Locavorism in China's "mercury capital" a potentially toxic idea

by: mental_masala

Sun Apr 11, 2010 at 11:42:40 AM PDT

In a recent episode of the Colbert Report, ocean expert Sylvia Earle recommended that people rethink eating fish from the ocean, to which Colbert asked, without fish in my diet, "where will I get my mercury?" Colbert's facetious question has been answered in a new paper in Environmental Health Perspectives: you can get plenty of mercury by eating rice grown in the Wanshan region of the Guizhou province in Central China. This region is known as the "mercury capital" of China because of its rich cinnabar ore deposits and productive mercury mines.

The researchers estimate that approximately 34% of the inhabitants in Wanshan exceeded the U.S. EPA established reference dose (RfD) for methylmercury of 0.1 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day. So how is mercury getting into their body? Is it through the air, water, or food? And where is it converted from inorganic mercury to methylmercury?  (Methylmercury is far more toxic than inorganic mercury, as it more easily passes through the blood-brain barrier and placental barriers.)

Whole Foods Under Fire for Chinese "Organics"

by: Jill Richardson

Sun Mar 07, 2010 at 11:05:17 AM PST

After many years of aggressive growth of organic imports from China, and overt pressure from the Cornucopia Institute and others to audit operations in China, the USDA finally sent staff to scrutinize the certification operations.  In the entire country of China they only inspected two farms and found substantial noncompliances (no follow-ups to ascertain whether these were aberrations or systemic problems).

From China, with (deja vu) Melamine Love.

by: Asinus Asinum Fricat

Sat Dec 12, 2009 at 11:17:56 AM PST

Three people from the Shaanxi Jinqiao Dairy Co, in northern Shaanxi province, have been detained and accused of producing and selling toxic food, Chinese state media reported yesterday. The police operation comes just over a year after a nationwide contamination scandal involving the lacing of milk powder with the industrial chemical killed six and sickened an estimated 300,000.

I wrote extensively on this last year having lost my girl Labrador, Bessie, to renal failure. Though this time, one year on, it seems that China is attempting to do a house cleaning but we must remain vigilant. I for one will eschew Chinese food products for quite some time.

Would You Like Some Frankenrice With Your Chinese Takeout?

by: Jill Richardson

Fri Nov 27, 2009 at 08:27:35 AM PST

• It is Bt rice, meaning that it produces its own pesticide

• While the Chinese claim the rice will reduce pesticide use by 80%, that projection fails to consider that the rice will be producing its own pesticide. There will most likely be a reduction in additional pesticides sprayed on the rice, but that does not necessarily translate to a reduction in pesticides once you add in the Bt produced by the rice itself.

• China is not yet commercially producing Bt rice - it will do so in 2-3 years.

• Most of China's rice is consumed domestically. However, some of it is exported. Out of about 59.5 million tonnes of rice produced by China, they export about 600,000 tonnes annually.

If you are going to China, you may actually be able to avoid their GMOs. Cotton is not eaten anywhere, and the Chinese don't really eat corn, papaya, or tomatoes. Rice is eaten but it's seen as a food for poor people who cannot afford anything better. Also, the Chinese say that a person who eats too much rice gets fat. Rice is not automatically served at restaurants unless you request it, and no self-respecting banquet host would ever let a bowl of rice be seen on the table. I still ate quite a bit of rice in China, but only because I like rice.

Organics Are On the Rise in China

by: Jill Richardson

Thu Aug 13, 2009 at 17:15:17 PM PDT

Conforming to organic standards when you have no control over neighbors' practices, or what rains down on you, is difficult. But on paper, China's organic farming standards are strict enough, Chen says.

The problem, she says, is making sure that farmers stick to those standards, and ensuring that there are enough authorities to adequately monitor producers who claim their food is organic -- a tall order in a country where toxic, heavy-metal-filled sewage sludge is the cheapest, most easily accessible fertilizer around.

Though one might wonder what could be more organic than excrement, medical waste and factory runoff also make their way into sewer systems. Not limited to China, the use of toxic sludge fertilizer is a widespread problem, seen in the U.S. and elsewhere.

That makes me want to eat food from China even less than I already did. Thank goodness at least some Chinese farmers are waking up.

Messed Up Chicken Trade Policies

by: Jill Richardson

Wed Aug 05, 2009 at 19:51:36 PM PDT

Senate-passed bill would allow Chinese chicken imports

China bans U.S. pork, poultry plants

Here's a bit of background info about the U.S. debate on keeping Chinese chicken banned. Here's some of the article about the Senate vote on the Chinese chicken ban:

The Senate on Tuesday passed its version of a funding bill for USDA and FDA which would allow chicken imports from China with additional oversight.

