PCC says no to cloned animal products

PCC Natural Markets is prohibiting suppliers from using cloned animal products in their food. It also wants them to disclose where ingredients are from and what they mean by terms such as "natural flavors."

These moves come months after the Seattle chain eliminated high-fructose corn syrup from its eight stores and began identifying the countries of origin for its meat, seafood, peanuts and fresh and frozen produce.

Although the 2002 Farm Bill called for mandatory country-of-origin labeling for those products, the law has not been implemented and is being reworked as part of the 2007 Farm Bill still being considered in Congress.

"The failure of our regulatory agencies to mandate full disclosure of food ingredients makes it incumbent on leaders in the natural-foods industry to step forward and provide what our consumers want," PCC Chief Executive Tracy Wolpert said in a news release Tuesday.

PCC will continue selling food from China, unlike Trader Joe's, which said last year it would phase out single-ingredient food items from mainland China by April 1 because of customer concerns.

Much food that is certified as organic by the U.S. Department of Agriculture comes from other countries, including China. Read more..
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004179295_pcc13.html

In China, Farming Fish in Toxic Waters, Coming To a Store Near You

FUQING, China — Here in southern China, beneath the looming mountains of Fujian Province, lie dozens of enormous ponds filled with murky brown water and teeming with eels, shrimp and tilapia, much of it destined for markets in Japan and the West.

Fuqing is one of the centers of a booming industry that over two decades has transformed this country into the biggest producer and exporter of seafood in the world, and the fastest-growing supplier to the United States.

But that growth is threatened by the two most glaring environmental weaknesses in China: acute water shortages and water supplies contaminated by sewage, industrial waste and agricultural runoff that includes pesticides. The fish farms, in turn, are discharging wastewater that further pollutes the water supply.

“Our waters here are filthy,” said Ye Chao, an eel and shrimp farmer who has 20 giant ponds in western Fuqing. “There are simply too many aquaculture farms in this area. They’re all discharging water here, fouling up other farms.”

Farmers have coped with the toxic waters by mixing illegal veterinary drugs and pesticides into fish feed, which helps keep their stocks alive yet leaves poisonous and carcinogenic residues in seafood, posing health threats to consumers.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/15/world/asia/15fish.html?_r=3&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

China's e-waste nightmare worsening

GUIYU, China - The air smells acrid from the squat gas burners that sit outside homes, melting wires to recover copper and cooking computer motherboards to release gold. Migrant workers in filthy clothes smash picture tubes by hand to recover glass and electronic parts, releasing as much as 6.5 pounds of lead dust.

For five years, environmentalists and the media have highlighted the danger to Chinese workers who dismantle much of the world's junked electronics. Yet a visit to this southeastern Chinese town regarded as the heartland of "e-waste" disposal shows little has improved. In fact, the problem is growing worse because of China's own contribution.

Just Say No: TO CHINA

Trader Joe's, the hip, wholesome food store with 15 locations in the Chicago area, said Friday it will phase out foods imported from China amid concerns that standards on "organic" products from the country aren't as stringent as they should be.

Alison Mochizuki, spokeswoman for the Monrovia, Calif.-based grocer, e-mailed a statement saying the grocer will phase out single-ingredient products from mainland China by Jan. 1.

New recall of toys made in China

What ever happened to the days when people in this county would boycott? Has everyone bocome so complacent that we cannot stand up for our own health and well being?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7015757.stm