Mmmmmmm … I smell PR … and I think I see a squirrel
By Gina Spadafori
July 21, 2007
As I’ve mentioned in the past, I’ve had a lot of experience with public relations. I’ve worked in it, I’ve dealt with it as a reporter, and I’ve had one of its most singularly brilliant practitioners as a friend for years. (Some of his clients would give you the willies.)
There are PR pitches — “Ms. Stafadordi, the new diamond-encrusted cat bowl is something your readers must know about! You’ll write about it for your colum, right?” — and then there is high-level public-relations. The latter is an expensive chess game that, when played properly, changes the public perception while leaving no fingerprints behind.
These guys are scarey-good at what they do.
Last night, reading this piece from the Associated Press, I thought: “Aha, the game’s afoot!”
See, turns out it’s not just China. It’s also Mexico. And I wouldn’t be surprised if those sneaky folks to the south of us are sending their poisoned cantaloupes over on the backs of illegal immigrants, because wouldn’t that just be like them?
For the clue-impaired, I’m being sarcastic. With all respect to Lou Dobbs, who’s a must-see in this house, I think the whole “illegal immigration crisis” is part real issues that need to be discussed, part xenophobia and a lot planned distraction from what’s really going south in this country. In other words (and I’m not the first to say it, so I can’t take credit): Illegal immigration is the new gay marriage.
When something comes out of nowhere and takes over everything to the point of pushing out discussion on other issues, it makes my spin-meter twirl. A friend calls it the “look, a squirrel” approach to public policy: Keep introducing new hot topics that can get people all riled up and the boring work of things like reforming the FDA or caring about the Farm Bill gets pushed to the side by the public. The folks with the money get the government they want, in part because we’re looking somewhere else.
Hence:
Mexican cantaloupe irrigated with water from sewage-tainted rivers. Candy laced with lead. Chinese toothpaste is not the only concern for U.S. consumers wary of the health risks posed by imported goods.
Producers in other developing nations are big violators of basic food safety standards, even as they woo consumers with a growing appetite for foods like pickled mangoes from India and winter-season fruits and vegetables from Mexico.
Does this strengthen the call for food-safety reform or represent a major shift in money from China to a top public relations firm? I’m looking for the fingerprints now. After all, if it’s not just China … well, why are we picking on them? And if it’s everywhere, and we can’t do anything about it, then … learned helplessness sets in and we soldier on bravely with our shopping. All we can do is hope for the best.
And look, there’s a squirrel!
By the way, this is the another AP story that drops the mention of there being any problem with tainted pet food. And that’s kinda what started all this unscheduled consumer freak-out that’s driving all the squirrel releases from the people with the money, here and abroad. But the thing is, aside from the fact that thousands of pets were made sick or killed — not an aside to us, obviously — the tainted ingredients could just have easily been in food for human consumption. That makes it all part of the same story, seems to me.
But not according to the AP:
Fears over Chinese products began last year after dozens of deaths in Panama blamed on medicine contaminated with diethylene glycol, a chemical used in anti-freeze that can cause kidney failure, paralysis and death.
Um, no. In fact, people in the United States were blithely unaware of the deaths in Panama until our pets started dying and the news media started looking around for other problems with the food-safety system. People may have been dying last year in Panama, but that wasn’t reported in any significant way until after the pet-food recalls got us all thinking, “Geez, what else could be tainted?”
For an entertaining, provocative and frightening read on public relations, check out “Toxic Sludge Is Good for You!: Lies, Damn Lies and the Public Relations Industry” (perfect title, considering the book is 12 years old!). Also read some PR strategy guides, or anything by or about Edward Bernays, the father of modern public relations.
And always, look for fingerprints. And squirrels.
An aside: You know who’s really good at looking for fingerprints? The staff at “The Daily Show.” Comedy is dead serious stuff, isn’t it?
Another aside: Fox News says we’re one of the 10 best blogs in pet health. Cool! A correction in that piece, though: We’re not produced by Universal Press Syndicate. The folks here also write a weekly syndicated pet-care page for Universal Press Syndicate (awesome folks, by the way).
Hey, we moms have been know to do this to the little tykes we’re raising. Dropped your lollipop? Hey look, there’s a squirrel! Great column to keep us alert because the spin is in. And don’t worry about the cardboard buns, it was the News Item that was phony, not the buns. (Or was it - heard a commentator in China explaining that one never knows, the news is as kinky as the food.
Come to think of it - don’t we do it to the dogs, too? What noxious old bit of carrion? Hey look, there’s a squirrel.
Comment by Nancy Nielsen — July 21, 2007 @ 7:38 am
Hey, you’re not supposed to pay attention to that little man behind the curtain! I call it the ‘shiny object’ distraction-when real problems are too big to ignore the news people haul out something glittery to direct attention from it.
And Toxic Sludge is a great book.
Comment by sb — July 21, 2007 @ 7:49 am
Well, since I live in south central Texas, I’ve had a “problem” with buying/eating MX produce for a long time.
When traveling into MX, you are told “Don’t drink the water!” “Don’t eat the fruit!” That is a well known fact.
Then came NAFTA & the flood of imports. MX produce is everywhere. But, the difference in the MX contamination — generally, is THEIR contamination is usually of a “natural” source, ie: salmonella, e.coli, etc.
