throw your hands in the air / like you just don't care

lame
Originally uploaded by therussiansarehere

so, there is now news that brand name baby formula in the u.s. has trace amounts of melamine and another similar compound. melamine is dangerous, because it collects in the kidneys and forms crystals that lead to kidney stones or even kidney failure. this is so utterly outrageous.

if melamine is in america's baby formula than imagine all the other foods it is in. i read a report in the new york times not long ago, about the exponential rise in kidney stones in children. the report said that this rise was probably due to so much salt in the diet of modern kids, but i wonder if maybe it has more to do with melamine in their diets.

you know, it is ridiculous that there are higher security standards on dvds than on baby formula.

At least my blog is only contaminated with gratuitous grammatical errors

I was struck by the recent news that food products, imported from china, were being held at U.S. ports for more thorough inspection by the FDA. I heard about the concern that Chinese baby formula was tainted with dangerous additives like melamine . But, the news reports about the tainted baby formula, the reporters were always sure to let one know that the U.S. has banned milk imports from China. Little did I know that hundreds of other imported Chinese food products, such as additives, preservatives, and even chicken are consumed by Americans everyday.

You read right-- chicken from china. According to the Washington Post, "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."

W-T-F? Yes, it makes perfect fucking sense to slaughter the chickens, send them to China for processing, and then send the processed chicken back to America for consumption. This is dirty capitalism. You see our version of capitalism rewards profits, not efficiency. And this convoluted market is profitable, sure, but not efficient or right. Think of all the energy it takes to send that chicken to China and then send it back. Why should we support a country that builds a coal plant every week, suppresses human rights, and oh yeah--poisons its infants food supply?
One source, for the Washington Post article, said that he had seen Chinese herbal tea manufacturers drive over tea leafs with huge trucks in a warehouse, so that fumes from the trucks would dry leaves faster. Sounds bad? Well it gets worse; China still uses leaded fuel.

Here is a link to the FDA's list of rejected Chinese products in the month of October. The rejections range from a shipment of Pleasure Plus Condoms with holes in them to hot chocolate powder contaminated with Melamine.

What's sad is that consumers aren't even able to make an informed decision, because there are no food origin labels required. How is that for the 'Oh so Glorious Ayn Rand Utopian Free Market'? If capitalists believe in true competition than shouldn't they be for a law requiring food origin labels on all food products? Competition isn't only contingent on the lowest price, it also has a little something to do with quality.

I have more to bitch about, but my boss is calling, so I have to go change her diaper.