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000 - Introduction

aboutdogs — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 16:19:33 CST

► About Dogs ◄

About Dogs

Community Guide

Jesus Christ is God's ONLY provision for man's sin.

He Died in Our Place "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

He Rose From the Dead

"Christ died for our sins...He was buried...He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures...He appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred..." (1 Corinthians 15:3-6).

He Is the Only Way to God "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me' " (John 14:6).

◄ Go Home | Getting Started ►

About Dogs Community Guide - Welcome Dog Lovers !

aboutdogs — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 06:00:34 CST

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About Dogs

Community Guide

Lord Jesus, I want to know You personally. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to You and ask You to come in as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be.

Can't imagine your home without your dog?

Are you an incurable dogs enthusiast? So are we!

Our dogs sure do a lot of work around the house --
an alarm system, lap warmer, exercise machine, lawn tiller, and master of their domain --

Just admit it; your dog owns you.

Now what?

``Join this community growing Guide!

``Add your Dog to the About Dogs X-Pen Round-Up!

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► About Dogs Community Guide Menu ◄

What's on the Menu?

000 - Introduction

S - 01 Getting Started

Chapter 001 - John

Chapter 002 - Mixes and ?
Chapter 003 - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Chapter 004 - Galleries
Chapter 005 - Links

More About Dogs ...

Chapter 006 - Care Basics

Chapter 007 - Certifications, Registries, and Shows
Chapter 008 - Considering a Dog or Puppy?
Chapter 009 - Dog Politics and Specifics
Chapter 010 - Equipment and Supplies
Chapter 011 - Food, Recipes, and Treats
Chapter 012 - Graphics, Public Domain, and Snags

Chapter 013 - Grooming Health and Wellness
Chapter 014 - History of Domesticated Canines
Chapter 015 - How to
Chapter 016 - Jokes, Humor and Major Silliness
Chapter 017 - News!
Chapter 018 - Pet Loss, Spiritual, and Tributes
Chapter 019 - Picking a Veterinarian, Prevention, and Treatment
Chapter 020 - Puppies!
Chapter 021 - Rescue Organizations, Shelters, and Adoptions
Chapter 022 - Research and Resources
Chapter 023 - Responsible Breeding Practice
Chapter 024 - Responsible Stewardship and Ambassadors
Chapter 025 - Site Citings
Chapter 026 - Sports, Competition, and Recreation
Chapter 027 - Toys and Gifts
Chapter 028 - Training, Behavior, and Problems
Chapter 029 - Traveling with Dogs
Chapter 030 - X Pen Dog Citations
X-Pen Round-Up

X-Pen Round-Up!

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Whatever you decide.
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About Dogs Moderators

Ch. 005 - Links

aboutdogs — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 05:51:48 CST

► About Dogs ◄

About Dogs

Community Guide

Please Do Feel Free to Add Links!

Noncommercial Clubs, Blogs, Web Sites, Forums, Articles, Services,

Resources, Research, and Other Dog Enthusiasts Materials.

Name of Resource
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Comments

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Ch. 001 - John

aboutdogs — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 05:47:23 CST

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AKC Sporting Group

scottishterrier — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 05:57:02 CDT

► About Dogs ◄

AKC Breeds by Group

Sporting Group

Naturally active and alert, Sporting dogs make likeable, well-rounded companions. Members of the Group include pointers, retrievers, setters and spaniels. Remarkable for their instincts in water and woods, many of these breeds actively continue to participate in hunting and other field activities. Potential owners of Sporting dogs need to realize that most require regular, invigorating exercise.

American Water Spaniel
Brittany
Chesapeake Bay Retriever
Clumber Spaniel
Cocker Spaniel
Curly-Coated Retriever
English Cocker Spaniel
English Setter
Field Spaniel Flat-Coated Retriever German Shorthaired Pointer
Golden Retriever
Gordon Setter
Irish Setter
Irish Water Spaniel
Labrador Retriever
Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever
Pointer
Spinone Italiano
Sussex Spaniel
Vizsla
Weimaraner
Welsh Springer Spaniel
Wirehaired Pointing Griffon

Please Do Feel Free to Add Links!

Sporting Group Noncommercial Clubs, Blogs, Web Sites, Forums, Articles,

Services, Resources, Research, and Other Dog Enthusiasts Materials.

Name of Resource	Material Type	Description	Comments
Dog Adoption Guide , Pedigree	Interactive Questionnaire	Take the Profiler to narrow your choices to the Group which you can best care for. Is a Terrier really right for you?	ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss are not for everyone. It is essential that one has the patience to care properly for these fiery, challenging breeds.
Select-A-Dog Questionnaire, Pedigree	Interactive Questionnaire	Narrow your choices down to a list of the top 10 breeds best for you and your lifestyle.	Did you match a Scottish Terrier in your top 10 selections? Is a Scottie really the right breed for you?

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~ Max, The Mutt (Example)

scottishterrier — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 05:28:42 CDT

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Max the Mutt

About Me!

Hometown:

Jones Cove, TN

Breed:

Hounddoggy Mutt

Year Born:

2002

Website:

Making one here

Favorite Links:

Coming soon

Interests:

Hunting, Swimming, Fetching

Music:

Ole Time Rock-N-Roll

Movies:

Old Yellar

Books:

Where the Wild Things Are

Websites:

Making one here

Food:

Old Roy, People Food

Quotes:

Oh Yeah? Just watch me!

