We're kowtowing to the Chinese...

for foul chickens. Well, I'm not included in that "we're"--I'm no nugget fan. I also try, as often as possible, to buy food that is organic, and better yet, locally produced. It seems absurd to me to import foodstuffs when we have the same stuff here. (Mangoes, maybe--but the decaying carcasses of once sentient beings? Huh.) Plus, and I could be wrong here, but isn't China HUGE? Don't they have a population of oh, say, over 1.3 billion people, or 1/5 of the world's total population? With 200 million of those people living on less than $1 a day, in absolute poverty, I'm sure they need all of the poultry they can get their hands on.

So where does the kowtowing come in? According to this article (and Robert B. Cassidy, a former assistant U.S. trade representative for China): "So many U.S. companies are directly or indirectly involved in China now, the commercial interest of the United States these days has become to allow imports to come in as quickly and smoothly as possible." This means there is less regulation on what enters our borders, even if it's meant for human consumption. Supposedly, the Chinese cannot export meat to the US unless it is processed in spiffy USDA-approved slaughterhouses like the kind we have here--the kind with efficient head deboning lines that allow the processing of up to 800 carcasses an hour, y'know--with robots that automatically remove the "skull mask" (aka face) of the animals and efficiently drill out their eyes. Mmmm. But not having such "sanitary" facilities doesn't stop exporters from shipping over thousands of pounds of meat.

Of course the FDA is on top of COOL--Country of Origin Labeling, right? And their inspections are up to par. They'll protect us from rancid, carcinogenic meat from foreign countries! Well, maybe...not, considering that they are only able to inspect less than 1% of regulated imports--which says nothing for the unregulated ones.

And this is what's really scary: some Chinese exporters are sneaky. They'll ship over a box marked "dried persimmons," that really contains a bunch of dried game hen gizzards coated in some weird radioactive substance. Hell--they're probably poor and looking to make some yuan any way they can. Can you blame them? Many a United Statesian would do the same. It's all about the green--and I don't mean grass. Any logical person knows that grass is worthless unless it can be sold.

But I digress. Back to fowl--and poisoned prunes. As it turns out, carnivores aren't the only ones who need to worry about where their food comes from. Prunes and fruit juice from China have also been found to contain toxic substances. I guess us vegetarians need to keep in mind that "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" only if it hasn't fallen far from the tree--and it's organic.

And for those of you who do enjoy a wing or a giblet now and again, make sure you know where your chickens once roosted--or don't be surprised when a side of flu de avian with a nitrofuran demi-glace shows up next to your Scaloppine di Pollo.

Diamond-beak Hornet Hell

My only blog. I'm off the Myspace for the most part, except for my band's page. I was afraid of being lured in by pedophiles. (Hey, I'm still a wee lass!) But thanks to Fox News and the investigative reporting of Chris Hayes, I don't have to worry about those dirty old men anymore. The good people at Myspace have weeded them out--they'll have to go back to stalking children in school parking lots.

Ay. In addition to Derrick Jensen's Endgame (light reading, I highly recommend it), I've been reading too much news lately, which is perhaps why I'm here. I have to channel my thoughts in some useful way, lest all this information (<---warning to ye w/ weak stomachs: do not click) lead to suicidal ideations. Good Gawdess, we don't want that. Then I'd never be able to smell lilies of the valley again (there are some blooming just outside my door), or kiss my baby. At least not in this realm, anyway. But maybe we would meet again in the Screaming Hell of the Buddhists? Hmmm.

As far as I can tell, the whole world is going to hell--in a hand-basket, even. The human one, that is. Dolphins? You guys are A-OK. Hurry up and evolve already, and take over, for Kali's sake.

Well, gee.

Now I've got a second blog.