Wheat Gluten imports up 30 times 2001 numbers - receive 16 times less inspections..

[Junkdrawer]

Tip of the hat to mhatrw...


Wheat Gluten Imports From China Up from 0.6 million in 2001 to 19.6 million in 2006! Chinese wheat gluten imports to the US more than DOUBLED between 2005 (8.2 million) and 2006 (19.6 million) alone!


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=560863&mesg_id=568336


The FDA inspects about 1% of the imported foods it regulates, down from 8% in 1992 when imports were far less common. In contrast, the United States Department of Agriculture, which is responsible for meat and poultry, inspected almost 16% of those imported foods in fiscal 2006. The FDA covers most other foods, about 80% of the nation's food supply. The FDA also doesn't require that exporting countries have safety systems equivalent to those in the USA. The USDA does that for countries that export meat and poultry, and the Government Accountability Office — the investigative arm of Congress — has said for at least a decade that the FDA should, too.


....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=560863&mesg_id=568421

[blm]

1. Thank US/China Chamber of Commerce - led by Uncle Prescott Bush back then.

IMO, Poppy Bush sold the US out to Chinese industrialists in the 70s in the effort to move towards global fascism.

Thus we have the enormous growth of WalMart shortly after Poppy's time spent in China, and his brother's continued efforts focused in China.

[Junkdrawer]

7. Regulations cutting into your profit margins? Move the factory to China....

Welcome to The Jungle....

http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/1884365302.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_OU01_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

[Codeine]

11. To be fair

the Chinese have been making wheat gluten forever. If any production is "moved" it would pretty much be the other direction.

[Junkdrawer]

14. If you buy 30 times more of a commodity from China, many of the US plants...

that used to make that commodity will slow down or shut down.

That's usually referred to as "moving the factory offshore".

[Codeine]

15. We're importing more

because we've never made much of it and demand for gluten has skyrocketed. The Chinese make it by the metric assload, so it's where everybody goes to buy the stuff.

But I'll humor you; how many American gluten factories have closed down recently? Two? Five? Three hundred? Or are you just making stuff up?

[Junkdrawer]

16. So, demand has increased 30 times in six years? Cite your figures. n/t

[Codeine]

17. You've made the unsupportable statement.

Demand has obviously increased 30X -- the imports make that much clear. It's your postulate that this has somehow damaged domestic gluten production, a statement that you cannot back up at all.

I'll ask again; how many gluten production facilities in the US have closed? I'm willing to be proven wrong, so let's see your information.

[Junkdrawer]

19. "Demand has obviously increased 30X" - prove it. n/t

[Junkdrawer]

20. Here's an article from 2001 about the struggling US Wheat Gluten industry...

...

"This innovative program demonstrates the Administration’s commitment to help workers, agricultural communities, and small- and mid-sized businesses that are trying to adjust to import surges," U.S. Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick said today. "By providing this assistance, we promote the recovery of a U.S. industry and its transition into new product lines without exposing our exporters to trade retaliation. This is an example of how we can use our trade laws to help industries meet import competition, without risks to American exporters."

....


http://www.ustr.gov/Document_Library/Press_Releases/2001/June/Bush_Administration_Helps_Wheat_Gluten_Industry_Restore_Its_Competitiveness.html

[Junkdrawer]

21. More on the Wheat Gluten industry's problems...

...

During the 1990s (US) wheat gluten processing capacity increased
by almost 62%, from 162.8 million pounds in 1993 to
273.9 million pounds in 1997 (USITC). Virtually all of this
increase can be attributed to the new Midwest Grain facility in
Illinois and the development of Heartland in Kansas. However,
the Wheat Gluten Industry Council (WGIC) reported that
capacity utilization between 1993 and 1997 dropped from
78.4% to 44.5%. These three factors -- the few large companies
controlling the gluten industry, increased capacity, and the
decline in capacity utilization -- have limited the opportunities for
other firms to profitably enter the domestic market. Balzer and
Stiegert contribute these factors, along with reduced domestic
ethanol incentives (for cleaner burning fuels) and increased
gluten imports, to declining domestic gluten prices.


http://pods.dasnr.okstate.edu/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-961/F-559web.pdf

[Codeine]

25. As I said,

I was willing to be proven wrong, and I have been. Game, set, and match to Junkdrawer. :)

[mhatrw]

23. Why is "demand must be up" your default?

You are being silly and not thinking critically. Beyond that, the evidence is clear that you are completely wrong.

[mhatrw]

22. Several. Nor is demand for wheat gluten up.

Chinese wheat gluten is simply cheaper, and US wheat gluten manufacturers had to basically change over to "boutique" wheat protein products to survive. Please educate yourself a little on this subject.

[HockeyMom]

2. Del Monte

If it is "food grade" in Del Monte pet foods, it isn't in ours? Del Monte is a major brand of human food.

[matt819]

3. Follow the money

I'd bet a dollar to a gluten-free donut that the US money invested in the Chinese gluten firms can be tracked back to * and cronies. Step one would be to identify the lobbyists working on behalf of the Chinese exporters and US importers to reduce the inspections, etc. Anyone with some spare time?

[Junkdrawer]

4. The cited posts suggest ADM. n/t

[Demoiselle]

9. It's time to take the "Global Economy" and shove it. (eom)

[Hubert Flottz]

5. Dick and the Mongo will keep us safe!

Trust Them!

[Lone_Star_Dem]

6. Hey, it's only wheat gluten.

How much harm can it do?

:banghead:

[Junkdrawer]

24. I wonder how much sub-lethal, chronic poisoning we're exposed to...

Enough to give you, say, colon cancer after 10 years, but not enough to send you to the ER after a given meal.

[rainbow4321]

8. 70% of wheat gluten in US is imported....cheaper gluten from elsewhere

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=562190&mesg_id=562190

[mhatrw]

10. Thanks for the repost. This is some seriously ridiculous shit.

"Let them eat waste." -- BushCo's FDA

[Junkdrawer]

13. Wheat Gluten will be the tip of the iceberg....

We eat factory produced food. Only a few distributors process farm products into the pre-processed inputs of the food factories.

If you can avoid health and safety regulations as well as US wage rates by moving the factories offshore.....

[kestrel91316]

12. FDA and USDA know how to do their jobs, and WANT to do their jobs,

BUT BUSH WON'T LET THEM.

His friends make too much money by producing substandard products. Bush probably does, too, in his "blind" trust.

[kimmerspixelated]

18. This stinks!

And methinks I smell a rat!