Want to Meet:

Lots of Doggy Friends!

Wishlist:

A best friend of my very own

Vacation:

Camping in Florida

Superpower:

Fly

Admire:

Loyalty

Hero:

Baxter

Likes:

Cookies! Running, Jumping, Hunting, and Howling.

Dislikes:

Squirrels and Cats!

My Friends:

◄ Back to X-Pen

S - 03 Pet Poisonings!

scottishterrier — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 20:10:34 CDT

► About Dogs Home ◄

About Dogs

Community Guide

The Pet Connection

Now, write and call all levels of government to get on board.

This is a bi-partisan issue, transcending political differences. The majority of American have pets. And all Americans eat. We need to fix what’s broken.

Itchmos The Pet Recall Help Page

ASPCA Pet Food Recall Resource Center

04/12/2007 Listen to the April 12 Hearing on Pet Food Safety

Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies

Please DO Add Pet Food Poisoning and Recall Links Here!

Name of Resource
Material Type
Description
Comments

The Pet Connection http://www.petconnection.com/

Pet-food recall: What Pet Lovers need to know

The site who is organizing for pet lovers a mass of resources and reporting databases.
Pet-food recall: Get the food off the shelves

The Pet Connection Blog
Itchmo
Howl911
Pet Food Tracker
PetSitUSA
The Pet Food List
Spocko’s Brain
Dogged

Pet Lover Sites and Blogs more current than the FDA, News Media, Veterinarians, and Congress for resources and breaking news!

Every day since the first recall was announced on March 17, we here at Pet Connection have been informal members of a team of Web sites whose owners wanted to help. None of us ever heard of the other before, but we all somehow found our niche and together, we provided more support than any one of us alone could have.
Please use these links for the very latest.

The Farm & Ranch Guide
Pet food mishap shows reason for COOL
_____________________

The Pet Connection
Pet-food recall: Country of origin labeling
Agriculture Guide website
_________________

A Blog with all pet related news and information

Consumer Rights for all (human) food ingredients labels to have country of origin listed
For more information see
USDA site - Country of Origin Labeling (COOL)
and
Americans for Country of Origin Labeling
Labeling Law and Information

Food manufacturers have long held the belief that American consumers want the cheapest food available.
This mishap with pet food can serve as a wakeup call that using the cheapest food ingredients can actually become a costly mistake.
The wheat gluten that caused the deaths of the pets did not come from the United States.
Country of Origin Labeling is one way to assure that Americans have the opportunity to purchase food raised in the United States.

Human Food Production

scottishterrier — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 06:02:31 CDT

Compromised Human and Pet Food Supply
A True Bread and Butter and Homeland Security Story

Who will show leadership ?

Implement the Full Food Spectrum Truth in Labeling

Farm Bill 2007 - Stimulate Our US Food Producers

Block Suspect Countries' Food Imports

Hire more USDA and FDA Inspectors and Supporting Staff

Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies

Democratic Subcommittee Members:

Senator Herb Kohl (Chairman) (WI)

Senator Tom Harkin (IA)

Senator Byron Dorgan (ND)

Senator Dianne Feinstein (CA)

Senator Richard Durbin (IL)

Senator Tim Johnson (SD)

Senator Ben Nelson (NE)

Senator Jack Reed (RI)

Republican Subcommittee Members:

Senator Robert Bennett (Ranking Member) (UT)

Senator Thad Cochran (MS)

Senator Arlen Specter (PA)

Senator Christopher Bond (MO)

Senator Mitch McConnell (KY)

Senator Larry Craig (ID)

Senator Sam Brownback (KS)

Officials: Pet Food Poison May Have Been Intentional
http://abcnews .go. com /Health/ story?id=3058844&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312
Posted for Fair Use Purposes Only, Please see the site for more. By David Kerley and Brian Hartman, ABC News

"...
April 19, 2007 — - For the first time, investigators are saying the chemical that has sickened and killed pets in the United States may have been intentionally added to pet food ingredients by Chinese producers.

Food and Drug Administration investigators say the Chinese companies may have spiked products with the chemical melamine so that they would appear, in tests, to have more value as protein products.

Officials now suspect this possibility because a second ingredient from China, rice protein concentrate, has tested positive for melamine. So has corn gluten shipped to South Africa.

That means there is a possibility for another round of recalls.

The FDA's top veterinarian, Stephen Sundlof, says finding melamine in so many products "would certainly lend credibility to the theory that it was maybe intentional."

Melamine, which is used to make plastics in the United States and as a fertilizer in Asia, contains nitrogen. Nitrogen can appear to boost the level of protein in products.

The revelations have led the FDA to expand the number of products it is testing as they enter the United States. So far, those inspections at the border have not turned up any melamine in wheat gluten.

Tainted wheat gluten used by Menu Foods is suspected in sickening hundreds, if not thousands of pets.

Some of the tainted pet food has apparently made it into feed for hogs. Federal agencies are trying to determine if it was actually fed to animals and whether it may have reached the human food supply.
..."

