By now you know that the FDA believes it has traced the tainted pet food back to a plant in China that made the wheat gluten used by Menu Foods.
It made me ask: Can't we make wheat gluten in the U.S.? Why do we have to import it from China? Might it have something to do with the labor and production costs being cheaper? Or maybe the lack of environmental regulations?
We're typically the third-ranked country for wheat production behind China and India, and we're also a big exporter of wheat. Delaware harvested 51,000 acres of wheat, according to the state's Web site, which didn't list the year for that figure.
Gluten is what's left behind after you wash wheat flour dough with water until the starch is gone. From there, the gluten can be cooked and processed for use in all sorts of products, including pet food. Check your can or pouch for the first ingredient listed. Wheat gluten isn't as common in dry pet foods.
Among humans, wheat gluten is big in the dishes of Southeast Asian countries, and was first developed in China. It's the tofu of the Far East -- used as a meat substitute in dishes that call for meat. Vegetarians use it, so do those who follow a macrobiotic diet, and Buddhists who follow a meatless diet incorporate it in their menu plan.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
That's an excellent question .. why do we have to import something for pet food from so far away? Can't Menu Foods find a supplier closer than ... China?
Thank all the free trade agreements our gov't has made with places like China and India. This was bound to happen, quality control isn't even an afterthought over there. They are like industrial era USA, in the late 1800s and early 1900s where manufacturing was everything and the consequences like pollution and destruction of the environment were dismissed.
We can. And the can of dog food would be $1.19. And you will ignore it and buy the can that is $1.09 and comes from god knows where. And the company buying US wheat gluten will either change suppliers or go out of business.
Perhaps it's past time to be asking "Can't we make ____ in the good ol' USofA?" about more than just pet food. (Fill in the blank as you wish. Today I'd be filling the blank with "pet food, bicycle tires, sneakers and button-down shirts.")
We should think about where our money goes when we buy all this stuff that's made in China. Who and what do we support with our purchases?
I challenge you so shop for a week and buy nothing made in China. Can you do it? It will open your eyes to try....
Post a Comment