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Thread: Is this true? That bad?

  1. #1
    Senior Member razz's Avatar
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    Is this true? That bad?

    I received this as an email. I have read about Canadian-grown pork and chicken being shipped to China but has it gone this bad? What about the jobs lost and the quality of the food? How would one verify this? Do corporate shareholders decide strictly on the $$ and I am not being snarky. Does food security not count?

    FOOD FROM CHINA... Smithfield Farms, the largest pork producing farm in the USA, was sold in September to China with the unanimous support of its stockholders! The hogs will still be raised here, but slaughtered and packaged for sale there before being sent back here. This includes labels of:

    · Morrell

    · Eckrich

    · Krakus

    · Cudahy

    · Premium Hams

    · Cook's

    · Gwaltney



    Chickens

    The same applies to many chickens. They can now be shipped there, but when they come back all that needs to be labeled is that they ‘WERE RAISED IN THE USA’. Not that they were processed in China!


    Our great FDA at work again. The chickens will be all processed and most sold to fast food restaurants for sandwiches, along with schools and supermarkets. The China slaughter and processing are not nearly equal to the requirements here for cleanliness.


    *BAD FOOD*


    We recently learned that Star-Kist Tuna is now owned by Korea, and is in big conflict with the U.S. concerning quality, safety and records, which Korea refuses produce. Read several articles on Google about this, and even one that was defending the eating of tilapia said to avoid the fish that came from China.



    Also , I had just returned home from buying Albertson's 4-day special of 4 bags of frozen tilapia for the price of one. Sure enough, on the top of the bags, it read "farm raised", and on the bottom in small print it said, "China".


    In general, farm raised fish should not be eaten because of the high concentration of antibiotics they are fed to prevent diseases due to being tightly confined with other fish.

    Buy wild caught fish from North America, Hawaii or New Zealand. Read all the way to the end.


    Recently a Food Inspector on TV said he had lived overseas and he had seen the filthy conditions their foods are raised and processed in. It is enough to make you throw up. Many of their fish on Fish Farms (the fish called SWAI) are fed raw sewage daily. He said he has seen so much filth throughout their food growing and processing that he would "never" eat any of it. They raise this filth, put some food coloring and some flavorings on it, then they ship it to the USA & Canada for YOU to consume and feed to YOUR families. They have no Food & Safety Inspectors. They ship it to you to buy and poison your families and friends.


    Imported food we eat and the junk we buy:


    Green Giant frozen vegetables are from China and so are most of Europe's Best.


    Arctic Gardens are OK, so is Birdseye.


    Never buy the grocery store garlic unless it is clearly marked from USA or Canada, the other stuff is grown in people poop (even worse than chicken poop). China is the largest producer of garlic in the world; U.S. is next.


    Buy only local honey, much honey is shipped in huge containers from China and re-packed here.


    Cold-FX is grown and packed in China and is full of fecal bacteria. Doesn't work anyway, big scam.



    If the country of origin is not clearly marked, beware!


    If produce, ask an employee.


    Watch out for packages which state "prepared for", "packed by" or "imported by". We don't understand the lack of mandatory labeling, especially on the produce.


    The country of origin should be clearly shown on the item in the store.


    Go to the local farmers' markets in season and keep a wary eye open the rest of the year.



    How is it possible to ship food from China cheaper than having it produced in the U.S. or Canada?


    FOR EXAMPLE THE "OUR FAMILY" BRAND OF MANDARIN ORANGES SAYS RIGHT ON THE CAN 'FROM CHINA '. SO, for a FEW MORE CENTS, BUY THE *LIBERTY* BRAND.


    GOLD BRAND or DOLE is from CALIFORNIA.


    Beware, Costco sells canned peaches and pears in a plastic jar that come from China.


    ALL "HIGH LINER" AND MOST OTHER FROZEN FISH PRODUCTS COME FROM CHINA OR INDONESIA. THE PACKAGE MAY SAY "PACIFIC SALMON" ON THE FRONT, BUT LOOK FOR THE SMALL PRINT. MOST OF THESE PRODUCTS COME FROM FISH FARMS IN THE ORIENT WHERE THERE ARE NO REGULATIONS ON WHAT IS FED TO THESE FISH.


    Recently The Montreal Gazette had an article by the Canadian Government on how Chinese feed the fish: They suspend chicken wire crates over the fish ponds, and the fish feed on chicken poop. If you search the internet about what the Chinese feed their fish, you'll be alarmed e.g., growth hormones, expired antibiotics from humans?


