Politics And Food Safety-- Is There A Connection?

An integral part of what it means to be a Republican in the 21st Century is starving regulatory agencies that protect consumers… that whole shrinking government and drowning it in a bath tub thing. Back in 2008 we were horrified by the deaths of 81 Americans from contaminated blood thinner, Heparin, made in China. At the time, we laid the blame, at least in part, at the feet of Mitch McConnell and his "wife," Elaine Chou who "have become multimillionaires by acting as unofficial lobbyists for Chinese industry and pushing 'free trade' with that country. The entire Republican Party and the entire Blue Dog wing of the Democrats are complicit in the deaths of these people, all in the name of capitalistic excess gone awry and, of course, due to greed and avarice and campaign finance regulations that are made by the people who most need regulation! 'At its present inspection pace, [wrote the NY Times] the F.D.A. would need at least 27 years to inspect every foreign medical device plant that exports to the United States, 13 years to check every foreign drug plant and 1,900 years to examine every foreign food plant.' A good first step would be landslide defeats for every Republican and every Blue Dog Democrat up for re-election in November. That was quite a few Novembers ago.

And McConnell is still in the Senate and he is still benefiting financially from China still poisoning American consumers. And not just American pets. Chinese seafood, for example, is dicey. And, of course, it isn't just McConnell or right-wing groups like Club for Growth with a toxic China agenda.

From its perspective, China made a really good investment by donating to the Chamber of Commerce when they ran a big international effort to illegally scoop up vast sums of foreign cash to help replace Nancy Pelosi with John Boehner as Speaker. Boehner is the worst patsy for China's economic agenda in Congress (not counting McConnell). And Boehner came through for his Beijing financiers again last year. During a little noticed debate over a bipartisan bill, H.R. 678, to amend the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 by authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to contract for the development of small conduit hydropower at Bureau facilities, John Garamendi (D-CA) tried to get the Republicans to include language that would require, when practicable, all materials used for conduit hydropower generation be manufactured in the United States. Sounds simple, right? Not when John Boehner is in charge. All Republicans were instructed to vote NO and Garamendi's commonsense proposal lost 194-226. Only two Republicans cared enough about American manufacturing jobs to stand up to Boehner and vote with the Democrats-- Walter Jones (R-NC) and Jimmy Duncan (R-TN). If bought off Republicans like Boehner are willing to kill simple "Made in America" efforts, guess how they respond to efforts to protect American consumers from cheap, poisonous Chinese products flooding America markets.

Ironically, this is an e-mail circulating currently among Republicans and other right-wingers. They don't seem capable of connecting the dots and understanding the root causes-- money in politics and the nature of conservatism.

And don't forget that 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. The same with 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-- and, by far-- to the requirements here.

We recently learned that Starkist Tuna is now owned by Korea, and is in big conflict with the U.S. concerning quality, safety, and records, which Korea refuses to 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 "… read all the way down...

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. Some foreign workers have to wear masks as they work in these places, because the food is so rotten and filthy, it makes them want to throw up. Many of their fish on Fish Farms 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 Okay. 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’s… dung (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 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.

Please read this very carefully, and read to the very bottom. It's important for all of us.

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 THE 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 dung.

If you search the Internet about what the Chinese feed their fish, you'll be alarmed; e. g, growth hormones, expired anti-biotic from humans? Never buy any type of fish or shellfish that comes from these countries: Vietnam, China, Philippines.

Check this out personally.

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, 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 U.S.

Simply look on the bottom of every product you buy, and if it says 'Made in China' or 'PRC' (and that now includes Hong Kong), simply choose another product, or none at all. You will be amazed at how dependent you are on Chinese products, and you will be equally amazed at what you can do without.

...Start reading labels more closely and buy something else even if it cost a few cents more…

Imagine if the people on email chains like this could connect the dots and see how their complaints and grievances were an integral part of political conservatism! This week an AP article, Despite grousing, U.S. voters rarely fire lawmakers was widely picked up in newspapers and by radio. The photo that accompanied it: Kevin McCarthy and John Boehner. "The U.S. Congress is wildly unpopular," it began. "In fact, two-thirds of Americans want their own House of Representatives member booted… People talk about throwing the bums out, but voters keep sending the same bunch back in."

More than halfway through the party primaries, 293 House and Senate members have completed their quests for renomination during the primary season. The score: incumbents 291, challengers 2.

What about November, when Republicans and Democrats face off in the general election?

It looks to be a dramatic midterm, all right, with Republicans, who are virtually certain to retain control of the House, pushing to seize control of the Senate. That would give them the power to essentially kill President Obama's legislative agenda for the remaining two years of his term.

More incumbents will be vulnerable in the general election than the primaries. Still, the vast majority of sitting lawmakers are snug in their seats.

Over the past five decades, voters have routinely returned 9 of 10 incumbent candidates to the House. Senate races are a bit less predictable, but usually more than 80 percent of incumbents win.

Why do these people keep winning?

It's harder for challengers to sell themselves to voters. Incumbents wield tremendous advantages. They raise big bucks from special interests, use their congressional offices to send voters mass mailings, build ties to businesses and advocacy groups in their districts, and benefit from name recognition. They have staff members back home working to keep constituents happy.

…This year, Congress logged a confidence rating of 7 percent, the lowest Gallup has measured for any institution, ever. People don't put much attachment to their own representative anymore, either. An Associated Press-GfK poll last month found that 65 percent of Americans say their own House member should lose.

Turnout is low in midterm elections, usually about 40 percent in the fall and often abysmal for primaries. Voters may feel they lack true choice.

Still, one shocker this primary season showed that establishment candidates can be ousted.

A virtual unknown, Dave Brat, toppled House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia in a Republican primary-- an unexpected victory for the Tea Party, which has mostly struggled against well-organized establishment Republicans this election season.

But such exciting races that draw national attention are misleading. Most of the House candidates, about 60 percent so far, didn't have a soul running against them. Only a few faced a challenger who posed a real threat. No senator has been defeated yet.

"There just aren't that many real races," said Larry Sabato, a veteran election forecaster at the University of Virginia. "So even if people don't like their representative, they don't necessarily vote for the challenger from the other party, or vote at all."

Sabato's approach, of course, frames it passively. It is something that "happens," not something that nefarious characters like Steve Israel and Steny Hoyer made happen. He and the other Beltway pundits are part of a problem people are barely grappling to comprehend. The Larry Sabatos work diligently to guarantee they never will.