The Senate bill would require approval of plants in China that wish to export to the United States, plus annual inspections of those plants and increased inspection of incoming product at U.S. ports, according to Reuters.

The House-passed version of the bill would keep current restrictions on Chinese chicken imports in place.

The World Trade Organization last week agreed to China's request that it investigate and rule on whether the U.S. ban violates international trade rules.

Personally, I don't mind if China bans our factory farmed meat (and I am absolutely for our ban on Chinese chicken). If other countries want cheap factory farmed meat, why should the American people have to live with the pollution generated by its production?  

Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Tyson) and Chinese Chicken

by: Jill Richardson

Thu Jul 09, 2009 at 04:56:28 AM PDT

Over on the House side, I believe Rep. Rosa DeLauro is more or less in charge of this decision, as she chairs the Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee. She passed a bill leaving the ban in place. Pryor's attempting to put language in the Senate bill that would:

...ease the ban by allowing the Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service to develop and implement regulations for importing cooked poultry products from China. The measure would require on-site inspections at Chinese facilities in addition to reinspections at ports of entry.

In other words, he wants to legalize it. With additional inspections, to make sure it's safe. What's really at stake here is our meat export market to China. China doesn't want American chicken unless America will accept Chinese chicken. China is our largest export market for poultry, and they account for 12 percent of Tyson's international sales. In other words, this move to legalize Chinese chicken has nothing to do with safety and everything to do with helping Tyson.

Personally, I have a problem with exporting factory farmed meat. It's such a destructive industry, both for the environment and also for rural economies, that I think we get a crummy deal when we export it. America gets left with the manure, the stench, the decreased property values around the smelly factory farm, the antibiotic resistant bacteria, and (often) the impoverished factory farmer; Tyson gets the money; and the foreign country gets cheap meat. I think if they want cheap meat, then they should also have to deal with the consequences of cheap meat, instead of shifting those onto us while Tyson or another multinational corporation pockets the profits.

The question now, if the Senate passes the bill with Pryor's language included, is what will happen when the bill goes to conference.

What We Need are More Chinese People

by: Jill Richardson

Mon Jun 08, 2009 at 12:00:00 PM PDT

I've got a simple solution to this problem: more Chinese people.  

Chinese Chicken, Again

by: Jill Richardson

Wed Jun 03, 2009 at 04:56:48 AM PDT

So here's the latest from Meatingplace.com on the matter, written by Former Undersecretary of Agriculture for Food Safety Dr. Richard Raymond:

"Chickety China, the Chinese Chicken. Eat a drum stick, and your brain stops tickin'." Words from "One Week", a song by the Canadian group Bare Naked Ladies. If you have kids in their early thirties, you know of this group.

But Congress must have taken these words literally because they have banned cooked Chinese chicken supposedly so we can keep our brains tickin'. There is nothing about their action that is based on science, so I must assume they will quote these lyrics when responding to the WTO complaint filed by China.

I'm pretty sure he got the lyrics wrong, first of all. I believe it's HAVE a drumstick and your brain stops tickin'. Looks like he checked his facts on that about as well as he checked his facts on the Chinese chicken issue.  

Dear China, About the Poultry? Thanks But No Thanks

by: Jill Richardson

Tue May 19, 2009 at 12:33:12 PM PDT

Currently, the U.S. has a ban on processed poultry products from China. Those in favor of keeping it in place include poultry growers associations, family farm organizations, food safety groups, consumer advocacy groups, and others (see a full list below). They cite China's poor food safety regulatory system (with the recent melamine scandals as exhibit A) as a primary reason to keep Chinese poultry out of the U.S. and they also note the effect lifting the ban would have on American poultry growers. Why should we put our own poultry growers out of business so that Americans can eat cheaper but less-safe poultry from China?

And then there's the major multinational corporations (listed below). They are ALL FOR importing Chinese poultry. Their argument? We need to play nice with the WTO and its rules. Which, in my opinion, is a piss poor reason to disregard the health and safety of the American people and the fate of the already troubled domestic poultry industry. Growth in the chicken market has slowed recently and some of the large corporations signed onto this letter have been cutting contracts with America poultry growers, leaving them hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of dollars in debt, stuck with enormous broiler houses and nobody to sell chickens to. Isn't now the exact WRONG time to start importing cheap and possibly unsafe Chinese chicken?

If you want to take action, shoot off an email to your Congresscritter, asking to keep the ban on processed poultry products from China in place. And, while you're at it, CC Barack Obama.

Sampler Platter 05.06.09

by: JayinPortland

Wed May 06, 2009 at 14:50:13 PM PDT

• Another victory for the precautionary principle - Monsanto has just lost a court ruling in Germany, in which they were attempting to overturn the country's ban on a variety of their genetically-modified corn.

• Deborah Lehmann at School Food Policy (which is quickly becoming one of my favorite blogs) writes about the importance of putting the "school" back into school lunches.

