U.S. Balks At Prospect Of Imported Chinese Chickens
China is itching to sell their processed chickens directly to the U.S. market, an idea that doesn't exactly thrill our regulators or representatives. Congress banned the import of processed Chinese chickens in 2007, ruffling Beijing's feathers to the point where they're now considering a retaliatory ban on U.S. chickens. Since we're in a recession and Congress doesn't want domestic chicken exporters to lose over a half-billion dollars next year, they may let the Chinese chickens come here to roost.
[James H. Sumner, president of the Georgia-based USA Poultry & Egg Export Council] says the potential ban appears to be tied to a provision in the most recent U.S. spending bill that prohibits the USDA from allowing Chinese chicken plants to send poultry products to the U.S. Lawmakers question whether China's chicken processing plants meet U.S. standards.
A ban on U.S. chicken would be the latest example of food safety and trade colliding. In recent months the U.S. has been under pressure from lawmakers and trade groups to crack down on goods coming from China. China has responded with allegations of U.S. protectionism.
The potential ban could be a big blow to the U.S. chicken industry, which has been struggling with high grain prices and a price-depressing oversupply of chicken. Exports had been a bright spot for the industry, and last year China surpassed Russia as the largest destination for U.S. chicken, according to the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council.
The House's position is clear: they don't want the U.S. importing chickens processed in China. The Senate's version of the Agriculture appropriations bill would allow imports if the U.S.D.A. audits the Chinese factories and certifies that they meet U.S. standards, because inspection and certification has a long and successful track record of working in China.
The issue will be resolved in conference, but for the moment, we'll just be glad that Congress gave us country-of-origin labeling.
Senate, House differ on China chicken ban [The Hill]
China Is Expected to Block Imports of Chicken From U.S. [The Wall Street Journal]
(Photo: dooleymtv)
Post a comment
Comments:
Um. So we don't want to import Chinese chickens, but they want to sell them to us. This indicates there is a market for their chicken here, or at least they seem to think there's room for their chicken in the market.
Meanwhile, our own chicken producers want to export to China, and are afraid of losing a lot of money not being able to.
If there's room in the market for more chickens here then, why don't we just...eat our own chickens? Then we don't HAVE to export them, lose money by not exporting them, OR import China's chickens.
Regardless, sooner or later we have to start being a little more hard-line about denyin this stuff inspite of threats from China not to buy OUR stuff. They aren't going to improve their standards and practices without incentive, and we're not giving them one by refusing to buy their junk.
So besides the possible swine/bird flu concerns, could feeding the birds the cheaper and possibly tainted grain/feed in China affect us health wise?
And once the audit is done and the inspectors go home, so do the proceses that cost anything more than $zero.
Haven't we had to put up with enough poison already? We haven't even cleaned up the industrial waste that China turned into drywall and ruined tens of thousands of homes with.
Now we will have to check the meals out and the packages at the supermarket for the Skull and crossbones AKA "made in china".
@Sidecutter: We sell China the actual chickens, unprocessed. They want to sell us processed chickens. They can process them much cheaper than we can here. The two products are not the same.
I have no problem importing Chinese Chickens! I do however think it should be a crime to Buy, Sell, Consume, or Touch Chickens from countries without adequate food safety.
I don't know what people are worried about. Melamine tastes GREAT with McNuggets.
The only time I would consider any food from China would be if I was trying to kill myself.
How about we let them sell us their chicken when they fix the last batch of deadly products they sold us.
I don't really understand this. If we already make enough chicken here to export to China, why would we even need to buy chicken from them? And if China has enough chicken to export to us, why do they import our chicken?? My brain hurts.
Oh, no! Not the City Chicken!
So we're allowing the import of chickens from China so we can still export our chickens to China?
@TurboWagon00: rich chinese people/US expats who don't trust chinese chickens and are willing to pay the premium for something that isn't soaked with antibiotic/chemicals, though it's not like some USA chickens are soaked with chemicals too
@Sidecutter: lol, if you have never listened to Brian Regan's Log Trucks bit, you really should, because you pretty much just recreated it for chickens.
[www.last.fm]
Yes. Which the chinese will sell at a fraction of the price because the chickens are fed low-grade cheap feed contiminated with God-know-what instead of inspected feed grain (as it is here in the states). Then they'll slaughter them and pump them full of excess water to increase the weight, then flash freeze them.
