~ HAS THE WORLD GONE MAD...? New madness ?? ~

[seedcorn]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-04-12-tainted-meat_N.htm :/

Read all 3 articles. Agree that USDA is understaffed. Problem w/all 3 articles is that they don't differentiate between USA produce and imported. Imported meats, vegetables, fruits are not grown under the same strict standards as are USA grown. I'd love to see the USDA run samples on imported vs. USA.

Meat producers aren't allowed to use antibiotics on their animals w/in the life of the chemical itself. So that the animal will test negative for the antibiotic.

There are HUGE penalties for producers who sell livestock w/antibiotics found in their blood, let alone in the meat itself.

 

[vfem]

The US standards are by no means 'strict' as in healthy for us. The US standards make it too easy to produce large amount of unhealthy foods for cheap.

There was once a law that said the US could shut down a company that was producing too many contaminating foods (ex. E. Coli) repetitively. That was law revoked. ConAgra is the biggest company to send out these infected and recalled the foods and our USDA, undermanned or not can't do anything about it anyways!

A few fines and slaps on the wrists. That's it!

The USDA does not have enough control over the situation to do anything what so ever... not to mention how many people in the USDA and in congress have ties to Monsanto. They will never change their ways on what bad stuff goes out and comes in to our homes and schools. Because they are more concerned about the affect on the companies... not the people.

We need to clear out the USDA and vote for people to hold positions there like our senate!

 

[Ladyhawke1]

VFEM is correct. If most of our food is coming from the outside of this country.then is it an USDA problem. In the past ten years, government cutbacks were done because the powers that be did not want big government. Oh, let's leave it to private enterprise...where "profit" is more important than people. Ahyeah oh sure .they will regulate themselves.

The government is me, and I wantno, I demand that my food be inspected that is why I pay my taxes. But then again hey if you are rich and powerful why should you worry, you can buy safe food and the rest of us can go punt.

With cutbacks came the loss of people to inspect the majority of shipments coming into this country. WE ALSO DO NOT DO A GOOD JOB IN THIS COUNTRY OF INSPECTING OUR OWN FOOD SUPPLIES.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/02/17-1

Then there are the Big AG chemical companies who have sold all the poisons that they could not use here to other underdeveloped countries. This has made them very wealthy.

If no one talks about it or tells the public that there is a problem, then the only way they find out is when they or their children get sick or die. Then there is the rush to call it the flu.

 

[seedcorn]

We need to clear out the USDA and vote for people to hold positions there like our senate!

Might want to re-think that line. The senate--a bunch of paid whores....

USDA is not the problem, it's lack of. Plus if Americans would STOP buying 3rd world produce, 2/3 of the problem will go away. The USA produced food is not the major problem, it's the imports--cheap, slave labor.

Everyone wants to blame the companies who make the chemicals & not the PEOPLE who buy them, use them, and sell the contaminated products back to us at below market costs.

We control our own destiny w/our dollars. We need to stop blaming others and put our dollars where our talk is.

 

[Rosalind]

Cheap slave labor here, too--the big mega-farms that hire migrant workers sure aren't providing toilet facilities, sick days and OSHA training on proper pesticide use in the strawberry fields of California. Nor are the meat-packing plants scrubbing down and disinfecting equipment between shifts, I've seen that with my own eyes and it's what turned me vegetarian for four years before I started raising my own. Yes, they have regulations but they are so spottily enforced, and many inspectors are bought off. Think about the dirtiest roommate you ever had: the nasty hippie who thought soap was unnatural, the lazy Cheeto-munching video gamer who never saw the light of day, the party guy who would throw giant keggers and leave all the dirty dishes lying about for weeks. The roommate who didn't do dishes, left hairs all over the bathtub during his once-a-month ablutions, who had three-month-old moldy pizza in his room and sprayed on more perfume if his/her armpits were rank enough to cause commentary. That's the guy in charge of the food processing plant! And he's in charge of a bunch of shady migrant workers who must do what they are told or be turned in to ICE. After they've had a recall, my old job was to find the source of contamination, clean everything up, decontaminate with special fumes and set the plant up with new instructions on how to do properly.

It was exactly like explaining, in little words, to the dirty roommate that soap is your friend, that everyone should use a toilet as opposed to the nearest convenient window, that pizza goes bad in a few months even if it IS in the refrigerator. They really don't want to hear it. Cleaning, in their view, was women's work. Plus, it would mean buying those chemical toilets, hiring more people and line shutdowns, however brief.

I don't eat processed food anymore. Any of it, right down to bagged salad mix. Very fussy about where I go out to eat. Pack a lunch everywhere, which is cheaper and more healthful anyway. Granted, I am sure that since I only saw the ones that were already being cited for repeat offenses, I was seeing the very worst ones, but frankly that was enough. There were certainly many other facilities that weren't quite so bad that they were willing to spend $mil for a consultant, and I wouldn't want to eat from their facilities either.

 

[Ladyhawke1]

We need to clear out the USDA and vote for people to hold positions there like our senate!

Might want to re-think that line. The senate--a bunch of paid whores....

USDA is not the problem, it's lack of. Plus if Americans would STOP buying 3rd world produce, 2/3 of the problem will go away. The USA produced food is not the major problem, it's the imports--cheap, slave labor.

Everyone wants to blame the companies who make the chemicals & not the PEOPLE who buy them, use them, and sell the contaminated products back to us at below market costs.

We control our own destiny w/our dollars. We need to stop blaming others and put our dollars where our talk is.

I guess you DID NOT read the last article. What did you NOT understand?

As for your remark that Americans should stop buying third world foodwe are only offered what we are offered at the local grocery store. Those that do not have access to any home grown food are screwed. What planet do you live on?

 

[vfem]

We need to clear out the USDA and vote for people to hold positions there like our senate!

Might want to re-think that line. The senate--a bunch of paid whores....

USDA is not the problem, it's lack of. Plus if Americans would STOP buying 3rd world produce, 2/3 of the problem will go away. The USA produced food is not the major problem, it's the imports--cheap, slave labor.

Everyone wants to blame the companies who make the chemicals & not the PEOPLE who buy them, use them, and sell the contaminated products back to us at below market costs.

We control our own destiny w/our dollars. We need to stop blaming others and put our dollars where our talk is.

I guess you DID NOT read the last article. What did you NOT understand?

As for your remark that Americans should stop buying third world foodwe are only offered what we are offered at the local grocery store. Those that do not have access to any home grown food are screwed. What planet do you live on?

Im like most other Americansm make the choices BASED on what is offered. I can not go into a store and NEED coffee and only be offered Folgers and Maxwell house. If I do not HAVE the choice of the 3 option of 'fair trade shade grown' coffee then how can I make my voice heard?

Now, I have to say I am quite impressed with Walmart. They are actually a GOOD example in this situation. They have increased the amount of organic they carry BECAUSE the customers are ever increasing the purchasing of organic, so walmart is pushing out less attractive brands and cuting costs on organic to sell more. They have announced they will only be carrying eggs from cage free birds in their store... not because its nice and humane though... but because studies show IT IS WHAT THEIR CUSTOMERS WANT!

If walmart gets it and the US government doesn't its because they are turning a blind eye!

 

[Ladyhawke1]

Hey Seedcorn....explain this away.


http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/12/21-7

 

[Ladyhawke1]

It just never stops. :/

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/04/12-3

 

[wifezilla]

government cutbacks were done because the powers that be did not want big government.

No...both parties want big gvmnt and just lie to get elected.