Chinese garlic is a national security risk, says US senator - BBC News
Rick Scott says Chinese garlic grown in sewage is unsafe and poses a threat to national security.
So… I’d agree that sounds gross if true, not sure if it’s dangerous though. But what about the US agricultural practice of fertilizing crops like lettuce with sewage solids?
It's generally considered safe such things are regulated and monitored. It also reduces dependency on fertilisers made from fossils fuels.
Sure, they're supposed to sanitize and process the material in various ways before using them on crops. It's still questionable in one major way, which is the presence of pharmaceutical residue.
US agriculture is shockingly self regulated.
It's allowed in the US and the National Academy of Sciences says "the use of these materials in the production of crops for human consumption when practiced in accordance with existing federal guidelines and regulations, presents negligible risk to the consumer, to crop production and to the environment."
While that is true, most disease outbreaks in developed countries occur from improper handling and packaging.
People have been using Nightsoil for a long time.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
A US senator has called for a government investigation into the impact on national security of garlic imports from China.
Republican Senator Rick Scott has written to the commerce secretary, claiming Chinese garlic is unsafe, citing unsanitary production methods.
Since the mid-1990s it has levied heavy tariffs or taxes on Chinese imports in order to prevent US producers from being priced out of the market.
He refers to practices which, he says, have been "well documented" in online videos, cooking blogs and documentaries, including growing garlic in sewage.
He has called for the Department of Commerce to take action, under a law which allows investigations into the impact of specific imports on the security of the US.
The Office for Science and Society at McGill University in Quebec, which attempts to popularise and explain scientific issues, says there is "no evidence" that sewage is used as a fertiliser for growing garlic in China.
The original article contains 360 words, the summary contains 153 words. Saved 58%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
The Office for Science and Society at McGill University in Quebec, which attempts to popularise and explain scientific issues, says there is "no evidence" that sewage is used as a fertiliser for growing garlic in China.
Yet another reason to be ashamed of the US senate.
I wonder where I can buy some out of spite.
“THOUSANDS OF LITTLE CHINESE SPYS HIDING IN THE GARLICS JUST WAITING TO JUMP OUT WHEN THEY GET NEAR A TOP SECRET MILITARY FACILITY!!!”
Am I the only one who thinks this resembles a witch hunt?
