This is pretty frightening. Our family is buying less and less prepared food these day...not that we bought a lot anyhow, but I am reading labels more carefully all the time.
I honestly started feeling (and writing about) concern about the Chinese dairy industry years ago, when they were buying up registered Holstein cows locally. I remember reading the editor of a certain dairy magazine that serves our area crowing joyfully about exporting heifers and thinking that what might have looked good at the time would come to roost later. China's exported apples have virtually devastated the apple industry in some states. They have no quality standards, but cheap prices are a strong lure. At the time of the Chinese cattle buying expedition I expected that nation to flood the world market with cheap dairy products hurting US dairymen. I had no idea that instead they would export poison in dairy food form.
In this article the Chinese government admits that melamine adulteration of feeds and food products is commonplace there. I suspect that we have only just begun to see the scope of the problem.
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Strays and snow
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When the whole world goes to hell in a hand basket (my mother's phrase and I have no idea where it came from!) we're going to be counting on our local farmers, like threecollie, to feed us. To make sure they're still around then, I say:
BUY LOCAL!!!
P.S. You don't have any raw milk available on the other side of the river, do you?
Hey threecollie- nice post, very informative.
akagaga- check out www.realmilk.com they have alist of folks willing/able to sell raw milk.
~Joce
I really feel like we are living in momentous times. And I don't know that I am happy about it. This is a really scary time in the history of FARMING and the United States of America.
I just hope we can hang in there.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
Thanks, rebz. I don't see anybody close by, but that's a great site.
And, darn! Now that I've been thinking about it, I remember going to a friend's farm as a teenager. Her mother would inevitably pull a pitcher out of the refrigerator, cream floating on top ... and pour me a big glass to go with her chocolate jumble cookies! Ah, the good ole days.
God forbid our government put a tariff, never mind a ban, on Chinese human and pet food stuffs, to "encourage" them to follow more safe, ethical practices... Sigh.
In this house, we just say NO to Chinese products.
What's the purpose of the melamine ... isn't that the same stuff in particle board type shelving?
authormomwithdogs - According to http://www.sciencebase.com/science-blog/melamine-in-milk.html the melamine is added to "artificially inflate the reading for protein levels."
akagaga, you got it right there. Sorry about raw milk, we have a lot, but we can't legally even give it away and we have a miserable milk inspector.
Joce, thanks for that site!
Linda, it is scary. Issues that a few years ago were far out things that gave me a topic for the Farm Side are now on the front burner and facing everybody...
akagaga, we went to the farm down the road and bought milk. Grew up on it with no ill effects....that accident you told me about...one of Alan's school friends was killed. The poor boy and family. We are heartsick.
AMWD, you are wise...as I said, I am watching labels like never before.
FC, it is a cheap way to change the chemical analysis of products to raise the perceived protein level. There are those who think even more noxious substances are being used, that produce melamine as a by product. I find the whole affair obscene. American products are made much more expensive by careful government oversight. Okay, there is nothing wrong with that...people have a right to want safe food. But then we turn around, bypass local farms and factories because they are too expensive and buy our food and toys from countries whose production methods were outlawed here in the twenties. We build safe food and product infrastructure and mandate safe workplaces here at great expense and then walk away from it and buy our goods elsewhere. Crazy
akagaga, right again, thanks
I heard a sound bite this morning of one of the presidential candidates praising China for various achievements. Very frightening times.
Jan, thinking about avoiding Chinese contaminated products in your food is so challenging. Today virtually everything has all kinds of unexpected ingredients...
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