Contact All Levels of Government

Please DO add Links Relating to the USA Food Supply Poisonings

Name of Resource

Material Type

Description

Comments

The Farm & Ranch Guide
Pet food mishap shows reason for COOL
_____________________

The Pet Connection
Pet-food recall: Country of origin labeling

Agriculture Guide website
_________________

A Blog with all pet related news and information

Consumer Rights for all (human) food ingredients labels to have country of origin listed
For more information see
USDA site -
Country of Origin Labeling (COOL)
and
Americans for Country of Origin Labeling
Labeling Law and Information

Food manufacturers have long held the belief that American consumers want the cheapest food available.
This mishap with pet food can serve as a wakeup call that using the cheapest food ingredients can actually become a costly mistake.
The wheat gluten that caused the deaths of the pets did not come from the United States.
Country of Origin Labeling is one way to assure that Americans have the opportunity to purchase food raised in the United States.
The Pet Connection http://www.petconnection.com/
Pet-food recall: What Pet Lovers need to know
The site who is organizing for pet lovers a mass of resources and reporting databases.
Pet-food recall: Get the food off the shelves

The Pet Connection Blog

Itchmo

Howl911

Pet Food Tracker

PetSitUSA

The Pet Food List

Spocko’s Brain

Dogged

Pet Lover Sites and Blogs more current than the FDA, News Media, Veterinarians, and Congress for resources and breaking news!

Every day since the first recall was announced on March 17, we here at Pet Connection have been informal members of a team of Web sites whose owners wanted to help. None of us ever heard of the other before, but we all somehow found our niche and together, we provided more support than any one of us alone could have.

All Links and Articles posted for FAIR USE PURPOSES ONLY
Archival
See the original site for more

Source: Food industry - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Traditionally, over thousands of years, food production was centered around two ... Chiquita Brands International, another US based fruit company, ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_industry - 35k - Cached - Similar pages

Food industry From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

The food industry is the complex, global collective of diverse businesses that together supply much of the food energy consumed by the world population. Only subsistence farmers, those who survive on what they grow, can be considered outside of the scope of the modern food industry.

The food industry includes:

Regulation: local, regional, national and international rules and regulations for food production and sale, including food quality and food safety, and industry lobbying activities
Education: academic, vocational, consultancy
Research and development: food technology
Financial services insurance, credit
Manufacturing: agrichemicals, seed, farm machinery and supplies, agricultural construction, etc.
Agriculture: raising of crops and livestock, seafood
Food processing: preparation of fresh products for market, manufacture of prepared food products
Marketing: promotion of generic products (e.g. milk board), new products, public opinion, through advertising, packaging, public relations, etc
Wholesale and distribution: warehousing, transportation, logistics
Retail: supermarket chains and independent food stores, direct-to-consumer, restaurant, food services

Contents

1 Overview
2 Definitions
3 Industry size
4 Agriculture
5 Food processing
6 Wholesale and distribution
7 Retail
8 Food industry technologies
9 Marketing
10 Regulation
11 Labour and education
12 Research and development
13 Prominent Food Companies
14 References
15 External links

Overview

Essentially, the food industry involves the commercial movement of food from field to fork. The modern food industry is the result of technological and cultural changes that have occurred over the last 150 years.

Traditionally, over thousands of years, food production was centered around two activities:

Labor-intensive agricultural activities, the farming of grain, produce and livestock;
Personal food preparation, where individuals and families acquire raw and minimally processed ingredients, and prepare them for their own consumption.

A significant percentage of the population was directly involved in farming, and in the process, many people actually fed themselves, from field to table. By contrast, the modern food industry relies far more on technology, particularly on mechanization and biochemistry, than on human and animal labor. In this way, food is raised, manipulated, preserved and moved around, resulting in a food industry that is to a great degree global in nature, with food and related resources travelling great distances. For example, farm machinery and parts from Europe and agrichemicals from the US may routinely travel to farms in South America, where farm products are raised and shipped to North America for fresh market consumption, or for use in processed foods which may then travel to further points around the world. The point at which foods are gathered and prepared has also become fragmented: much of what we eat has already been assembled for consumption.

This modern food system relies heavily on technology, transportation, management and logistics for physical fulfillment, and on marketing and government regulation for maintaining an efficient consumer market. An incredibly wide range of businesses and individuals are employed by and profit from all aspects of this huge and complex system. A tremendous amount of governmental regulation and administration is also involved in this continual flow of materials, food products, and related information.

Definitions

Food industry is not a formally defined term, however, it is usually used in a broadly inclusive way to cover all aspects of food production and sale. The Food Standards Agency, a government body in the UK, describes it thus:"...the whole food industry – from farming and food production, packaging and distribution, to retail and catering."[1] The Economic Research Service of the USDA uses the term food system to describe the same thing:"The U.S. food system is a complex network of farmers and the industries that link to them. Those links include makers of farm equipment and chemicals as well as firms that provide services to agribusinesses, such as providers of transportation and financial services. The system also includes the food marketing industries that link farms to consumers, and which include food and fiber processors, wholesalers, retailers, and foodservice establishments."[2].

Industry size

Processed food sales worldwide are approximately US$3.2 trillion (2004).

