July 27, 2007 Made in China

What’s the first thing that pops into your head when you see the phrase “Made in China?” Probably cheap, not reliable, might have cat products in it, etc. But what about deadly? In a recent CNN article, China has been nicknamed the “Wild West” due to its poor regulatory system, which has allowed exports that have caused many health-related issues recently.

In a very informative elaborate interview, a senior product safety counsel with the U.S. Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports magazine made sure we understood the severity of the situation. “Anything that does not meet our standards should not be allowed to be imported.” Oh man, I can breathe easy now. But, just to reiterate: “Anything that does not meet our standards should not be allowed to be imported.” I just kind of assumed that was an unspoken rule, but hey, what do I know. A business professor at the University of Maryland and former chief economist at the U.S. International Trade Commission, said, “They're basically producing poisonous products, selling them to their own people and then selling them on to us.” Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa . . . whoa. Accusing China of trying to poison us? Blasphemy! Has he eaten Chinese take-out in the past decade? Utterly delectable (though it just makes you feel gross and you’re hungry again an hour later). They might be trying to poison poor Panamanians, or some cats and dogs here and there, but to accuse them of trying to kill off the planet? This is worse than those pesky Nationalist Socialists in the 1930’s and ‘40s.

“40 percent of all consumer products imported into the United States last year (almost $250 billion worth of goods) were manufactured in China. From 1997 to 2004, the share of all U.S. imports of consumer products from China increased by nearly 300 percent.” They’d be stupid NOT to try and poison us or kill off the youth of America with faulty Skip-Its or Snap Bracelets. But, just to make sure the Chinese have their say, “Beijing stands by its products and says people should not be worried about ‘Made in China’ goods.” Uh, 10 years too late buster. “Consumers shouldn't be scared of Chinese products. They should have a reputation of being good quality, cheap and safe,” said a spokesman for the foreign ministry. He certainly got the cheap part right. But all is well in the world of imports. I’m not worried about any South Beach Diets or Atkins Diets; I’m riding on my new Fear-Free diet. I’m certainly not scared about eating products from pigs fattened on force-fed wastewater, dairy cows given so many antibiotics they can't produce yogurt from their milk and lard made from sewage. And it’s probably propaganda that a Chinese government report earlier this month found that 20 percent of food and products for domestic consumption failed inspection. 20%!


Song of the Week: “Leaving Babylon” by 311. Definitely the epitome of “chill.”

Quote of the Week: “Power corrupts. Absolute power is kind of neat.” - John Lehman (former US secretary of the Navy)

Random Fact of the Week: Diet Coke was only invented in 1982.

Picture of the Week: Most likely the case

Until next week, I say stop when touching bothers me.


Fred