    Never buy any type of fish or shellfish that comes from these countries:
    •• Vietnam
    •• China
    •• Philippines



    Steinfeld's Pickles are made in India - just as bad!


    Another example is in canned mushrooms. No-Name brand came from Indonesia.
    Also check those little fruit cups. They used to be made in Canada in the Niagara region until about 2 years ago. They are now packaged in China. Most sold in Aldi stores.


    While the Chinese export inferior and even toxic products, dangerous toys and goods to be sold in North American markets, the media wrings its hands! Yet, at least 70% of North Americans believe that the trading privileges afforded to the Chinese should be suspended. Well, duh! Why do you need the government to suspend trading privileges? SIMPLY DO IT YOURSELF, CANADA and the UNITED STATES.
    As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

  2. #2
    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
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    Don’t all packaged foods have product location on their label?

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    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Thanks for this information. My problem with the whole thing is not so much the Chinese or Korean labor pool--it's the transport involved. Ridiculous... shipping it half across the world and then back again.

    Go to the local farmers' markets in season and keep a wary eye open the rest of the year.
    Good advice. I happen to be in a place where in the summertime we can eat well on local produce, but I realize that that's not the case everywhere. And if people want white fish like cod, but there are restrictions on fishing in the North Atlantic because cod are severely overfished, where are they going to get their fish? They won't care. And I'm one of the "they." I don't monitor where my food comes from as much as I should by a long shot, but I'm trying to get better at it.

    DH and I watched a virtual VT dairy farm tour on Zoom the other day, and I learned that almost all of their milk products go to Stonyfield. So I can be reasonably certain that if I buy Stonyfield yogurt it will come from a local source. But who has time to research every single thing they pluck off the shelves? And if the local stuff is more expensive than the stuff that goes back and forth to Asia, it's likely the highly-transported food is going to have the higher market share.

    My permaculture teacher used to say "food SHOULD be expensive." I agree with him. I often pull out the argument with DH--who thinks organic is too expensive--"Well, if we didn't buy all the processed food and candy and soda that we do, we could easily buy the good stuff." It's a question of values.
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
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    Senior Member Tradd's Avatar
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    I pay attention to the country of origin on everything, due to the work I do! Already knew that about garlic.

  5. #5
    Senior Member bae's Avatar
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    The breathless email quoted doesn't pass the back-of-the-envelope smell test. It can't possibly make sense to ship live chickens and hogs to China from the US to be slaughtered and processed. Think of the logistics involved in sending them there....

    Indeed, the email has been circulating around the Internet for some time now:

    https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...at/2987004001/

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by bae View Post
    The breathless email quoted doesn't pass the back-of-the-envelope smell test. It can't possibly make sense to ship live chickens and hogs to China from the US to be slaughtered and processed. Think of the logistics involved in sending them there....

    Indeed, the email has been circulating around the Internet for some time now:

    https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...at/2987004001/
    Oh dear. You're messing up stuff with facts again (I'm the main factchecker on my FB group-I have very few contacts, none of whom fact check a damn thing.)

  7. #7
    Senior Member razz's Avatar
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    Thanks for the correcting link, Bae. It felt wrong but didn't want to leave it circulating unchecked but also wanted to acknowledge that country of origin is hard to find at times.
    As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

  8. #8
    Senior Member bae's Avatar
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    Well, I suspect the original source was engaged in a little bit of fun anti-Asian trolling. China has become the bęte noire for the Know Nothing wing of the Republican Party. This sort of disinformation bounces around the Internet constantly.

    https://www.economist.com/graphic-de...-asian-bigotry

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    It contains just enough (tiny tiny) fact to make the other sound possible. Big food company was sold to Chinese interests. They lost a large % of their pigs to the African Swine Fever disease.

    Kroger is selling frozen salmon for a really cheap price. But when the package is checked it is from China. Some Mentos Mints are origin Russia.

    Worth checking if it is important to you.

  10. #10
    Senior Member razz's Avatar
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    This raised a question for me. A friend emailed me with a list of 6 other contacts.
    How should I have handled this false thread?

    I created an email with a link to the USA Today fact check, some quotes and then debated with myself who to include in contacts. Finally I sent a reply to all.
    I said I was not sure of how to respond with correct info.
    What would you have done?
    As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

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