China's lack of a strong FDA = glowing pork, heavy metals in rice

[Zorkorist]

Cina is kicking our ass in manufacturing, and believe it or not, it's not because ther are putting oregano in your pot.

They are kicking our ass becaus the can absorb the cost of shipping goods over-seas, and yet their price is lower than ours.

Maybe you should look to our Government, and determine what is so expensive?

-John

 

[dawp]

The guy is not trying to kill you, he is trying to save money on his meat bill.

He'll wind up losing customers, because his meat sucks, but there you go, the market has spoken.

If he actually kills you, or makes you sick, then he's out of business. (harumph)

-John

and that owner can relocate, change the company name and continue business as usual. When the FDA is working as should, that business owner will be shut down permanently.

 

[Zorkorist]

Any criminal can do that, dawp... but it's not normal human behavior.

Normal human behavior is that you produce a good, and are expected to be paid for that good.

It's criminals, or Governments, that fuck with normal human behavior.

-John

 

[wuliheron]

Any criminal can do that, dawp... but it's not normal human behavior.

Normal human behavior is that you produce a good, and are expected to be paid for that good.

It's criminals, or Governments, that fuck with normal human behavior.

-John

"A person is smart; people are dumb panicky dangerous animals and you know it."
Men in Black

 

[shortylickens]

I do not like green eggs and ham?

 

[a777pilot]

The anarchists and others claiming all government regulation is worthless might want to look at what toothless laws and un-enforced regulations can cause.

The self-regulating free market doesn't always give us safe food and drink through competition. Unbridled capitalism does not always create paradise:

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/04/...ancer-chems-among-chinas-latest-poison-foods/

----------
"BEIJING (AFP) – A wave of tainted-food scares has renewed fears in China over continued product-safety problems despite a government promise to clean up the food industry following a deadly 2008 milk scandal.

Tainted pork, toxic milk, dyed buns and other dodgy foods have surfaced in recent weeks, sickening consumers and highlighting the government's apparent inability to oversee China's huge and under-regulated food industry.
. . .

He added that underfunded regulators struggle to keep tabs on China's countless small food producers and retailers, setting the stage for lax oversight and corruption."
----------

It's certainly possible to over-regulate, but I'd rather have my bacon be "too safe" than glowing in the dark from bacteria.

If there was a real justice system in China then the situation would take care of itself without government interference in the business process.

 

[Exterous]

I don't know how well our FDA is funded, but imagine that most of the foodmakers here started doing unethical stuff for short term profits, can the FDA and USDA keep up with policing all food producers in the US? There is a certain ethics that exists in a majority of business people here (except for when you are a banker) than China lacks.

I don't know about the pharmaceutical side but the food inspection side is woefully underfunded. Plants already go longer than required without inspections becuase they can't afford enough inspectors. I don't have the report handy but its not uncommon for food production facilities to go 5-10 years without a single inspection

 

[Macamus Prime]

Hey, it's not the capitalist fault if you're too fucking stupid to eat something they are selling as safe!! Also, you need to be able to survive posionous food. If you can't, well good - the gene pool will clean up a bit.

I am reporting you to a government authority on your communist socialist ways. Yes, the same government I scream about staying out of our lives, needs to be apart of this conversation, to get rid of you.

See what I did there??

 

[sMiLeYz]

If there was a real justice system in China then the situation would take care of itself without government interference in the business process.

Uhhh A judicial system is part of government.

 

[DucatiMonster696]

The Chinese government chooses to enforce control of speech and the media, not of food quality.

The Chinese government regulates and enforces controls on all aspects of industry in China. Some of which are either partially or wholly subsidized by the Chinese government itself, if not out right owned by members of the ChiCom party.

When there is no effective regulation because of corruptible locals and not enough central enforcement, yes, you have Wild West capitalism when it comes to manufacturing.

What you have is a corrupt government looking the other way when it suits their needs and then picking a scape goat to cover their tracks. They could have a million laws regulating all aspects of food production and still not be saved from contamination because the issue is GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION.

The Libertarian ideal of self-regulating free markets assumes the companies care about long-term customer relationships and sustained income, it fails if someone only cares about short- or medium-term gain and doesn't care how many they injure to get it.

You're an idiot if you think a communist/socialist government cannot be wholly corrupt and self serving in their goals.

 

[Schadenfroh]

So, how many of the Chinese companies selling tainted foodstuffs have a sizable chunk of their stock owned by their government and/or friends of government leaders at the helm?

Government regulation of goods produced by government owned enterprises should be suspect as there is a conflict of interest.