In the U.S., consumers spend approximately US$1 trillion annually for food, [3] or nearly 10 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Over 16.5 million people are employed in the food industry

Agriculture

Main article: Agriculture

Agriculture is the process of producing food, feed, fiber and other desired products by the cultivation of certain plants and the raising of domesticated animals (livestock). The practice of agriculture is also known as "farming", while scientists, inventors and others devoted to improving farming methods and implements are also said to be engaged in agriculture. More people in the world are involved in agriculture as their primary economic activity than in any other, yet it only accounts for four percent of the world's GDP.

Food processing

Main article: Food processing

Food processing is the methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food for human consumption. Food processing takes clean, harvested or slaughtered and butchered components and uses them to produce marketable food products.

Wholesale and distribution

A vast global transportation network is required by the food industry in order to connect its numerous parts. These include suppliers, manufacturers, warehousing, retailers and the end consumers.

Retail

With populations around the world concentrating in urban areas,[4] food buying is increasingly removed from all aspects food production. This is a relatively recent development, taking place mainly over the last 50 years. The supermarket is a defining retail element of the food industry, where tens of thousands of products are gathered in one location, in continuous, year-round supply.

Food preparation is another area where change in recent decades has been dramatic. Today, two food industry sectors are in apparent competition for the retail food dollar. The grocery industry sell fresh and largely raw products for consumers to use as ingredients in home cooking. The food service industry offers prepared food, either as finished products, or as partially prepared components for final "assembly".

Food industry technologies

Sophisticated technologies define modern food production. They include many areas. Agricultural machinery, originally led by the tractor, has practically eliminated human labor in many areas of production. Biotechnology is driving much change, in areas as diverse as agrichemicals, plant breeding and food processing. Many other areas of technology are also involved, to the point where it is hard to find an area that does not have a direct impact on the food industry. Computer technology is also a central force, with computer networks and specialized software providing the support infrastructure to allow global movement of the myriad components involved.

Marketing

As consumers grow increasingly removed from food production, the role of product creation, advertising, publicity become the primary vehicles for information about food. With processed food as the dominant category, marketers have almost infinite possibilities in product creation.

Regulation

The smooth flow of international trade is critical to the functioning of the modern food industry. Government regulations have to be synchronized to some greater degree to allow this.

Labour and education

Until the last 100 years, agriculture was labor intensive. Farming was a common occupation. Food production flowed from millions of farms. Farmers, largely trained from generation to generation, carried on the family business. That situation has changed dramatically. In North America, over 50% of the population were farm families only a few decades ago; now, that figure is around 1-2%, and some 80% of the population lives in cities. The food industry as a complex whole requires an incredibly wide range of skills. Several hundred occupation types exist within the food industry.

Research and development

Research in agricultural and food processing technologies happens in great part in university research environments. Projects are often funded by companies from the food industry. There is therefore a direct relationship between the academic and commercial sectors, as far as scientific research.

Prominent Food

Monsanto is a leading producer of pesticide, seeds, and other farming products.

Both Archer Daniels Midland and Cargill process grain into animal feed and a diverse group of products. ADM also provides agricultural storage and transportation services, while Cargill operates a finance wing.

Bunge is a global soybean exporter and is also involved in food processing, grain trading, and fertilizer.

Dole Food Company is the world's largest fruit company. Chiquita Brands International, another US based fruit company, is the leading distributor of bananas in the United States. Sunkist Growers, Incorporated is a U.S. based grower’s cooperative.

Tyson Foods is the world’s largest processor and marketer of chicken and the largest beef exporter from the United States. Smithfield is the world's largest pork processor and hog producer.

Nestlé is the world's largest food and beverage company. The Altria Group owns 88.1% of Kraft Foods, the largest U.S. based food and beverage company. Unilever is an Anglo-Dutch company that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods and beverages

Sysco Corporation, mainly catering to North America and Canada, is one of the world's largest food distributor.

References

Economic Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture
^ "Industry", Food Standards Agency (UK).
" Food market structures: Overview", Economic Research Service (USDA)
^ Food Industry Overview, Plunkett Research. Retrieved 17 February 2006.
World Urbanization Prospects: The 2003 Revision, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (United Nations).

External links

Agribusiness, Food Industry and Forest Industry Associations on the Internet (1998)
Food processing knowledge portal
Food Business Review
Portal for the Food Industry
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_industry"

Category: Food industry

Cite this article

This page was last modified 16:04, 31 March 2007.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details.)
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a US-registered 501(c)(3) tax-deductible nonprofit charity.

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About Wikipedia
Disclaimers

WikiPedia Agricultural Policy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agricultural_policy

Subsidies
main article: agricultural subsidy Governments pay subsidies to encourage domestic production of a good. Such subsidies are necessary when a government wants to alter the free-market outcome in product markets. The subsidies transfer some costs of production from producers to the government, allowing production at above-market costs. The effect of Western food subsidies [360$ billion] is overwhelmingly to reduce world prices. For decades the 3rd world has earned only half the free market price for food, its primary product. Consumption subsidies can also be used to alter markets. A consumption subsidy offsets a portion of the purchase price of a product.

Price controls
Price floors or ceilings set a minimum or maximum price for a product. Price controls alter free-market outcomes by encouraging over-production by a price floor or over-consumption by a price ceiling.

