Your pets got sick...Now, what's in YOUR food?

Quick...Where do you think your spices come from? Do you buy McCormick or Shilling? A very interesting discussion with one of my friends today brought to light that even though you think you are buying your spices from an American company, those spices are bottled in the USA, but the spices themselves are grown in....you guessed it: China. Yes, the current admitted source of melamine additives to your pet's food.

Pet Foods May Have Been Intentionally Poisoned

My friend and I both agreed that China really made a mistake by allowing the grain for pet food to be contaminated by God knows what. Why? Because American's are not very careful about what they put in their own mouths, but when it comes to their pets or livestock, they are rabid about animal health. I am not just talking about cats and dogs here either. Think about the livestock like rodeo bulls, race horses, llamas, and any other high priced animals being raised in the USA, or anywhere for that matter. They surely get tested en mass probably more often than us humans.

I am not one of those radical pure food activists. Not by a long shot. But when someone like me starts to get concerned about the additives in my food, you can be sure that the problem is already way out of control. Think about what you put in your stomach each day. You can bet that China couldn't care less if they are poisoning us or not. Heck, they probably poison their own citizens anyway. If I am wrong about that, then prove it to me. We are talking about a country that eats cats, after all. How much fallout will there be for China about this pet food contamination? Just how many people do you think will show up for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Bejing?

And it isn't just the pet food crisis. What about...

Hormones in milk What effect is it having on our children and those with cancers?  "The milk we drink today is quite unlike the milk our ancestors were drinking" without apparent harm for 2,000 years, she said. "The milk we drink today may not be nature's perfect food."

High fructose corn syrup is in almost all foods. Nutritionists are asking people to decrease their intake of high fructose corn syrup significantly.  It is one of the major causes of obesity and diabetes today.

Food manufacturers are hiding MSG so you don't know where it is. Lately, food manufacturers mention a "clean label" when referring to soy sauce and other processed flavor enhancers that already contain MSG in the form of glutamic acid.  Food manufacturers use these ingredients so they can claim "no added MSG".  Hence a "cleaner"   label.  They know it's in there, they are just hoping you don't.

Study Finds Arsenic Widespread In Chicken April 6, 2006

Brand name chicken products sold in American supermarkets and fast food restaurants are widely contaminated with arsenic, according to independent test results released by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.

Just citing these few areas of our food gives you a small inkling of how our food manufacturers have traded money for the health of the humans they feed. What can you do? Well, I guess we all can be more aware, for one thing. Try to buy food from co-ops and farmers markets. Eating healthier foods can seem more expensive, but what if by doing so it means you are going to the doctor less often with allergies, high blood pressure and diabetes control? The next time you go to the store, think about what you are putting in your cart. Try to buy healthier foods more and more each time.