Finally- off to Wal-Mart's all over the US, where they can sell it for $0.99 a lb.
And people will buy it and poison themselves.
First they poisoned the pets.
Then they poisoned the kids.
They built wallboard of poisonous waste for our homes. \
Now they're out to poison our dinner.
This pretty much lays out the hostile relationship that US meat packing conglomerates have towards their consumer-victims. They lobby to allow substandard, probably toxic produce to be injected into the US food supply in spite of repeated cases of it turning out badly for Americans. So long as their export markets aren't curtailed.
I suppose they got tired of poisoning their own populace (remember the days, only a decade or so ago when we could eat medium-rare meat without risking illness? Sigh...), and are eager to see how tough the Chinese digestive systems are.
On the bright side, Wal-Mart must be skipping in their corporate hallways in anticipation of off-shoring yet more American jobs overseas. It's nice to see somebody's happy about this.
@NeoNess: Satisfy *. :(
Like Kurosawa I make mad films, okay I don't make films, but if I did they'd have a samurai!
I never understand this. If China is the second biggest buyer of U.S. chickens, this means that China has a big need for chickens, yet the Chinese have enough of their own chickens to sell back to us? Why don't they just buy their own chickens?
And its all well and good to say that Chinese processing plants will be monitored, but we all know that they will not be. The U.S. does not have the human resources necessary to examine all the pharmaceutical plants in china, let alone look at food processing. If we are looking to poison our people, then by all means, let the Chinese chickens in.
That picture is just hilarious.
I think the problem will be the fact that the Chinese are probably going to pad their chickens weight. With lead.
What's wrong with feeding chickens radioactive drywall?
You are being very ethnocentric, my friend. Now excuse me while I go eat Burger King's new glow-in-the-dark chicken nuggets.
@Raekwon: It seems to me that the cost-differential could be worked out if they would employ locals to process their own chickens. Employing the consumers they're targeting means more money in the pool for their business to grow - even if it does mean we have to suck it up and pay ten cents more for processed chicken.
Why @TancredoHelmer: Yea, it makes no sense. The only explanation is that the people in China don't trust their own chicken and purposely avoid it and pay more for US chicken. Which means it would be stupid for us to buy their chicken.
And if feed is cheaper in china, it makes sense just to ship in feed from china and raise the chickens here.
I have to agree with the sentiment that it's better to eat our own damned chickens than the Chinese ones. What the hell is wrong with that half a bil in chickens that makes it necessary to sell them to China?
The news about meat just gets better and better. Chinese Swine Flu Chicken Nuggets -- It's What's For Dinner!
from the first link: "The rule would allow processed chicken imports from China so long as the chicken originally came from either the U.S. or Canada."
ok so this would permit US chicken farmers to send chicken to china to be cooked and processed and then sent back to us to eat?
i can't see how international shipping of frozen chicken carcasses could possibly be better for the economy than processing them inside the US and providing jobs here, as well as the chicken being a lot ... fresher? when it gets to the grocery freezer or canned meat or soup shelf?
sure, maybe we'd need to build new processing plants here... ALSO providing domestic employment
outsourcing our food just seems irresponsible to me
@catastrophegirl - just add kittens: oops! sorry - looks like it would involve shipping LIVE chickens to china [wouldn't that cost MORE?] : "on-site review of slaughter and processing facilities,"
@Corporate_guy: Another layer of irony is that Chinese consumers are too smart to opt for Chinese-raised chicken when they can at all avoid it.
Whilst Wal-Mart shoppers hurtle thru the warning signs, heedless.
@undefined: Gonna find the kind with tiny nubs just so my irons arent always flying off the back-swing
The filth and crap that US chickens are processed in are bad enough. I would fear for my safety fo shizzle if China was allowed to import chicken here. I can control what i buy at the store, but what about if restaurants serve it? we would have no way of knowing.
@starrion: Hear hear. I'm sick and tired of hearing these stories about toxic and dangerous products coming from China.
We should ban imports of ALL foreign goods from any country without proper safety procedures that can be verified by U.S. inspectors.
@taking_this_easy: You're saying that there are enough rich chinese people and expats that ALSO don't trust Chinese chickens enough to account for half a billion dollars of imported chicken every year??? I don't believe that for one second!
@Radi0logy: We sell them chickens. They process them and sell some back to us. That is what I believe this is discussing.
I'm fine with any Chinese chicken as long as it's name is Chickety China.
/I'm sorry.