Import barriers

A government can erect trade barriers to limit the quantity of goods imported (in the case of a quota) or enact tariffs to raise the domestic price of imported products. These barriers give preference to domestic producers.
...

Objectives of market intervention

National security

Some argue that nations have an interest in assuring there is sufficient domestic production capability to meet domestic needs in the event of a global supply disruption. Significant dependence on foreign food producers makes a country strategically vulnerable in the event of war, blockade or embargo. Maintaining adequate domestic capability allows for food self-sufficiency that lessens the risk of supply shocks due to geopolitical events. Agricultural policies may be used to support domestic producers as they gain domestic and international market share. This may be a short term way of encouraging an industry until it is large enough to thrive without aid. Or it may be an ongoing subsidy designed to allow a product to compete with or undercut foreign competition. This may produce a net gain for a government despite the cost of interventions because it allows a country to build up an export industry or reduce imports.

Environmental Protection and Land Management
Farm or undeveloped land composes the majority of land in most countries. Policies may encourage some land uses rather than others in the interest of protecting the environment. For instance, subsidies may be given for particular farming methods, forestation, land clearance, or pollution abatement.

Rural poverty and unemployment relief
Subsidising farming may encourage people to remain on the land and obtain some income. This might be relevant to a third world country with many peasant farmers, but it may also be a consideration to more developed countries such as Poland. This has a very high unemployment rate, much farmland and retains a large rural population growing food for their own use. Price controls may be used to assist poor citizens. Many countries have used this method of welfare support as it delivers cheap food to the poorest without the need to assess people to give them financial aid.

Organic farming assistance

See green economists. Some argue that small gardens and greenhouses should be favored, especially if produce is consumed locally. Some argue for tax, tariff and trade rules to exempt such production for local use, especially family farm or farm co-op production, and strongly deny that agricultural and industrial policy should be linked, or should be subject to the same law. One rationale is that local production of organic produce by families in their own gardens for their own consumption is not taxed or regulated, and that little or no use of the energy-and-land-intensive transport system, or energy-and-labor intensive regulation system is required for these same people to sell the same product to neighbors.

Safe trade rules to encourage organic farming and self-reliance, led by opponents of genetically modified food and monoculture. See Greenpeace.

Fair trade rules to ensure that poor farmers in underdeveloped nations that produce crops primarily for export are not exploited to put local farmers in developing nations out of work - which advocates consider a dangerous "race to the bottom" in agricultural labor and safety standards. Opponents point out that most agriculture in developed nations is produced by industrial corporations (agribusinesses) which are hardly deserving of sympathy, and that the alternative to exploitation is poverty.

U.S. food imports outrun FDA resources - USATODAY.com

Late in October, a truckload of cantaloupes was stopped as it crossed the Mexican border near here.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2007-03-18-food-safety-usat_N.htm - Cached - Similar pages

(FDA is struggling to ensure safety of imported food-(USA net import society)
deseret news ^ | By Craig Simons | By Craig Simons

Posted on 04/16/2007 6:19:47 AM PDT by Flavius
Edited on 04/16/2007 6:27:26 AM PDT by Lead Moderator.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1818084/posts
[history]

Cox News Service BEIJING —

The U.S. pet food scare has raised the specter that surging imports from China and other nations with poor sanitary standards are outpacing U.S. inspectors and could threaten food safety for humans. China's chief food exports to the United States include shrimp, fish and apple juice, and China sells increasing amounts of food ingredients incorporated into other products.

To improve its export controls, Beijing has added food inspectors in recent years, but officials examine only a tiny fraction of exports, Chinese experts said. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced last week that wheat gluten contaminated with melamine, an industrial chemical used in plastics and fertilizers, had been imported from the southern Chinese city of Xuzhou and ended up in dozens of pet food brands sold in stores across North America. At least 16 cats and dogs have died in the United States, and thousands more have been sickened. As food imports to the United States have risen in recent years, the FDA's ability to monitor incoming shipments has plunged.

"The FDA does not have the resources or the up-to-date surveillance system that's needed," said Michael Doyle, director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia. "This is the Achilles' heel in our system."

In China, hundreds of millions of farmers toil on small plots that are difficult to regulate. Poorly educated in agricultural science, Chinese farmers use more fertilizer and pesticides than American farmers do to coax growth from over-cultivated soil. The result is that "China has one of the world's highest rates of chemical fertilizer use per hectare, and Chinese farmers use many highly toxic pesticides, including some that are banned in the United States," a U.S. Department of Agriculture report published last November stated.

While many of the whole foods exported from China to the United States come from farms under contract with foreign companies that are likely to maintain higher standards than small Chinese farms, "there's always risk that some products in the domestic market end up in the export stream," said Isabelle Meister, a Beijing-based pesticides expert for the environmental group Greenpeace. Chinese exports to the United States have surged. China's agricultural exports to the United States reached $2.26 billion in 2006, up from $453 million in 1993, according to the USDA.

Globally, Chinese exports of wheat gluten, which is used in many products including cereals and pasta, have more than quadrupled since 200,1 and demand currently exceeds supply, said Ren Yongzhen, a sales manager at Henan Lianhua Monosodium Glutamate Co., Ltd., an international trading company in Henan province. In the past five years, total food imports to the United States have risen by about 50 percent while the number of FDA food import inspectors has fallen by roughly 20 percent, said Marion Nestle, a nutrition professor at New York University.

