We have had horsemeat, we have had burgers comprised if who knows how many animals but now we can't even bake our own bread.

Coles 'baked today' bread made in Ireland, court told (http://www.smh.com.au/business/coles-baked-today-bread-made-in-ireland-court-told-20130612-2o3ye.html)

I have to say this multinationalist crap has gone far enough, Not only do I want my call centres to speak english, I want my bread to be baked locally from fresh local ingredients, I'm glad I don't shop at Coles. From now on I'm calling a boycott on all imported food. No cheese from Europe, no fish from Vietnam, no Chinese vegetables and definitely no bread from Ireland. If I can find that it hasn't been grown and processed locally, I won't eat it. Why do I say this. Food processors in my local town are threatened by this crap, competition from where ever, well I've had enough. I will not employee people beyond these shores.

You can probably accomplish that goal as it pertains to your food.
Not so easily with most every other product. For instance, a car defined as American made can have up to 25% foreign parts.

Regarding " We have had horsemeat, we have had burgers comprised ,,, " I am surprised that this report by CR hasn't caused more of a stir.
Note: I removed that link because I am not sure it is OK to include it.

Any way, the controversy about mechanically tenderized meat is that the process used can force ecoli from the surface of a steak into the center area, making it as dangerous as undercooked burger. And most folks don't particularly like well done steak. And currently there was only one food store that noted that the meat had been tenderized in that manner, on their labels.

No one cares, you know that, it's all about how cheap everything is, not about the quality, or heaven forbid, the origin, but I'm going to make it about that because I don't want to be poisoned

I agree that the producers have found a way to make another nickel and that's what's important to them, but I would hope that there would be a push to make stores and restaurants disclose if they are using a mech. Tenderized product.

I agree that the producers have found a way to make another nickle and that's what's important to them, but I would hope that there would be a push to make stores and restaurants disclose if they are using a mech. tenderized product.

Mech and tenderised, I would just like it to be from here. We have laws and they have to tell us where it is from, but some choose to ignore that, or think that we have to read the fine print at the back of the display, but the way it is, is this costs market share and that hurts them. I can buy Califorina grapes in winter, fine but don't tell me they are local. I know Vietnamise prawns are $10 a kilo cheaper, I still wouldn't buy them, nor would I buy Pacific Oysters and I don't want chinese biscuits

From now on I'm calling a boycott on all imported food. No cheese from Europe, no fish from Vietnam, no Chinese vegetables and definitely no bread from Ireland. If I can find that it hasn't been grown and processed locally, I won't eat it.
Good luck with that... when people had no choice but to act as you proscribe, many people died of starvation and malnutrition . The whole concept of 'trade ' began because it is extremely difficult and costly to self sustain.

By the way ;a safe assumption is that a loaf of bread that costs $1 is probably not the highest quality.. Yup ,you get what you pay for.
http://images.smh.com.au/2013/06/12/4484133/MOR-coles-bread-20130612154329458604-620x349.jpg

btw ;a safe assumption is that a loaf of bread that costs $1 is probably not the highest quality .. Yup ,you get what you pay for.
http://images.smh.com.au/2013/06/12/4484133/MOR-coles-bread-20130612154329458604-620x349.jpg

How we would love that to be so, but it isn't, $2 milk and $1 dollar Bread, what are we romans at the arena

The FDA is saving us from cheese.

Cheesed off New Yorkers slam mimolette blockade - The Local (http://m.thelocal.fr//20130610/cheesed-off-protesters-slam-us-mimolette-blockade)

Deal with the FDA "protectionism" in the guise of consumer protection all the time . Concerned about mites now ? Well I think it's been well established that humans and mites coexist quite well . A 5 year old pillow has about 1/10th of it weight consisting of live and dead mites ;and mite dung (frass). In fact ;our body is a universal ecosystem containing all types of interesting critters (and I'm talking about in the trillions).
Cheese taste good ;and French cheese is superb .Sometimes it's best not to know how the sausage is made . Unless the FDA has compelling evidence that higher levels than 6 of these mites per inch is causing illness ,then this falls under the header of 'protectionism' . The FDA should back off. They can pry my Brie from my cold dead fingers !
French cheeses for mimolette! - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HlTqY9cXtcY#)!

Yes Tom I like Danish Blue Vein Cheese it has a different quality to others but this isn't about quality, it is about something entirely different. I don't need Italian spagetti, the local product is very good, I don't need bread from wherever, or Indian rice, I don't need chinese oreo's or noodles, I don't need french wine, the local product is superior. The fact is that local trade is more important than overseas trade when it comes to foodstuffs. If local industries are allowed to be wiped out with cheap imports, suddenly you become very vulnerable, it becomes a matter of national security. This has been lost in this rush for multinationalism, this rush for a quick buck. I do note one reverse though the chinese want to grow food in Australia but it isn't Australian companies doing it so there is no national benefit from this trade

I don't need french wine, the local product is superior. you are nuts !


