Tip of the Iceberg Report: Fraudulent Certified Organic Products from China

The co-director of The Cornucopia Institute, Mark A. Kastel reminds us, “Unfortunately, this incident also serves as a stark reminder that imports from China are fraught with peril.” What the warning tells us that we must be vigilant in avoiding any ingredients, certified organic or otherwise, from China. We must also remember that pet food and animal feed are only extensions of the human food industry, the waste left over from manufacturing human food products are diverted to the pet food and animal feed industries.

What happened when the USDA did finally sent auditors to China for the first time in 2007, a full five years after the federal organic standards took effect? Well, in the entire country of China the USDA auditors only inspected two farms and two processors, finding serious violations at the time. No follow-up inspections were conducted to determine whether the noncompliances identified were aberrations or symptomatic of systemic problems.

Imported soybeans are often shipped to the U.S. by corporations knowing nothing about the origin of the commodities over and above a single sheet of paper.  Organic soybeans imported from China have become a prevalent source of animal feed used on industrial-scale organic livestock operations. Today’s release by the USDA of another falsified organic certificate from China confirms my concern.

Incredible, huh? I swear I am not xenophobic, in fact, I really feel kind of sorry for the poor Chinese people.  Do I feel sorry for criminals who poison the food supply? Of course not. Personally, I’d like to kill the bastards who put the melamine in wheat gluten with my bare hands, but I do pity anyone so poverty-stricken and desperate to survive that they are willing to risk being shot at gunpoint or thrown in jail for the rest of their natural life just to make a few more yen.

Does that mean if I was poor as a church mouse I would contaminate the food supply? Hell no. But if I were, I might not hesitate to rip-off the US government or any other large corporation that was on my shit list. But then, I wouldn’t be risking getting executed, the most that would happen to me would be that I might be sent to Federal prison.  But, as a friend I knew once told me, who had been there for years (don’t ask), said Federal prison is known as Club Fed.  They call it “easy time”. You get to read books all day, take college classes, practice yoga, take knitting classes, work in the library and learn all sorts of new skills from other criminals. Sounds like a relaxing vacation to me!

I have the same name as Molly Brown (the unsinkable), my middle name is Brownell (my Mom’s favorite art teacher, thanks Mom).  I’d like to think of myself as the heroine of the Titanic, but I’d rather think I was reincarnated from Marylin Monroe: my Mom almost named me Marilyn, because I was born one day after she kicked the bucket. Mom changed her mind, because she decided it was “too creepy”. OK, now you know how old I am, but don’t I look fabulous for 49? Just say yes, or you’re in deep shit.

Infographics by Philip H. Howard| Assistant Professor Michigan State University

Organic Industry Structure | Philip H. Howard | Michigan State University

China Sought to Sell Arms to Qaddafi | New York Times | September 4, 2011

China offered Gadhafi huge stockpiles of arms: Libyan memos | The Globe and Mail | September 2, 2011