The FDA is able to inspect less than 1 percent of imported foods they are tasked with monitoring, "and even then they're mostly just looking at paperwork," she said in a phone interview. At the same time, the agency has to cope with more varied contaminants, including many pesticides banned in the United States, unusual bacteria and falsely labeled products, Doyle said in a telephone interview. More than 80 percent of the nation's seafood, 45 percent of fresh fruit and 17 percent of fresh vegetables are now imported, Doyle said.

The FDA refused 215 food shipments from China in March, second only to 278 shipments refused from India. Among rejected shipments were "dried fungus" judged to be "filthy," fish tainted with salmonella, a potentially lethal bacterium, and a container of plums containing unlisted ingredients and unsafe additives, according to an FDA report. In January and February, more refused shipments came from China than any other country. But because the FDA can inspect only a small fraction of imports, increasing amounts of contaminated food enter the United States, experts said. "The centralized, globalized food system that now exists is great for making cheap food, but if there's a problem, then it's a problem big time," because of the wide distribution of ingredients and the difficulty of tracking them, said Nestle, who is writing a book about pet food.

In economies where people eat food produced near their homes, contamination outbreaks can be handled quickly,
but in a global economy "they affect many, many people," she said. A Greenpeace investigation of Chinese fruit exports to Hong Kong in January found that four of five samples tested "were confirmed to be contaminated by highly toxic pesticides," including the insecticide DDT, the group said in a report.

The United States banned DDT for most uses in 1972 because it "posed unacceptable risks to the environment and potential harm to human health," according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Because low exposure to pesticide residues is unlikely to cause immediate reactions, the chemicals are often overlooked as health threats, but chronic exposure could cause long-term health problems, Meister said.

The intentional sale of fake and adulterated products has also become widespread in China, where salesmen have been caught dyeing meat to make it look fresh and adding toxic chemicals to products to improve shelf life. In 2003 and 2004, at least a dozen Chinese infants died after eating knock-off baby formula with little or no nutritional value. Chinese officials announced last November that farmers in China's northern Hebei province were feeding ducks a carcinogenic dye to make them lay eggs with red yolks because the variety demanded a higher sales price than typical eggs.

The adulteration of food products has become more serious as the number of small Chinese companies has proliferated in recent years, increasing competition and making regulation difficult, said Hu Xiaosong, a food safety expert at China Agricultural University.

The FDA is currently investigating the possibility that melamine was intentionally mixed stating that the FDA's food safety programs "are woefully underfunded to adequately accomplish the tasks required to verify the safety of the U.S. food supply" and calling for an FDA budget increase of $75 million. Doyle called the pet food scare "a wake-up call to the nation that the FDA is underfunded." "We're going to become a net food import country, so we'd better have a good monitoring system in place.

TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: food; shame

HUGE List of Food Importers

Top: Business: Food and Related Products: Import and Export (193)
http://dmoz.org/Business/Food_and_Related_Products/Import_and_Export

Beverages@ (9)
Dairy@ (8)
Grains and Legumes@ (32)

Herbs and Spices@ (26)
Meat and Seafood@ (58)
Produce@ (102)

also:

Business: International Business and Trade: Import and Export (605)
Business: Investing: Commodities and Futures: Exchanges (14)

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S - 02 Recipes

scottishterrier — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 14:05:52 CDT

► About Dogs Home ◄

About Dogs

Community Guide

Recipes Specifically for Pets with Kidney Damage

Chicken usually and hard-boiled eggs, alternating parsley root and parsnips, and carrots. Organic barley flakes, oatmeal, and oatmeal flour for grains. Cook the meat and add the drippings to the cooked grains, using only distilled water for all food preparations.

Administer twice daily, a herbal concoction consisting of:

alfalfa Alkalizes and detoxifies. Acts as a diuretic. Good for anemia, digestive disorders and increases appetite.
astragalus Protects immune system.
cornsilk Aids chronic kidney problems. Acts as a diuretic.
dandelion Cleanses the bloodstream and liver. The leaves act as a diuretic. Improves kidney function, and is useful for anemia.
ginger Helps relieve nausea. A strong antioxidant.
gingko Good for heart and kidney disorders.
hawthorn Restores heart muscle. Useful for anemia.
marshmallow Acts as a diuretic. Good for kidney problems.
milk thistle Protects the liver, and kidneys.
oatstraw Antidepressant.

Basic Large Quantity Dog Food Recipe

Source: Chitwood, Tim. "Home Cooking for Dogs." Ledger-Enquirer.com Online. 08Apr07. Accessed: 19Apr07.

Ingredients:

8 cups of brown or white rice (some dogs don’t digest brown rice well).
1 pound of dried beans, soaked overnight, then drained and rinsed.
1.25 pounds cooked, chopped meat or chicken (de-boned) or 1 dozen boiled eggs, chopped.
2 pounds washed and chopped or shredded carrots.
3 10-ounce packages of frozen green peas.
3 12-ounce cartons of cottage cheese.
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil.
5 quarts of water, or the stock the meat or chicken was cooked in.

