THIS Makes Me Ill

[THE Mook]

Apple juice made in America? Think again.

Apple juice from China and other notes about where your food was made

 

 

By Christina Rexrode, AP Business Writer | Associated Press – Sat, Jan 14, 2012 2:55 PM EST

 

 

FILE - In this Feb. 27, 2008 file photo, a Vietnamese woman works at a fish market in Nha Trang, Vietnam. It might have surprised you to learn in recent news that Brazil tops Florida as the world's largest orange juice producer. You probably also didn’t know most of our apple juice comes from China. What about the fact that 85 percent of the fish Americans eat is imported, too? (AP Photo/Chitose Suzuki, File)

NEW YORK (AP) -- Which food revelation was more shocking this week?

Did it blow you away that low levels of a fungicide that isn't approved in the U.S. were discovered in some orange juice sold here? Yawn. Or was it the news that Brazil, where the fungicide-laced juice originated, produces a good portion of the orange pulpy stuff we drink? Gasp!

While the former may have sent prices for orange juice for delivery in March down 5.3 percent earlier this week, the latter came as a bombshell to some "Buy American" supporters. But that's not the only surprise lurking in government data about where the food we eat comes from.

Overall, America's insatiable desire to chomp on overseas food has been growing. About 16.8 percent of the food that we eat is imported from other countries, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, up from 11.3 percent two decades ago. Here are some other facts:

— Not all juices are treated the same. About 99 percent of the grapefruit juice we drink is produced on American soil, while about a quarter of the orange juice is imported; more than 40 percent of that is from Brazil.

— About half of the fresh fruit we eat comes from elsewhere. That's more than double the amount in 1975.

— Some 86 percent of the shrimp, salmon, tilapia and other fish and shellfish we eat comes from other countries. That's up from about 56 percent in 1990.

Better communication (thank you, Internet) and transportation (thank you, faster planes) play a role in all the food importing. And in many cases, it's just become much cheaper to pay for shipping food from distant countries, where wages are often lower and expensive environmental rules often laxer than in the U.S.

Our expanding population — and bellies — also has made feeding people cheaply more important. The U.S. has about 309 million residents, as of the 2010 U.S. Census. In 1990, that number was about 249 million.

There's also a shift in our food psychology. New Americans — those who have immigrated from Latin America and other countries — want the foods that they enjoyed back home. Not to mention that Americans in general have come to expect that they should be able to buy blueberries, spinach and other things even when they're not in season in the U.S.

"This is about the expectation that we're going to have raspberries when it's snowing in Ithaca," said Marion Nestle, a food studies professor at New York University.

Of course, the U.S. government still has high standards when it comes to dining on vittles that were created elsewhere.

For instance, while 85 percent of the apple juice we drink is imported, only about 7 percent of the apples we eat are. Andy Jerardo, an economist at the USDA, says that's because the juice often comes from China, which produces apples that are inferior for snacking but good for drinking.

And we still get the majority of American dinner staples like wine, red meat and veggies from within the U.S. The U.S. is more inclined to import foods that can be easily stored and won't spoil quickly. For example, 44 percent of the dry peas and lentils Americans consume are imported.

Also, we're much less likely to import foods that we already grow a lot of here. Indeed, only about 1 percent of the sweet potatoes we eat — which grow plentifully in states like California and North Carolina — come from outside the nation's borders. And basically all of our cranberries are from U.S. places like Massachusetts and Oregon.

But stuff like fruit and fish can be a little trickier to gauge.

The USDA's Kristy Plattner says the percentage of imported fruit has grown because we're eating more tropical fruits. That's a result of two things: More Americans have ties to Latino cultures and as a nation, we're becoming more adventurous eaters.

So, even though we consume fewer apples than we did 30 years ago (about 15.4 pounds per person in the 2010-11 season, down from 19.2 pounds in 1980-81), we eat more mangos (about 2.2 pounds, up from about one-fourth of 1 pound). We also chow on more limes, lemons, kiwi, papayas and avocados.

Fish importing has risen for another reason. The U.S. isn't building its aquaculture industry, or fish farms, as aggressively as some other countries.

Fish farms supply about half the world's seafood demand, including about half of U.S. imports, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. But in the U.S., our seafood farms meet less than 10 percent of the country's demand for seafood.

Lorenzo Juarez, deputy director of the NOAA's aquaculture office, says the U.S. has stricter environmental and safety standards for its farms. But that's not to say that the NOAA is opposed to U.S. fish farms.

In fact, the agency sees them as the best way to feed an expanding country, especially in light of USDA recommendations that Americans should expand their seafood intake.

"The amount of fish that can be had sustainably from the wild fisheries is set," Juarez said. "If we need to increase per-capita consumption, the only way this can happen is through aquaculture."

In other words, there are only so many fish in the sea.

 

Apple juice made in America? Think again. - Yahoo! Finance

[THE Mook]

It pains me to see this. I grew up in a family of crop farmers. My grandpa used to sell produce to Safeway and King Soopers. Is it that hard for America to buy American made produce?

 

The purchasors and decision makers in these companies need to be replaced, and their citizenship should be revoked.

 

CAN'T EVEN SELL MADE IN THE USA PRODUCE?

 

The Mook is now red-a___ed.

