Posted on 09/28/2013 9:00:50 PM PDT by EinNYC
The things you take for granted...I was sipping some Apple & Eve apple juice today during lunch, and idly glanced at the label of the bottle. I saw red when I read the countries of origin included CHINA! We all know about the melamine contamination which killed or maimed thousands of U.S. pets, and the recent controversy about school lunch chicken being processed in China and then sent back here, etc. We all know about the lack of environmental legislation there and how the land is being poisoned by "make money now, the heck with the future" people in China.
How many FReepers were aware that this so-called leading brand of apple juice has apple concentrate in it from China? What alternative brands are you using?
Christopher Ranch touts their canned/bottled garlic as being USA grown. IIRC they were importing from China some yrs. ago and got slammed for it.
Fresh garlic? I don't know where it comes from.
Gilroy , CA is the capital of garlic.
It's beyond me why we continue to allow their junk in.
In reality it's our, the consumer's fault. We buy they supply. We chase the cheapest, and get the cheapest.
Wow! I have diabetes? Dang, didn't even know it.
Oh, wait. You were kidding, right?
Oh, wait. You were kidding, right?
Unfortunately, some believe that one rule applies to everybody the same. I love orange juice, don't care too much for grape, apple or the others but I probably average about 6 oz. per day of O.J. the label says it's grown and processed in Florida. They could be lying about that but I doubt it.
I have pretty much followed my mother's diet all my life. I (and she) eat whatever we want, whenever we want it and however much we want.
I have had my cholesterol levels checked periodically and the doctor says they are perfect, not just good but "perfect" he tells me that whatever I'm doing, keep doing it.
It's way too late for my diet to make me die young, I'm not over weight, I am as active or inactive as I want to be. I'm 68 and mom will be 93 in November.
Different strokes for different folks, it's in your genes.
To say that O.J. causes diabetes, (you didn't say it) is akin to saying "guns cause: murders".
Check the labels on frozen foods[country of origin] I was amazed at how many frozen foods come from China. Broccoli, carrots, peas Etc.Wasn’t that long ago mom was telling us to eat our peas cause kids in China were starving , now they are feeding us!
I care because they wrap packages in stiff plastic or super shrink wrap and I can’t open em without power tools which leads me to much cussin.
To be sure you get USA apple juice in the grocery store you have to buy Welch’s apple juice. It comes from upper New York State and a small percentage from Canada.
About 90% of our apple juice comes from China. Welch is the only safe supermarket brand.
I don't think I explained myself very well. That sometimes happens when I post after midnight!
Anyway, here's my point. There is certainly a health concern with some products imported from China. There is no denying that. Notice I said "some", not "all".
But the health issue is not the only concern. The US has lost so much of its industry over the last 20 years. And much of it went to China. What is the result of that? Cheaper products, and who knows, maybe even better products.
But also a loss of jobs. And a loss of capital. The reinvestment money is now in Chinese hands, not American hands.
There is no way the US will lose its agricultural base to China the way we've lost our industrial base. But unbalanced imports of all types hurt. They might help the consumer in the short run, but they wreck the economy in the long run.
That's not to say you shouldn't enjoy your Chinese orange, or I shouldn't enjoy my Chinese cell phone. But it is something to think about.
Hopefully, you have a job that is immune from the pressures of foreign imports. You know, the kind of imports where the workers are paid a dollar a day, the kind of imports that are impossible to compete against.
No, I'm not putting agricultural products in that catagory just yet. US farmland is too immense. But then again, US steel mills were once immense also.
Watch what?
Unfortunately, Welch’s is not kosher. I may try Trader Joe’s, which I hear has NO juice from China. Now I also have to make sure I get HONEY which has no honey from China and is also kosher. Argh!
Be careful of Trader Joe’s brands. I know someone who ate pine nuts and got a terrible taste in his mouth that lasted for months and months. He finally figured out it was pine nut mouth by doing an internet search.
Search: Trader Joe pine nut mouth
There is an article by the Huff-n-puff post but I’m not sure we’re allowed to link it here.
Thanks. I don’t eat pine nuts, but I have purchased raw unsalted cashews there, to no ill effect. Their artisan breads are very tasty as well.
No, I am not kidding, and you are behaving like a jerk.
Back in the 80s, we were told the same thing about the Japanese.
It's the 10:1 population ratio that will make the difference.
“No, I am not kidding, and you are behaving like a jerk.”
Okay, explain why I don’t have diabetes and drink juice?
And, name calling, when there is no reason to, represents the mind of a child.
I also think I need to explain myself better. I am an american expatriate. When I am in the US, I generally buy US oranges and apples because they are readily available, cheap and high quality.
But where I live, I would die of scurvy before I came across a US origin apple or orange. Too bad, perhaps, but I am not concerned about eating apples or oranges that come from China.
I am very aware of quality problems with some Chinese products. On the other hand, I just procured some telephone service boxes that are just great; better than anything else I could find worldwide. Ditto for US stuff, some is wonderful and some isn’t.
I am pretty sure of this much, though. If you protect our producers, they won’t have much incentive to improve. The pressure of competition will provide that incentive.
Well, there was a reason to, and the reason was because instead of simply asking me to explain, you mocked me. So now you will have to find out on your own. Or not.
I slightly mocked your adamant assertion.
Now, I'm mocking you: What a crybaby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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