Directions:

Combine rice, soaked beans and carrots in a 12-quart pot, pour in water or meat stock and stir. Add vegetable oil. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer about 40 minutes for white rice or an hour for brown rice, stirring occasionall y, until rice is tender. Remove from heat, leave covered and let cool for about 30 minutes. Add meat or eggs, green peas and cottage cheese. Mix thoroughly.

Spoon into a 1-cup measuring cup and pack down, then store each cupful in a pint or quart freezer bag. Freeze or ]NOTE: Some dogs may be allergic to milk products and eggs. Consider feeding Oat Meal or use Oat Meal Flour. Test a small portion first. Examine feces to see if it is solid.

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Pet Database Records

scottishterrier — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 03:40:59 CDT

► About Dogs ◄

Add your pet's database record of possible or proved toxic food poisoning

Record Fields

Type of Pet

Breed or Mix

City

State

Food(s) Eaten

Store(s) Food Purchase

Feeding History

Observable Condition

Survives? or Died?

Other Comments

Dog Scottish Terrier 4 3/4 Knoxville TN Alpo - 1, Pedigree -12 cans, Nutro Pro Senior Chicken Dry Alpo - Ingles, Pedigree - Sams's, Cans, Nutro Pro Senior Dry - PetsMart Ate Nutro Natural Lamb & Rice Puppy 1 yr., Nutro Lamb 8 Rice, Nutro Natural Lamb & Rice Adult 3 3/4 yrs., Nutro Pro Senior 1 yr., Pedigree canned 7 times week, 4 1/2 months 1/4 can per day, Previously Mighty Dog small canned since puppy 1/2 can per day for 4 1/2 yrs. Seemed well Liver - Alkaline Phosphatase - 272, normal top range 131, Bilirubin .4, normal top range .3. Has Kennel Cough 1 wk. picked up from Vet's Office getting blood panel taken

Dog Scottish Terrier 4 1/2 Knoxville TN Alpo - 1 can, Pedigree -12 cans, Nutro Natural Lamb & Rice Small Bites, Dry Alpo - Ingles, Pedigree - Sams's, 12 cans, Nutro Natural Lamb & Bites Dry - PetsMart Ate Nutro Natural Lamb & Rice Puppy 1 yr., Nutro Lamb 8 Rice, Nutro Natural Lamb & Rice Adult 3 1/2 yrs, Pedigree canned 7 times week, 4 1/2 months 1/4 can per day, Previously Mighty Dog small canned since puppy 4 1/2 yrs 1/2 can per day Seemed well, stopped Alpo 1 wk. before Alpo recall, Stopped Nutro fiirst recall, stopped Pedigree afer first recall Liver - Alkaline Phosphatase - 256, normal top range 131, Has Kennel Cough 1 wk. picked up from Vet's Office getting blood panel taken

Please DO Add Pet Database and Statistic Links Here!

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Ch. 011 - Food, Recipes, and Treats

scottishterrier — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 02:17:25 CDT

► About Dogs Home ◄

About Dogs

Community Guide

What's on the Menu
Contact All Levels of Government

S - 01 Dangerous Foods!

S - 02 Recipes

S - 03 Pet Poisonings!

Please DO Add General Pet Food Related Links Here!

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Description
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Contact All Levels of Government

scottishterrier — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 01:16:58 CDT

► About Dogs ◄

Letters to Leaders

President and Vice President
Congress
Federal Agencies

Yahoo All Levels - Legislative Links

Elected Officials
Issues & Action
Election
Media Guide

Project Vote Smart

Call your Congressional Representatives and Senators for free!

Call 1-866-354-6411

To reach the Capitol switchboard. Ask for your representative by name. Ask the representative's receptionist for the legislative aid that covers agriculture. If no one in their office deals with agriculture. If no one is available, leave a message with your name, phone number, and read a written message from yourself on the aid's voicemail or with the receptionist.

Remember to place calls to your House Representative and both of your Senators!

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Ch. 009 - Dog Politics and Specifics

scottishterrier — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 20:38:29 CDT

► About Dogs ◄

About Dogs

Community Guide

Contact all levels of government and agencies

Letters to Leaders

President and Vice President
Congress
Federal Agencies

Yahoo All Levels - Legislative Links

Elected Officials
Issues & Action
Election
Media Guide

Project Vote Smart

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Neyll

scottishterrier — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 21:44:37 CDT

► About Dogs ◄

< My Dog's Picture >

< My Dog's Name >

About Me!

Hometown:

Breed:

Year Born:

Website:

Favorite Links:

Interests:

Music:

Movies:

Books:

Food:

Quotes:

Want to Meet:

Wishlist:

Vacation:

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Admire:

Hero:

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Moose

scottishterrier — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 21:43:46 CDT

► About Dogs ◄

< My Dog's Picture >

< My Dog's Name >

About Me!

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~Flash~

scottishterrier — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 04:34:07 CDT

My Pal Flash

Flash, the Hiker

My name is Flash but I have several nicknames like Flasheroo, Flasher Stasher and Casanova which is my favorite. I live in Alto, Tennessee and guess what breed I am? My vet told my mommie that I am Bassett Hound/Shar-Pei mix...and it doesn't matter where we go, people always stop to give me attention. I am one of a kind. I would sign autographs but mommie hasn't taught me to write yet. I'm a SUPERSTAR!!!

Go Tennessee Volunteers!!!

