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from China, of course. This doesn't suprise me at all, except for "What took them so long?"
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Think those "organic" strawberries from China are better for environment? Think again.
The organic label is meant to signify that a food is relatively environmentally friendly: Organic producers are forbidden from using many synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. When that organic food comes from China, that label may not mean much.
"When I see organic food from China, I question," environmental journalist Michael Pollan told PRI's The World, "how organic is it?" Organics are a $26 billion industry in the United States, and an increasing amount of that is coming from China. Pollan points out, "organic is a very big global business now. People don’t realize it."
"In 2006 alone, China added a staggering 12 percent to the world’s organically farmed land," Global Post reports. With the market growing that quickly, regulations are lax at best. A Chinese grocery chain owner who spoke with Global Post estimated that "maybe 30 percent of farms that put the organic label on their food produce the real thing."
"I think in the future the government will improve testing," the grocery store owner told Global Post. "But now, hygiene officers have so much work to do with essential food safety that they don't worry about organic."
Wow, I didn't realize organics had grown that big in the US. That's awesome. Yikes to think that china grows so much "supposed" organic that's not really!
I personally don't buy anything that has China's name on it. Most produce I buy is organic. We are fortunate to have a very big organic locally grown thing going on here and I trust them completely. The foods that are the most toxic, if I can't buy them organic, I don't buy them. I found this youtube that is informative about the importance of eating organic and what's ok and what's not. The "dirty dozen" and the "clean 15" are shown at the 1:53 point if you want to get ready to stop the video.
I bought organic strawberries from California yesterday. A lot of the "good foods" taste so much better organic like broccoli and sweet potatoes I buy them anyway.
"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...it's about learning how to dance in the rain."
Sorry, Rick. Some ingredients - primarily, um, Chinese ones - are available only from Asian markets, from Chinese companies.
For food I can get inside the states I generally will, only because it has to cost less to transport. But my lo han kuo (thanks, Greger) comes from China because that's the only place it's produced.
Julia A 45’s quicker than 409 Betty’s cleaning’ house for the very last time Betty’s bein’ bad
It's a beverage/tea, Olyve, made from berries. Very sweet but doesn't affect blood sugar.
I guess I get a little picky when I hear things like "NEVER" buy xyz from such-and-such country. When it comes to that, I've stopped buying shrimp altogether, stopped buying any beef that isn't grass-fed. Wasn't it somewhere here I read that American apples, strawberries, and grapes carry a lot of pesticide and should be avoided?
China has the same food quality problems we have, but because they're feeding a lot more people, they're further down the road than we are. But I firmly believe we're on the same road.
Julia A 45’s quicker than 409 Betty’s cleaning’ house for the very last time Betty’s bein’ bad
I buy lots of food and ingredients from China, Thailand, and Vietnam. Sauces, Noodles, Rice, Sesame seeds, spices, canned Jackfruit, Durian paste, cookies, candies and teas. Just because it's "Made in the USA" doesn't mean it's better or safer. There are occasionally recalls of oriental products but there are also many recalls and much sickness and death caused by American grown and processed foods.
Unlike Olyve, I'm not particularly an avid user of organic products, I buy a few but I don't trust any of them in my supermarket to be any better for me or for the environment than any other foodstuffs I might buy. This from The Times (UK)
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The idea that organic food is worth more because it is healthier is totally bogus. Only last month the Food Standards Agency, the unbiased government agency set up to protect the public’s health, published a report concluding that organic food has no greater nutritional value than conventional produce.
The idea that organic food is better for the environment is also questionable. Organic milk, for example, generates more carbon dioxide emissions than standard milk and uses significantly more land.
Then there is the pesticide question. High doses can indeed cause cancer and birth defects. However, there is no evidence that the miniscule amounts found in conventional food are harmful. In fact, some studies have shown that the incidence of cancer among farmers, who are routinely exposed to relatively high levels of pesticide, is lower than in the wider population Source
A few unscrupulous Chinese farmers have entered the Much higher paying Organic Market, possibly without adhering to all the rules set forth. I'm sure there are no such American so unscrupulous as that, we are a much more honourable and honest society they they are.
China has the same food quality problems we have, but because they're feeding a lot more people, they're further down the road than we are. But I firmly believe we're on the same road.
That's how I see it. I grow, can, freeze and dehydrate as much as I can but I do need to buy meats. I now have ducks in my yard this year for the eggs.
I'd especially refrain from purchasing any shrimp or pork products.