. If local industries are allowed to be wiped out with cheap imports, suddenly you become very vulnerable, it becomes a matter of national security.
Nonsense ! The Japanese consumer pays a fortune for the subsidization of Japanese rice which only benefits the elite ag. Land owner. The same is true with the absolute rip off that is the American Federal sugar price supports.

Yeah the trillion dollar farm bill is the worst corporate welfare scam ever.

Yeah the trillion dollar farm bill is the worst corporate welfare scam ever.

Yup ! At least ONE of the worse .

yup ! at least ONE of the worse .

I'm not saying we should subsidise these industries but return to a proper system of quotas and tariffs. I believe some protectionism is good.

We could start with full disclosure from the big farmers like Monsanto.

'Monsanto Protection Act': 5 Terrifying Things To Know About The HR 933 Provision (http://www.ibtimes.com/monsanto-protection-act-5-terrifying-things-know-about-hr-933-provision-1156079)

Subsidies for Monsanto's corn in US and Philippines (http://www.gmwatch.org/latest-listing/1-news-items/6840-subsidies-for-monsantos-corn-in-us-and-philippines-)

Nah start with the phony pols who vote for this farm subsidy system ,who take the tax break for farm acreage that they don't actually farm. Actually even that doesn't address the real issue.
It has been my argument for some time now that the tax code creates conditions for giant monopolistic Corps like Monsanto to flourish. Creating legislation that favors or penalizes individual companies does nothing to correct the fundamental flaw in the system... our complex tax code. Correct the tax code with a flat ,no deduction ,no exemption system ,and all the other issues self correct.

I'm not saying we should subsidise these industries but return to a proper system of quotas and tariffs. I believe some protectionism is good.

Only where it applies to public safety. Any other kind of protectionism hurts the consumers who end up paying higher prices in exchange for this loss of choice.

only where it applies to public safety. Any other kind of protectionism hurts the consumers who end up paying higher prices in exchange for this loss of choice.

This is nonsense, the playing field was never level and tariff reduction has been a capitalist failure it allowed your industries and ours to migrate to the third world. Sure we benefit from lower prices for shoddy goods while millions are unemployed, why don't you wake up, these economic theories have bitten you on the bum

And your 17th century Mercantilism theories have been discredited for more than a century. Tariffs and protectionism is warfare by another name. Doesn't surprise me however that a Keynesian would cling to mercantilism ,since they love government intervention in the economy and statism generally .

Who else can stem the behavior of the broken capitalist model of steal all the money and leave no crumbs, but government?

and your 17th century Mercantilism theories have been discredited for more than a century. Tariffs and protectionism is warfare by another name. Doesn't surprise me however that a Keynesian would cling to mercantilism ,since they love government intervention in the economy and statism generally .

You accuse me of seventeenth century thinking while you cling to your outdated constitution like an upturned lifeboat. Adam Smith is dead and so is his model

Yeah the trillion dollar farm bill is the worst corporate welfare scam ever.

You will be happy to hear that the farm bill (or as you correctly called it , the bloated welfare bill) was defeated in the House of Reps yesterday .
That's the good news... the bad news is that it will go back to the drawing board,a few provisions will be shuffled ,a few will have slightly reduced funding . Then the bill will be back on the floor for consideration . I can guarantee version B or C of this garbage bill will be passed and signed.
Maybe I'm wrong ;maybe this is a harbinger of things to come. But it won't happen if folks like the Tea Party get purged from the political process.

Conservative House repubs voted NO, because the cuts to SNAP weren't deep enough. And Senate repubs want 30 billion more for border security up from 18 billion. Yeah we need more of those types, all right.

I thought you objected to the farm bill being just another welfare bill . SNAP certainly qualifies as a welfare benefit.. I say bravo to the bipartisan vote against farm subsidies .

Rich guys don't need subsidies, poor people need food stamps.

Food stamps has expanded beyond all reason and logic . It has doubled since the emperor took office. It has expanded beyond a 'safety net ' program.
Monsanto and ADM are upset . They can't dump their excess crops and processed food on the government to distribute.

You want a food stamp bill ? Then introduce food stamp legislation . You want a bill about farm price supports ? Then introduced one that is separate from a food stamp bill.
It's the same bs we always have to deal with ,a thousand plus pages of comprehensive legislation designed to trap legislators into voting for something they oppose ,or give them cover by including something they support.

Don't blame expansion of food stamps on the poor without acknowledging the recession that took all the money out of the economy before Obama came to office and the tight job market and economic disruptions that have plagued us for the last 5 years.

You may be right though, that it may be time to decouple the safety net from the over all farm bill and deal with them as separate issues.

The original thinking was that poor people would not be forgotten or ignored so tying it to a bigger bill essential to agriculture business made sense. But I see making SNAP a stand alone bill would also make it a target for conservative disdain who have exactly your attitude toward the most vulnerable people in society and ignore them.

That's what made this a terrible bill, that cutting poor assistance AND increasing subsidies for rich farmers (in congress) was not a good idea.