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Wed-Mar/10/2010

Key Concepts


Deadly Fish (published on chinafreefood.org)
In China, it's not unusual to see fish farmers suspend chicken coops above their ponds. Why? Because the chicken waste serves as a cheep source of food for their fish. It makes little difference anyway since the fish are already sick and near death from the chemical runoff that pollutes China's ponds and streams. To remedy the sick fish problem, Chinese fish farmers fill the toxic waters with various antibiotics like nitrofuran and fluoroquinolone and antifungals drugs like malachite green and gentian violet to keep the sick fish alive long

enough to reach the markets. These fish are thin exported to the the outside world. The world in which you and I live. Are you sick to your stomach yet? Well I am. To allow China to export sick and toxic fish that supply 70% of the world's aquaculture seafood supply is an absolute atrocity and it should be stopped immediately.

Yes, China supplies 70% of aquaculture seafood consumed around the world each year. In the United States, only about 5% of that seafood is actually inspected by government officials. The rest passes through unchecked. How can we, as citizens of the world, accept such brazen disregard for public health? How can countries around the world allow greedy companies to place profits ahead of the health concerns of consumers? Consumers deserve better than that and we should hold regulatory agencies around the world accountable for this problem.


The problem is not just limited to seafood exports from China, however. China also exports 20% of the world's supply of vegetable proteins such as wheat gluten. Wheat gluten is used to make pet food, hog feed and chicken feed. Until recently, vegetable proteins were rarely inspected by the United States. This all changed in 2007 when contaminated wheat gluten was responsible for a massive nationwide recall of deadly pet food. Over 2900 pets died after eating the deadly food made with contaminated products imported from China.


The vegetable protein problem doesn't end with pet food, however. That same year, the United States considered a recall of chicken and pork products after farm animals ate feeds made with contaminated Chinese wheat gluten. Vegetable protein is a key ingredient in many feeds fed to livestock and that livestock later enters the world's food supply. Companies in the United States and around the world often use cheep ingredients imported from China to keep the costs of their products low and their profits high. These profits come at a high cost to consumers, however.


Here is another shocker, most countries do not even required food manufacturers and suppliers to label the origin of foods or food ingredients they distribute. You could very well be consuming many foods imported from China and have no clue. This is not the case, however, with fish distributed in the United States. The FDA requires food suppliers to label the origin of all fish sold in the United States. We believe this should be the case with all foods distributed worldwide. Consumers have the right to know the origin of foods they consume.

So, for safety's sake, Chinafreefood.org recommends looking closely at the labels on all fish and seafood products. If the seafood product is labeled “product of China”, then just pick another product or another store for that matter. I personally refuse all food products label as having originated in China. I believe that is the safest practice overall. Many stores, however, only carry seafood products from China. I guess those products have the highest profit margin. In that case, I simply find another store that carries an alternative selection.

At Chinafreefood.org, we intend to inform consumers about the dangers looming in the meat cases and on the shelves of their local grocery stores. We intend to pressure government agencies such as the FDA and the USDA to push for stronger legislation that requires food manufacturers and supplies to label the origin of all foods. We as consumers have the right to know the origin of the foods we consume. If you agree, contact you congressman and ask him or her to support stronger legislation governing food imports from China. Make your voice heard.
 
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