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Tim Rutten
1.
Tim Ruttin is a serial liar, a fool and a menace and those are his positive qualities. This poor man knows nothing about economics, the Third World or much of anything else. His wacky claim that imported vegtables taste worse than domestic ones is stupid. Period. End of story. He does have company though. Many protectionists and luddites make this argument, always without a shred of evidence. Ruttin should move to Japan. According to their government just about everything produced in Japan is objectively the best, including, famously, snow.
2. Well said Anne. And to clarify a misstatement on COOL laws (Country Of Origin Labeling) for fruits and vegetables, the U.S. government passed the law over 5 years ago, and have subsequently postponed implementation since. It is scheduled to be implemented this fall, unless delayed again. They have recently watered down the requirements and penalties, so it is likely to be required for the first time. It will really be up to consumer diligence to make sure retailers abide.
3. Until and unless America deports Illegal Aliens we Americans remain at risk for a very long list of deadly dieases spread by these criminals.
4. Developing countries grow produce since commodity crops are protected and subsidized by the US and EU. Remove the barriers to trade and farmers in the developing countries will be able to grow commodity crops. Organic food regulations require a tracking system to link food on the store shelf back to the field where they were grown. This is an excellent example where regulation does work.
5. Lynn from Bellingham has it exactly right. The grocer I bought from labeled the origin of all fruits and veggies, and those fruits from countries which I thought used unsafe growing methods were rejected. Now, I only buy organic, plainly labeled produce and usually from farmer's markets. If it isn't in season, I live without it and find something that is in season.
6. A year ago, our government insisted that grocers indicate to consumers at point-of-purchase what country fruit originated from. However this new practice quickly went by the wayside and with no mention to consumers or by the press about the cancellation of the short-lived policy. Citing fruits' country-of-origin allows consumers information in this global economy we are entitled to know. With this short-lived policy, consumers decided which produce to accept or reject. My guess is produce went un-purchased, grocers and importers were upset, and so the policy was quietly reversed.
7. The major problems of the 20th century were extreme socialism (communism) and extreme nationalism (fascism). The major problem of the 21st century is extreme capitalism (globalization). Countries should grow their basic food and produce their basic products first. There must be a balance between self-assertion and integration. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse still ride this planet and global warming could bring about major weather changes. There could be a butterfly-effect where a tightly coupled world economy could create world-wide disasters. Independent countries will have a better chance of survival than globally dependent countries.
8. They are called bar codes. I'm not saying bar code every tomato, but bins and trays can be followed from source, through the packing house, through the distribution channel and to the final buyer (grocery store, restaurant chain, etc...). Not only would it increase the efficiency of the entire chain, but it would make tracking back contamination a lot quicker. This also means not throwing out millions of pounds of perfectly safe food. As to the impact of globalization on agriculture and the dreadful taste of what passes for food ninety percent of the time, well that requires more than a bar code.
9. It sounds as if Mr. Rutten is arguing against globalization and trying to chastise the US for its gluttony. I would argue that just because the process isn't PERFECT, that doesn't mean everyone should throw up their hands in despair and quit. Should we spank the hands that aren't washing their produce correctly, or shouldn't we discover the problem and fix it so it won't happen again? It's painful to grow, and the road is pitted with errors. Let's help iron out the problems so that everyone in every country can sell in the world market and prosper. That's the anti-gluttony!
10. Excellent comments. We are a fast food nation under the holy cross of Abu Grahib starving third world farmers with our commodidity subsidies including marketing and distribution channels and the insipid poison of modern technology as tractors and the IMF replace labor and nature.
Submitted by: Erick
2. Well said Anne. And to clarify a misstatement on COOL laws (Country Of Origin Labeling) for fruits and vegetables, the U.S. government passed the law over 5 years ago, and have subsequently postponed implementation since. It is scheduled to be implemented this fall, unless delayed again. They have recently watered down the requirements and penalties, so it is likely to be required for the first time. It will really be up to consumer diligence to make sure retailers abide.
Submitted by: Jason
3. Until and unless America deports Illegal Aliens we Americans remain at risk for a very long list of deadly dieases spread by these criminals.
Submitted by: Diseased Peasants
4. Developing countries grow produce since commodity crops are protected and subsidized by the US and EU. Remove the barriers to trade and farmers in the developing countries will be able to grow commodity crops. Organic food regulations require a tracking system to link food on the store shelf back to the field where they were grown. This is an excellent example where regulation does work.
Submitted by: OrganicGeorge
5. Lynn from Bellingham has it exactly right. The grocer I bought from labeled the origin of all fruits and veggies, and those fruits from countries which I thought used unsafe growing methods were rejected. Now, I only buy organic, plainly labeled produce and usually from farmer's markets. If it isn't in season, I live without it and find something that is in season.
Submitted by: Mary from Houston
6. A year ago, our government insisted that grocers indicate to consumers at point-of-purchase what country fruit originated from. However this new practice quickly went by the wayside and with no mention to consumers or by the press about the cancellation of the short-lived policy. Citing fruits' country-of-origin allows consumers information in this global economy we are entitled to know. With this short-lived policy, consumers decided which produce to accept or reject. My guess is produce went un-purchased, grocers and importers were upset, and so the policy was quietly reversed.
Submitted by: Lynn from Bellingham, WA
7. The major problems of the 20th century were extreme socialism (communism) and extreme nationalism (fascism). The major problem of the 21st century is extreme capitalism (globalization). Countries should grow their basic food and produce their basic products first. There must be a balance between self-assertion and integration. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse still ride this planet and global warming could bring about major weather changes. There could be a butterfly-effect where a tightly coupled world economy could create world-wide disasters. Independent countries will have a better chance of survival than globally dependent countries.
Submitted by: Ransome
8. They are called bar codes. I'm not saying bar code every tomato, but bins and trays can be followed from source, through the packing house, through the distribution channel and to the final buyer (grocery store, restaurant chain, etc...). Not only would it increase the efficiency of the entire chain, but it would make tracking back contamination a lot quicker. This also means not throwing out millions of pounds of perfectly safe food. As to the impact of globalization on agriculture and the dreadful taste of what passes for food ninety percent of the time, well that requires more than a bar code.
Submitted by: muD
9. It sounds as if Mr. Rutten is arguing against globalization and trying to chastise the US for its gluttony. I would argue that just because the process isn't PERFECT, that doesn't mean everyone should throw up their hands in despair and quit. Should we spank the hands that aren't washing their produce correctly, or shouldn't we discover the problem and fix it so it won't happen again? It's painful to grow, and the road is pitted with errors. Let's help iron out the problems so that everyone in every country can sell in the world market and prosper. That's the anti-gluttony!
Submitted by: Anne
10. Excellent comments. We are a fast food nation under the holy cross of Abu Grahib starving third world farmers with our commodidity subsidies including marketing and distribution channels and the insipid poison of modern technology as tractors and the IMF replace labor and nature.
Submitted by: Gladwyn d'Souza
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