10/29/2008

melamine, the revenge of the abject

Ubiquitous! Probably it is the best word to describe the usage of melamine in China. As the milk scandal hasn't faded away from the public eyes yet, its trace has been discovered in eggs. How safe the food in China now?!

Many topics have been discussed since the milk scandal broke out. Lack of efficient supervision, loopholes in the chain of quality control and law enforcement, corruption, and degeneration of morality, all of those factors are linked with this melodrama unprecedented in the public sphere.

Suddenly, a lot of city dwellers who are used to purchasing fresh milk and egg in supermarket have realized that those basic products in our daily menu are polluted in a uncanny way, that inside those polished and well-advertised food packages, the real stuff that will enter into their bodies are tainted!

So, as an ordinary consumer, what can I do? To avoid such processed food as much as possible? Anyway, it's ridiculous to pay those basic products with the price that are largely to cover the cost of food processing, marketing and distribution, and other fees not related to the food itself. Quite unlikely, as long as I'm a city dweller, without means to produce those food by myself. Turning to organic food? Too expensive, and who can guarantee its quality.

No wonder nowadays, a lot of city dwellers in China, especially those with private cars will go to rural areas at the weekend, to enjoy not only fresh air and scenic spots, but a meal made by local farmers in their courtyard with their own produces. 农家乐, happy as we go!

In a world that the fake and faulted food keep popping up, such a meal, made directly from freshly picked vegetable from backyards of farmers and their own preserved rice or maize are supposed to be organic and authentic, healthy without additives, safe because they are not sold in the market but being preserved for self-consumption.

The best way is of course DIY from the bottom, so it's trendy now in some advanced countries for a city dweller to return to the rural area. Living in a idyllic self-sustained way of life sounds attractive for those being disillusioned by the playful cosmopolitan city. That's the decoupling process, isn't it, from the world of modern consumerism, to a simple and frugal, but real and down-to-earth life, just like what the financial crisis teaches us not to trust those fanciful derivatives saturated in the virtual world, but be more prudent and realistic on money issue.

However, such a prospect is quite unimaginable in China, as the development of the rural area in general is far lagged behind the urban area. For those who are concerned too much about when China will enter into the club of the first world, and ignoring reality in its rural development, perhaps the best and direct refutation is to say only when Chinese city dwellers want to be farmers.

It is from this stand point, that one will see something more than itself in this melamine havoc. Those who add it into animal feed, thus leaving its trail in eggs and meat, those who taint milk with it, and those who put whatever illegal material into food without having been detected, are obviously criminals. However, there are so many of them, given the scale of its usage. It must have become a subculture, largely unnoticed but nevertheless having been existed for a while.

Those who turn to such loathsome means to own their livings and probably even make fortunes, who are they? Which social stratum are they in?

Doesn't this chemical stuff that is now permeating everywhere in our daily life embody the revenge of our ignorance of the abject poverty at the bottom of our society?

10/09/2008

the first legal case of milk scandal

A couple in Guangdong has decided to sue Sanlu Group for producing adulterated milk powder, which has resulted in kidney stone of their child, this report says.  It is the first legal case since the milk scandal broke out in August. 

The couple has appealed to claim financial compensation worth RMB 900,000.00 from Sanlu Group and China Diary Industry Association, but the case hasn't been accepted immediately by the middle-level people's court in Guangzhou as the amount is less than 50 million RMB - the entry-level for such a case. According to the report, after the lawyer made some effort on emphasizing the uniqueness of the case, the local court finally received the legal file, and promised to reconsider whether or not it will be formally entering into legal procedures. 

It's an open end for the first step. Could it be rolled into a collective lawsuit against Sanlu Group and other manufacturers? Let's see.