Here’s a scary report that just came our way via our friends at Eat Local Grown. Food Safety News has revealed that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will soon allow U.S. chickens to be sent to China for processing before being shipped back to the states for human consumption.
Although it seems impossible that this would make economic sense – it is already being done with seafood – purely in order to save money. Did you even know this? According to the Seattle Times, domestically caught Pacific salmon and Dungeness crab are currently being shipped to underpaid Chinese workers for filleting and de-shelling and then shipped back to the USA.
This arrangement is particularly worrisome because this work is essentially being “sold to the lowest bidder” – putting consumers at potential risk. Chinese industry does not have the same regulations that there are elsewhere and their food sector has a notorious food safety record. There will be no on-site USDA inspectors in those plants. In addition, American consumers will never know whether their foods contain this chicken because Chinese-processed chicken does not have to bear “Country Of Origin Labeling”.
You should know the truth about what you are putting in your body – where it comes from, how it was processed, what it is made of. Note that this is more than just an issue of going vegan, because it’s not just food: It’s also vitamins, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices.
This all highlights the potential problems with a globalized, industrialized food supply that is largely unregulated. There is a huge issue here that goes even as far as food adulteration and even outright fraudulent food. There needs to be much more in the way of safety inspection and food testing. We need the best quality labs available to start testing food of all kinds, analyzing its ingredients and ascertaining its safety. If those in the industry know they cannot get away with poor standards or they will lose their license to operate (and more) – things will surely change. It’s just not right to force anyone to eat substandard food. There is absolutely no excuse for it.
Are you ready to start growing your own food and supporting local growers yet?
Source www.herbs-info.com