An Open Secret in China [Disturbing anecdote about Chinese Fish Farming]

Insided Catholic ^ | 10/10/2007 | Zoe Romanowsky

[Aquinasfan]

My issue of Slow, the magazine of the Slow Food movement arrived the other day. (One of the loveliest things in print.)

One of its articles, “China is Nearer,” contains extensive quotes from a two year report in Lettre International (2006) by Beijing journalist, Zhou Qing, about food safety in China.

Here’s an excerpt from Qing’s report:

Towards the end of the year when farmers clean out the bottom of their fishponds, not only is sludge removed but the bottom of the pond is covered in a thick layer of contraceptive pills. Considerable quantities of them are also mixed into the fish and shrimp feed, as they not only protect the fish from disease but also accelerate their growth. Fish farmers from many different regions declared, “We ourselves don’t eat the fish we farm.” More than once I met farmers in various fish farms in Guangzhou who were draining ponds with a thick layer of contraceptive pills lying on the bottom, which had not even dissolved.

Apparently, Qing’s entire report makes for grim reading and the list of offenses he records covers all areas of food production in China.

[JerseyHighlander]

This PBS documentary is a good starting point on the shrimp industry in Thailand. Thailand has a much better aquaculture regulatory system and a beter legal system than China, and Thailand’s industry is still completely dependent on massive loads of antibiotics and steroids in the shrimp ponds.

http://www.pbs.org/emptyoceans/fts/shrimp/index.html

Then you can google this : Thailand shrimp antibiotics

and you’ll never want to eat shrimp again.

[PeteB570]

Thats why I stick to USDA grade A beef.

It’s whats for dinner.

[sticker]

Only buy wild seafood, not only is it healthier BUT TASTES MUCH BETTER

[Republican Party Reptile]

It’s not even an open secret, it’s common knowledge in China. When I lived in Shanghai, pretty much everyone knew this is how some farms feed yellow swamp eels (a local delicacy). I always made a point of knowing where I was getting my fish :)