Here's the deal, after a mad-cow scare back in 2003 China stopped importing beef from the US. Now China says they'll take our beef if we take their processed chicken. We say we'll take their processed chicken if the chickens are grown and slaughtered here, shipped there and processed there then sent back.
Got that? A chicken grown here, slaughtered here, sent to China and processed and sent back here. Your chicken nuggets will cross the Pacific Ocean twice before they get to your plate. Ok, let's move on.
There will be no FDA inspectors in the plants in China. So let's rely on China to make sure its plants are safe, and no chicken other than ours, or any other "stuff" make into the processed meat. But can we? Let's look at China's record:
- 900 dogs deaths linked to contaminated pet treats made in China
- Rat meat sold as lamb in China
- Recall of toys made in China for lead paint
Let's pause for a second, we aren't perfect when it comes to food safety, but do we need to borrow trouble by opening our food supply to such a huge risk?
It isn't clear if labeling will be imposed and even if it is, we are talking about chicken nuggets for the most part, a relatively cheap way to buy chicken. Are the people who can't afford to buy fresh chicken and so buy their children nuggets both at the supermarket and fast food places going to be able to choose to opt out of buying these products? Will we as consumers even know we are buying foods made with this chicken? I wouldn't feel safe feeding this to my family.
And remember, this is all to get our beef back into China.
The story about thus topic played heavily on the Sunday September 22, 2013 episode of the Melissa Harris-Perry Show, is mentioned in an article on CNNMoney, and in an article on Farm and Dairy.
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