[Team Adam's]

Welcome to the commodity food system... it sucks. Buy local organic whenever possible. Let your wallet do the talking. Don't buy your groceries at sprawlmart, leave that made in china crap on the shelf.

[THE Mook]

Welcome to the commodity food system... it sucks. Buy local organic whenever possible. Let your wallet do the talking. Don't buy your groceries at sprawlmart, leave that made in china crap on the shelf.

 

Exactly. I usually buy from the Farmer's Markets in the summer, but well, it's cold here now. Sprouts and Sunflower and Whole Foods only go to a point.

 

If the veggie isn't , then I won't put it down my gullet!

[BlueGenCoupe]

No wonder why apple juice has had a bitter taste to it lately!

[THE Mook]

No wonder why apple juice has had a bitter taste to it lately!

 

that and all the Arsenic.

 

[Fierce5]

That sucks, we buy local too, NJ has a lot of farms and markets where you can get American local produce

[Golf for Life]

We Americans are well on the way to poisoning our selfs. I thought at one time that our food was inspected and is safe. Think again, never buy anything from china if I can avoid it. And absolutely NO food products. Cheep is not always good.

[Team Adam's]

I'm thankful, living in California, that we're pretty well stocked on produce choices.

 

Something like 18% of all US produce comes from here, so we have an excellent selection at most of our markets here, even the big chains all stock lots of local produce.

 

READ YOUR LABELS PEOPLE!! ITS IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHERE YOUR FOOD IS COMING FROM!!

 

The scariest one to me at the moment is seafood... we discussed this in another thread I think, last I checked every single 'fresh' seafood item at costco was imported from China or Vietnam.

 

 

World aquaculture is heavily dominated by the Asia–Pacific region, which accounts for 89 percent of production in terms of quantity and 77 percent in terms of value. This dominance is mainly due to China’s enormous production, which accounts for 67 percent of global production in terms of quantity and 49 percent of global value. China produces 77 percent of all carps (cyprinids) and 82 percent of the global supply of oysters (ostreids). The Asia–Pacific region accounts for 98 percent of carp, 95 percent of oyster production, and 88 percent of shrimps and prawns (penaeids). Norway and Chile are the world’s two leading producers of cultured salmons (salmonids), accounting for 33 and 31 percent, respectively, of world production.

[Golf for Life]

I'm thankful, living in California, that we're pretty well stocked on produce choices.

 

Something like 18% of all US produce comes from here, so we have an excellent selection at most of our markets here, even the big chains all stock lots of local produce.

 

READ YOUR LABELS PEOPLE!! ITS IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHERE YOUR FOOD IS COMING FROM!!

 

If they can't sell the Chinese food they will stop trying to sell it here.

[dipolley]

I went through the pantry just the other day and found only one item not from the US and that was some canned pineapple. I gave myself a pass on that. There are only a few foods that I think are acceptable to purchase that are not made in the USA. And that is food that just does not grow here. Like bannans or kiwi. If you buy foreign potatoes, your just an idiot.

[ssbusdrvr]

Live on an old Orange Grove and it is sad to see Groves not being replanted. Many froze out in the mid 80's and never were replanted.

Glad to have Floridas Natural 100% FL grown and processed and others available from local Groves. Nothing beats walking down the street picking and squeezing your own. Nah it's a PITA.;)You know how many oranges it takes to make one good glass of juice? LOL. Will drive to a local grove and let them do it. When in season,it is pure American Liquid Sunshine.

[07RS4]

Welcome to the commodity food system... it sucks. Buy local organic whenever possible. Let your wallet do the talking. Don't buy your groceries at sprawlmart, leave that made in china crap on the shelf.

 

That's good for you rich folk:lolsmack:

 

Let's see hear, I can go to WallyWorld and spend $200 worth of groceries that will last a week or two, or go to the local "organic" place and spend $600. It's not a tough decision for most people.

 

I'm sure you know this also, but what it takes to qualify as "organic" isn't that strict. I looked up the other day, in order for Egglands best eggs to qualify for "free range", means the chickens have to be exposed to the outside for 5 min a day. Egglands best eggs are no different than other eggs at three times the price. Just an example.

[07RS4]

I went through the pantry just the other day and found only one item not from the US and that was some canned pineapple. I gave myself a pass on that. There are only a few foods that I think are acceptable to purchase that are not made in the USA. And that is food that just does not grow here. Like bannans or kiwi. If you buy foreign potatoes, your just an idiot.

 

Everytime I go to Walmart or Sams, 90% of the fresh vegatables are made in the USA. I think the Walmart made in china thing kind of gets out there and people jump on the bandwagon without really knowing. Disney stuff is all made in China, I don't hear anyone not buying Disney movies for their kids? I could go on and on, but's it's usually Walmart that gets slammed.

[ChargerMatt]

I see your point, but as the article states, people want to buy produce when it's not in season.

[ssbusdrvr]

Disney stuff is all made in China, I don't hear anyone not buying Disney movies for their kids?

Agree. With the wife and daughter both working for Disney they hear me ***** all the time at many of the products that could so easily be produced on this end of globe yet are made in China(and many were at one time) They have these iced sugar cookies of characters that are really cool looking and individually wrapped. Bad enough that they aren't made in the parks like they used to be, but are made in China! It's a global marketplace but common man Cookies WT.? (Where's the palm on forehead smilie) and they are not cheap.