With the Chinese — their contamination is generally from FRAUD. Trying to dupe people by tainting products with poison or fake ingredients. Babies have died from lack of nutrients in formula; people have died from DEG contaminated cough syrup; dogs, cats and other pets have died from fraudulent feed additives.
Inda is primarily sending products with filth.
There is a big difference in the three big countries sending contaminated products.
Yes, China is easy to “pick on” because they have, are, and continue to commit fraud, in order to make a sell. They are, by far, the worst!
Comment by Kat — July 21, 2007 @ 7:58 am
India just got their first female president, Pratibha Patil. Maybe things will change with them…
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200.....CbVIKs0NUE
Comment by Kat — July 21, 2007 @ 8:08 am
I know this is OT, but I need to ask a question. I was out of cat food and had to go buy Purina One. As I was feeding it, I noticed 2 little peices of food/ That looked white-off white. I took them out of the food, but has this ever happened to anyone here? They look about the size of a small peice of cat food, but not the right dementions. And where do I find the pics of melamine again? I hope they are still not putting junk in the food. I wouldn’t have bought it if i hadn’t been out of everything. Let Me know if You’ve ever seen this. thanks.
Comment by Trudy Jackson — July 21, 2007 @ 8:51 am
If I buy asparagus that is not organic, I will only buy California grown. Been afraid for years about Mexican grown veggies.
My hairdresser told me that when he went to Mexico for a trip, he saw the lands being heavily sprayed with pesticides. Ugh!
Comment by Evelyn — July 21, 2007 @ 8:52 am
The squirrel tactic was successfully employed by a lovable mutt Lady I owned years ago.
Every so often I would give my three dogs a big knuckle bone in my fenced in backyard.
Lady would bark in dog language “people approaching the fence”. The other two would race over to the fence leaving their bones behind.
Lady would quickly steal their bones and have all three bones between her paws. She would sit with them for hours, and in dog world possession is 100% of the law.
She got away with that trick many times, although one of the dogs started carrying her bone along to the fence when Lady would sound off her bogus alarm.
Comment by Serijna — July 21, 2007 @ 9:09 am
Comment by Trudy Jackson
Purina friskies Feline Favorites has little off white pieces in their mix. Probably got in accidently into the Purina One after a production switch over.
Comment by Serijna — July 21, 2007 @ 9:18 am
Re: soil polution—Three neighbors have been complaining about my 14 year old cat going into their flower beds and relieving themselves.
There are a lot of cats in the neighborhood who could be guilty but no, they pick on mine.
He just stays in front or in back of his own house, but is the victim of false propaganda.
This town just likes dogs who get loose and chase my cat in his own yard. Prejudice against the little guy is going on everywhere!
He has been fertilizing our veggie garden for many years and I am still around to write about it.
Comment by Evelyn — July 21, 2007 @ 10:05 am
Trudy-I had a bag of Pur 1 dry dog sens systems tested because of white crystals. It wsa excess vit e. They use it as a preservative & must have spilled a lg amount into the food before cooking or onto it after. It turns hard & whitish when exposed to high temps. Do not use that food ! My lab/mix had the runs for 3 wks. There are no long term studies on the effects of vit e overdose. They think it causes stomach & thyroid problems. Also instead of being an antioxident it could cause cancer.
Comment by Leslie k — July 21, 2007 @ 7:53 pm
I’ve been saying for months that while importing from China is a problem, it’s not where the focus should be. When it comes to food safety, the FDA is our largest problem.
It is abundantly clear that they are powerless to protect this country’s food supply regardless of where it’s from. Having lost a pet, it’s easy to ‘pick’ on China, but I imagine the families of those who died or were sickened from spinach or peanut butter expected the FDA to protect food produced within our own borders. Yet, as usual, they failed.
What’s worse is that many Americans are oblivious to the problems and have complete faith that the FDA is protecting them.
Comment by Karen Goodhart — July 22, 2007 @ 4:17 am
I agree with Karen; the problem is here, and “the squirrel” is finger pointing at foreign countries. The reason that imported food is crap is because there’s a ready market for crap in this country. Food/pharma businesses says it’s our fault because we want cheap food… another diversion strategy. I have yet to see a people for cheap food demonstration in this country.
Food/pharma businesses buy crap to increase their profit margins, and then when their crap begins to sicken and kill pets and people, it’s China’s fault, it’s Mexico’s fault, it’s India’s fault, it’s the consumer’s fault… and they just go merrily on, with FDA and USDA to run interference for them.
If FDA and USDA had a real zero tolerance policy for crap, and the real authority to enforce that policy, the food and pharma industries would have to stop buying crap, and producing crap in their own facilities. If there’s no tolerance for crap, there is no ready market for crap. If there’s no ready market for crap, then producers and exporters of crap will have to change, or go elseware to sell it.
Comment by explodinghed — July 22, 2007 @ 4:35 am
Leslie k: Maybe it was Vitamin *C*. That is a white powder. It is used as a natural mold/spoilage retardant. Vitamin *E* is an oil. I have never, ever seen E in crystal/powder form.
Vit C does cause intestional disfunction when taken in high doses…by people.
Comment by Kat — July 22, 2007 @ 8:54 am
The FDA and the USDA treat us like “crap” when they allow we and our pets to eat “crap”. This country was a great food-producing land to be proud of at one time.
Comment by Evelyn — July 22, 2007 @ 9:34 am