How we met: Flash was left tied to his previous owner's front porch and his owner had moved away. Some how this amazing animal escaped and went from door to door trying to get someone to take him in. I was in my yard one afternoon and felt someone staring at me. I turned around and there was this short, skinny dog looking at me. It was like he had appeared out of no where almost like a ghost. He was extremely hungry, thirsty and scared. After a visit to our vet's office, this little guy became a permanent fixture in our lives and I thank God that he found us to take him in.

What makes my dog special: Flash is the most loyal pet I have ever owned. He's a great bed buddy and guard dog, has a great personality, loves to hike, loves to ride in the car and is an all around best friend.

My dog's likes/dislikes: Flash loves to get attention, loves to run through our fields, loves children...his only dislike is when other dogs try to eat from his food bowl...can't much blame him for that!

Click on the Dogster link to see Flash

X-Pen Round-Up

aboutdogsxpen — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 04:20:23 CDT

► About Dogs ◄

About Our Dogs

X-Pen Round-Up
Meet-Up
Please add your Dog's Page

Max the Mutt

My Pal Flash

Miss Bashful

Sunshine

◄ Go Home Doggies | X-Pen My Puppy / Dog (Simple Example Page) ►

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~Sunshine~

aboutdogsxpen — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 03:35:25 CDT

My name is SUNSHINE but you can call me Sunny

My dog's breed(s): Labrador Retriever--100% Water Dog

My dog's birthdate: Unknown

Hometown: Alto, Tennessee

How we met: Sunny was dumped on a local highway when she was about 8 weeks old. A man that I use to work with picked her up and rescued her. Sunny lived in town and had no where to run and play so this very generous man offered her to me. The minute I saw her I fell in love. Here with our family she has big fields to run in and 2 other dogs to play with. She is also very protective of our 2 year old son...if our son starts to wonder, she will follow him and bark to let me know where they are.

What makes my dog special: Sunny has a sweet, friendly and cuddly personality...she is very loyal to our family and especially our son and that means alot to us. She has a forever home with us.

My dog's likes/dislikes: Sunny likes everything and doesn't have any dislikes that I know of...the only thing that I can think of is she dislikes rabbits because she is always hunting them down in our fields.
....................................................................................................................................

Click on the Dogster link to see my page

~Miss Bashful~

aboutdogsxpen — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 03:33:44 CDT

My name is Miss Bashful and I wonder how I got that name...I live in Alto, Tennessee with my amazing family and I get pampered on a daily basis. I have a brother and a sister, Flash and Sunshine, that play with me and I love them more than anything. Can you guess what breed I am? My vet told my mom that I look like a German Sheperd/Collie mix...ain't that something? I don't remember my parents but thats ok because I have my human parents now and they love me.

Arrival Story: On November 14, 2006 I was driving home from work and found 5 abandoned puppies on this property where a house use to be but burned a couple of years ago. The garage still stands and that was the shelter for these puppies. I stopped to see the puppies and it broke my heart...it looked as if they had not eaten in days and the only source of water they had was a mud puddle. I could only take one puppy home with me and I chose the most pitiful one. The other 4 puppies have homes now with loving families. The puppy that I brought home was very timid so we named her Miss Bashful. As for Miss Bashful, she is playing with our other 2 dogs, Flash and Sunshine. We couldn't ask for a more loving and sweet puppy.

Pet-Peeves: She hates getting a bath

Favorite food: Miss Bashful loves BACON and raw hide bones

Likes: Love, Love, Love, Eat, Eat, Love, Love, Eat, Eat, Eat :)

Click on the Dogster link to see Miss Bashful

X-Pen My Puppy / Dog (Advanced Example)

aboutdogsxpen — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 03:23:44 CDT

► About Dogs ◄

< My Dog's Picture >

< My Dog's Name >

About Me!

Hometown:

Breed or Mix:

Year Born:

Website(s):

Favorite Links:

Interests:

Music:

Movies:

Books:

Food:

Quotes:

Want to Meet:

Wishlist:

Vacation:

Superpower:

Admire:

Hero:

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My Friends:

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About Dogs - Recently Updated Pages

000 - Introduction

Jesus Christ is God's ONLY provision for man's sin.

About Dogs Community Guide - Welcome Dog Lovers !

Ch. 005 - Links

Ch. 001 - John

AKC Sporting Group

~ Max, The Mutt (Example)

S - 03 Pet Poisonings!

Please DO Add Pet Food Poisoning and Recall Links Here!

Human Food Production

Please DO add Links Relating to the USA Food Supply Poisonings

Contents

Subsidies

Price controls

Environmental Protection and Land Management

Rural poverty and unemployment relief

Organic farming assistance

S - 02 Recipes

Please DO Add Recipe Related Links Here!

Pet Database Records

Please DO Add Pet Database and Statistic Links Here!

Ch. 011 - Food, Recipes, and Treats

Please DO Add General Pet Food Related Links Here!

Contact All Levels of Government

Ch. 009 - Dog Politics and Specifics

Neyll

Moose

~*Flash*~

Flash, the Hiker

X-Pen Round-Up

~*Sunshine*~

~*Miss Bashful*~

X-Pen My Puppy / Dog (Advanced Example)

~Flash~

~Sunshine~

~Miss Bashful~