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China

Hard To Swallow: A Western Recipe For Improving Food Safety In China

Analysis: The sheer volume of producers, along with arcane systems of public oversight, means tainted food scandals are a regular affair in China. Beijing would be wise to look westward for business-driven systems of reducing food safety risks.

A food stand in Beijing (hmcharg)
A food stand in Beijing (hmcharg)
Li Jun

BEIJING – Food safety has become one of China's biggest public concerns in recent years. From Ractopamine-fed pigs and tainted bread to recycled waste oil and bacteria-filled frozen food, endless food security hazards not only aggravate the already frayed nerves of Chinese consumers, but also challenge the society's moral bottom line. "What is left to eat?," we can't help asking.

China's food safety problems have very complex causes. Rapid development of both the food industry and food science, as well as technological advancements, actually increase the level of risk. Ongoing social transition makes regulation ineffective. The superimposition of these two factors multiplies the risks.

China has to this day relied mainly on administrative measures to safeguard food security, as commercial and sanitary authorities apply standards, regularly inspect enterprises, and conduct quality controls.

To ensure food safety by counting only on administrative supervision is to start out with a handicap. For instance, China has up to half a million major food producers, more than three million independent food business entities, and 200 million farmers. This doesn't even take into account the innumerable food workshops, small stands and vendors. Monitoring this galaxy of food production is clearly no easy task.

Still, food safety is also jeopardized by rampant corruption and the tendency of local governments to pursue superficial, short-term economic objectives. The serious food security issues that have come to light in recent years show that it's no longer possible to deter illegal behavior and the wrongdoing of businessmen merely by administrative regulation.

Protection by capitalism

Hence, the experiences of developed countries are particularly worth learning from. In general, in addition to government monitoring by prevention and controls, Western countries encourage consumers to safeguard their own rights. This is an even more direct and effective way to limit food safety problems.

Take the United States as an example. Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration holds a wide range of preventive, control and inspection powers, institutional arrangements encourage consumers to inspect manufacturers and distributors. This establishes a sound and advanced product liability system. Once the food or relative services is found to be defective or otherwise causing damage, consumers are able to demand compensation through litigation or other forms of rights protection. This punitive compensation can sometimes amount to astronomical sums.

In addition, once the food safety information and complaints are gathered together, social media will be able to monitor or expose the criminal businesses in a timely manner. This will affect buyers' choices and put huge pressure on unscrupulous businesses, ultimately forcing them to pay attention to food safety. Obviously, even if the pursuit of maximum profit is the nature of "economic animals," an enterprise will care more about its food safety and quality when its products are related to its own benefits and survival. What China lacks today is precisely this mechanism for connecting food safety with economic interests.

In order to encourage and support consumers in safeguarding their rights, we must first improve the legal system, and in particular fully mobilize the enthusiasm for self-protection amongst individuals. For example, currently according to China's Food Safety Law, if a producer knowingly sells food that does not meet the regulatory standards, consumers can demand a compensation of ten times the original price. However food is a relatively cheap commodity, and a ten-fold punishment is normally not a large enough sum to prompt consumers to seek compensation. It is also quite inconvenient to bring a complaint, and to find legal settlements.

In the long term, all this encourages the food businesses to be even more reckless. Multiple mechanisms such as arbitration, mediation and neutral evaluation systems should be established so as to settle the disputes and resolve problems rapidly. And ultimately, the sums that awarded to injured parties must be worth fighting for. These are the kinds of economic incentives that will ultimately elevate the level of food security in China.

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Photo - hmcharg

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Ideas

The Colonial Spirit And "Soft Racism" Of White Savior Syndrome

Tracing back to Christian colonialism, which was supposed to somehow "civilize" and save the souls of native people, White Savior Syndrome lives on in modern times: from Mother Teresa to Princess Diana and the current First Lady of Colombia, Verónica Alcocer.

photo of a child patient holding hand of an adult

Good intentions are part of the formula

Ton Koene / Vwpics/ZUMA
Sher Herrera

-Analysis-

CARTAGENA — The White Savior Syndrome is a social practice that exploits or economically, politically, symbolically takes advantage of individuals or communities they've racialized, perceiving them as in need of being saved and thus forever indebted and grateful to the white savior.

Although this racist phenomenon has gained more visibility and sparked public debate with the rise of social media, it is actually as old as European colonization itself. It's important to remember that one of Europe's main justifications for subjugating, pillaging and enslaving African and American territories was to bring "civilization and save their souls" through "missions."

Even today, many white supremacists hold onto these ideas. In other words, they believe that we still owe them something.

This white savior phenomenon is a legacy of Christian colonialism, and among its notable figures, we can highlight Saint Peter Claver, known as "the slave of the slaves," Bartolomé de Las Casas, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Princess Diana herself, and even the First Lady of Colombia, Verónica Alcocer.

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