I used to know some little boys whose mother told me they thought China was Toyland because all the toys were made there. Well, the dream of cheap goods is starting to get a little gunky around the edges. Just read that China has shut down 180 of its factories because of the discovery that ”Formaldehyde, illegal dyes, and industrial wax were found being used to make candy, pickles, crackers and seafood”! Well, okaaay. That’s according to an official with the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, responsible for food safety. Not isolated incidences, they say. First melamine in the pet food, then antifreeze in the toothpaste and now... What more? Even the quinessentially American Twinkie is outsourced, it turns out. (That’s a story to give you chills). I have to admit, I’m not surprised really. I’ve been suspicious of Made In China junk for years. Not only is there no knowing who made the stuff (prisoners, slaves, kids) but where are the safety regs? Metal stuff especially makes me wonder uneasily. I get creeped thinking about contaminated metal streams and bottom line priorities. That's probably our own hot stuff sitting pretty on Wal Mart shelves. I mean, how do we know otherwise? Assurances, please.
Not a pleasant line of thinking so I'll turn it around. This news just gives a nice push in a better direction. Local, local, local. Seems location matters in more than real estate. It makes me happy that we're growing food in our backyard, support our locally owned stores (Community Market, Copperfield's Books, Stanroy's, Western Farm, thrift shops, local boutiques and restaurants) but of course we could do better. We still don't go to the Farmer's Market and that's a big one. We still patronize Trader Joe's and when Yardbird's became Home Depot we hesitantly continued to shop there just because it's up the road as opposed to miles away (less fuel). So there's room for improvement, as always. Meanwhile, I'm grateful for red plums hanging over my back fence, homegrown tomatoes and this fertile Sonoma County.
Photo by Wetpaint Designs
2 comments:
Our house is surrounded by concrete, so we have a container garden. It's amazing what you can do even if you don't have land to plant. This week we've been eating cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, onions, garlic, strawberries, apricots and peaches grown in half barrels.
Not China, but did you see the recall of Veggie Booty? What's with the contaminated "health" food lately? (Not that that stuff is much more healthful than cheez puffs anyway...)
I love container gardens. In Thailand they use them everywhere to create beautiful spaces. Like an outdoor room where you can move your plants around like furniture. Edible furniture.
I hadn't heard about the Veggie Booty recall but, boy, this kind of thing is becoming a little too common.
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