, here’s a link:

Fiddler’s Green Farms
http://www.fiddlersgreenfarm.com/

Comment by Rita Wiltsie — May 22, 2007 @ 2:18 am
buying organic guarantees (if there is a guarantee) Non-GMO, but buying Non-GMO does not mean it’s been handled organically (no herbicides, pesticides, etc)

Comment by lablover — May 23, 2007 @ 7:08 am

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