As many of you may know or have regrettably experienced, a recent shipment of dog and cat food spanning a number of major and minor brands was tainted with rat poison - killing over 16 dogs and cats and causing serious and debilitating illness to countless more. Faithful to their furry friends, pet owners are spending thousands of dollars to get their animals back to good health, and hopefully they will be reimbursed after the many lawsuits to come.
But how on earth could this have happened, in this country for Pete's sake, where federal regulations are so strict on the food products deemed okay for human and animal consumption. Well, would you believe that even pet food companies try their hardest to avoid the high cost American labor and products to get the best bang for their buck?
It's true.
The poison was actually aminopterin, a form of folic acid that was used to treat cancer, induce abortions and is used as a pesticide. The contamination was traced back to wheat from farms in, according to an ABC News report, China. Wheat is typically a type of filler in animal food stuffs and is usually the main ingredient if you look closely at the label, but some brands have changed to a healthier beef or chicken approach. The distributor of the pet food, Menu Foods, Inc., based in Ontario, Canada, has taken responsibility for this string of tragedies. It has already pulled 60 million cans and pouches of wet food off the shelves - including some of the popular Science Diet, Iams, Nutriplan and Eukanuba selections. In all, 42 cat food and 53 dog food brands are affected by this recall. Interestingly enough, one of the distributors of Menu Foods' products is based right here in New Jersey.
What tickles me pink is the fact that this poison - which is banned in the United States as a pesticide - is still used in other counties for that very reason. Actually, I take it back. That does not surprise me, because some people are not informed of the effects (renal failure for one), because their government chooses not to tell them and some others have no choice - to use it or to starve to death. What does surprise me is that Menu Foods had no idea about the usage of aminopterin in China and other countries, or maybe they did but never took the precautions to begin with.
This says a lot about the United States. It is one thing to depend on the oil sultans of the Middle East from whom we benefit from and worship from afar, but it is another to depend on any country for an ingredient in pet food...pet food! America is a great producer of wheat - just ask anyone from the Midwest and I am sure they will tell you how happy they are to have a change of scenery. Yet our dependence on foreign nations for such food products as wheat, or any products really, can greatly harm our population and economy.
But do I hear a great howl from those economists who cry for the outsourcing of American jobs and dependence on foreign products from countries, like China, on the cheap is good for the economy. Now I am not saying that it is a totally a bad idea, but the economy will only maintain a cheap labor force until there is a new movement of a Marxist sort where the workers refuse to work for the pennies a day, or not work for Americans at all. Now, this outsourcing and dependence on foreign labor and land also leads to growing tension at home when someone brings up the phrase "the illegals are taking American jobs" and that is because all of the "good" jobs are outside the country, but that could be left for another time. This entire process is circular and does not seem to be stopping soon.
Another and probably much scarier scenario is the ease of which our foreign imports may be tampered with. There was absolutely no check on the quality or condition of the wheat by the United States Food and Drug Administration before it was processed into pet food. Now what would happen if that same wheat was sold for human consumption, and the poison was used not as a pesticide for rats, but as a killing agent by terrorists? We have improved our vigilance on the home front, however little it may be, but how can we protect ourselves from something which we cannot see? I am not even remotely an economist, but I can see this coming. And if I am wrong, let this dog-lover have her day.
On a serious note, if your pet has been affected by this poison, or you think your pet has eaten the recalled food, then check out www.menufoods.com/recall and http://www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/complain.html or call Menu Foods hotline numbers 1-866-895-2708 or 1-866-463-6738.
Jennifer Prystupa is a Rutgers College first-year, majoring in journalism and media studies and political science. Her column "Get Stupa-fied" runs on alternate Wednesdays.
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