Would You Like Forchlorfenuron With That?

[Jemima]

"BEIJING - Watermelons have been bursting by the score in eastern China after farmers gave them overdoses of growth chemicals during wet weather, creating what state media called fields of "land mines." ....

Prices over the past year prompted many farmers to jump into the watermelon market. All of those with exploding melons apparently were first-time users of the growth accelerator forchlorfenuron, though it has been widely available for some time, CCTV said.

Chinese regulations don't forbid the drug, and it is allowed in the U.S. on kiwi fruit and grapes. But the report underscores how farmers in China are abusing both legal and illegal chemicals, with many farms misusing pesticides and fertilizers."

Read the full article here: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20110517_ap_fieldsofwatermelonburstinchinafarmfias co.html?c=r

(Emphasis mine.)

[CathyA]

OMG!!

[Float On]

I saw that - what waste!
Apparently they used too much too late in the growing cycle. I'm sure it could turn into a great SNL skit but it is a horrible reminder of how 'engineered' our food supply is.

[puglogic]

Reading that article made me frantically race out into the garden and check on all my little fruits and veggies......oh dear, what we're doing to our food supply.

[lhamo]

Be thankful you all have yards where you can grow your own food! I live in a flat on the 30th floor of a highrise, and have a bit of porch space but not enough to feed my whole family. The food situation here in China is seriously frightening. Thank goodness I can get a good portion of our veggies, some fruit and various types of flour from a couple of organic farm co-ops....

lhamo

[barrett]

they use this stuff on kiwi & grapes in the U.S.?? Yuk. And I can't afford to buy organic at the grocery store.

[Jemima]

I immediately decided to grow my own grapes after reading that. And yes, I'm thankful that I have at least a small patch of ground to grow things.

One of my coworkers who is Chinese has had two types of cancer in the past year and my hopes for her living a good long life are just about zip. (She's 52.) She spent the first forty years of her life in China eating a diet of mostly vegetables. She's never smoked, exercises, doesn't eat junk food, and has a satisfying life with a husband, a dog, and space to garden, all of which which she loves. She's done everything right except get out of China sooner, although I doubt the U.S.A. is far behind. We are already a nation of people with Teflon in their bloodstreams thanks to the non-stick cookware of the fifties and sixties manufactured by DuPont, and I've lost count of the "safe" pesticides and medications that have been, eventually, outlawed.