more food absurdity

I picked this up off Consumerist today. Apparently, big meat producers are fighting efforts by Creekstone Farms in Kansas to test all of its beef for mad cow disease. Or rather, the Bush administration has asked a Federal appeals court to prohibit Creekstone from testing its cows. The logic behind this is the same logic used in Monsanto's lawsuits against dairies in Maine, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere. The argument is rooted in the idea that saying their cows are free of mad cow (or that a farmer's milk is free of RBST or RGBH) implies that their "product" may not be as safe.

This kind of behavior is not without precedent in U.S. agribusiness. For instance, in the late 1890s and early 1900s, the USDA waged a trade war with several European countries over agricultural imports and exports. In one case, the U.S. trade representative went so far as to argue that our beef preserved with boric acid was healthier than German beef cured with salt. His logic? That every expert knew that the effects of salt were more dangerous.

In any case, at what point do we as a society—a political and commercial system—do we stop mortgaging our individual and societal good in favor of profit? At what point, do mass-producing corporations stop trying to shut down local producers and start trying to live up to their standards? Is it feasible to envision an agricultural system where the government protects the citizens rather than the corporations?

mutant clementines

Have we crossed a point where citrus growers no longer market actual clementines? After two boxes of the fruit, I can only guess that we are being sold another variety packed in clementine boxes. Or perhaps they've developed a hybrid variety. Either way, they're not as good as they've been in the past.

To wit, true clementines should have the following characteristics:

• Loose, bumpy rind that peels off easily
  
• Smallish, flat body
  
• No seeds
  
• Loose sections
  
• A sweet, almost-mandarin flavor

Instead, what has come out of the clementine boxes is:

• A rind more reminiscent of a navel or valencia orange
  
• Full, round body
  
• Occasional seeds
  
• Densely packed sections that have to be pulled apart
  
• The tart, orange-y flavor usually associated with common varieties

I've done a bit of internet research, but haven't turned up anything yet. Anyone know?

(pictures to come)

organic food is healthier--who knew?

Picked this up off of Consumerist... Apparently organic tomatoes are healthier than "conventional" tomatoes. This should surprise no one; the real surprise should be that we even need to investigate such things. It's like investigating whether machine cut "baby" carrots have as many nutrients as carrots pulled fresh from the soil. It's like investigating the nose on our collective face. Sheesh.

I'll probably dive into writing heavily about Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma when I get closer to finishing it, but suffice it to say that this really isn't a surprise.

Chinese "Food"

I've been paying close attention to the growing controversy over Chinese food exports and production, and this piece on Consumerist was more than a little revolting and frightening. It also reminded me of a few things.

When I traveled to China for a couple of months in 1996, food was one of the more interesting adventures. Not just in terms of knowing what or how to order, but knowing what in fact you were being served. This wasn't as much a problem with the private cook my mother shared with a few other professors in Nanjing or with the the bigger, more reputable restaurants in large cities. Rather, the problem came up more often at "tourist" restaurants where you were herded into a large space and fed a "traditional" chinese meal of egg roll, sweet and sour pork, green vegetable (usually either bok choy or choy sum), and duck.

A few times in such restaurants, particularly when we were traveling down the Yangtze, I made the mistake of asking what we were being served because the meat was clearly nothing I had tasted before. In every case, however, the answer was the same: Pork. Apparently, pork is the universal choice for feeding westerners who, as a rule, do not speak the language. Even if it's not pork. There were no pigs to be seen anywhere in these towns, and these are not places that bring food in.

Anyway, they were treating our tourist groups like rubes the same way their agribusiness has been treating us like rubes by intentionally filling food ingredients with dangerous additives. What is truly frightening is that companies in China produce an increasing amount of our food ingredients, including shrimp, crawfish, rice, and much more. If neither we nor they are really policing the safety of production, how far will this reach?

For lots of reasons, I see a correlation with the number of incidences of toys made in China coming up with warnings for lead poisoning hazards; a quick search of the CPSC site for "china lead" turns up 1,451 recalls.

Is it possible that our drive for ever-cheaper and more abundant is catching up with us—with dangerous results?