• An article in the New York Times takes a look at how agribiz giant Smithfield is rapidly bringing factory hog farming to Eastern Europe -

  In Poland, there were 1.1 million hog farmers in 1996. That number fell 56 percent by 2008, as the advent of modern farming methods transformed agriculture, according to the Polish National Agricultural Chamber.

  [...]

  The impact on the environment is even more marked. With almost 40 farms in western Romania, Smithfield has built enormous metal manure containers to inject waste into the soil. "We go crazy with the daily smell," said Aura Danielescu, the principal of a school in Masloc, who closes her windows tight.

More below the fold...

Fake Israeli Oranges Made in China!

by: Asinus Asinum Fricat

Sun Apr 26, 2009 at 10:32:48 AM PDT

Cross-posted on the Big Orange!

Looking for Food From China? Here's How to Find It

by: Jill Richardson

Fri Apr 24, 2009 at 06:00:00 AM PDT

According to the report, in 2007 China was the #3 country that we imported food from - third after Mexico and Canada. What are the major foods did we get from China?
60.9% of our apple juice
51.4% of garlic
42.3% of processed mushrooms
15% of frozen spinach
11.4% of canned peaches
10.6% of frozen cauliflower
7.9% of canned pears
3.8% of fresh pears
1.7% of processed green peas
1.6% of frozen snap beans
1.2% of fresh mushrooms

Under new COOL rules, you might see a label telling you that your garlic or fresh pears are from China, but the rest of those foods will be unlabeled.

From the report:

China's farm and food processing sectors are plagued with problems that contribute to safety concerns for consumers. China has banned far fewer pesticides than the United States or Europe, meaning that pesticides that are banned in America may be immigrating to the United States on Chinese crops. The USDA reported that produce from China presents significant risks, noting, "Chinese fruits and vegetables often have high levels of pesticide residues, heavy metals and other contaminants.  Water, soil, and air are dangerously polluted in many rural areas as a result of heavy industrialization and lax environmental regulation."

Below, I've listed a table from the report that tells what food comes from where as well as a second chart that tells you the odds of whether each food is imported.

The Impending Chicken War: The Gloves Are Off!

by: Asinus Asinum Fricat

Sun Apr 19, 2009 at 13:01:06 PM PDT

The complaint argues against Section 727 of the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009, which China says "places restrictions on the import from China of poultry products that are inconsistent with the United States' WTO obligations."

The Chinese WTO mission said it had also sent a note to the U.S. mission requesting consultations regarding the restrictive law. Related documents have also been sent to the WTO. And according to WTO dispute settlement procedures, once a complaint is filed, the two concerned parties are given 60 days to try to resolve their dispute before further actions are taken. The gloves are off.

Cross-posted on the Big Orange.

Monday Extra Large Sampler Platter

by: Jill Richardson

Mon Apr 13, 2009 at 14:28:23 PM PDT

• PBS will be running a show called Poisoned Waters, says Natasha at Change.org. It looks like a good one to check out.

• Andy Borowitz reports that Wall Street salary caps drive away assholes

• Friend and fellow foodie Tom Laskawy was on the radio machine! He posted the MP3 on his blog so you can listen.

• I've been doing a politics of school lunch series over at Change.org. Check it out if you feel inclined.

• California's got a new cash crop: solar panels. Or, perhaps more accurately, solar energy.

• Brilliant piece from Civil Eats about garden-based learning.

• Definitely check out this piece on Eating Liberally about nutritionism. That's the term that I think Michael Pollan probably coined referring to the obsession with eating all sorts of vitamins but forgetting to focus on whether or not you're eating real food.

• One of the pioneers of the organics movement talks about what the word organic has meant over the past 30+ years. Very enlightening - especially if you (like me) didn't even exist 30 years ago :)

• Two of my favorite bloggers together in one diary! Yay! Marion Nestle did an interview at Obama Foodorama about Obama's new puppy and pet food politics. (And speaking of Pet Food Politics, I highly recommend Nestle's book of that title and I'm looking forward to her next book about what pets should eat too!)

• Also not to miss from Dr. Nestle - her take on how to fix the FDA.

• The Green Fork blog takes a look at the politics of raw milk.

• Calling all Mountain Dew lovers! Fooducate tells all about Yellow #5. The most upsetting fact on the list? Organic foods CAN contain this artificial food dye. What?!

• Pot calling kettle black alert! The US is getting huffy about China dumping cheap food into U.S. markets. Never mind that we do exactly that all over the world.

• Some essential reading from The Ethicurean: California retailers give FREE fresh produce to WIC recipients. Yum. Plus a liberal helping of information about the state of the WIC program today.

• Yay! Political winds shifting in favor of legalizing pot!!!!