yet that's just the tip of the iceberg.
I read in the epoch times that the ''organic'' certification didn't take this in consideration (heavy metal counts) . I actually quit drinking soy milk because, although touted as ''healthy'' and ''locally grown'', I'm pretty darn sure that most of the seeds were bought overseas. Just like the tomatoes in Heinz (French keeps it Canadian) Ketchup or the beans in ''a canadian favorite''. Of course most of this makes the stock price go up. I know this is not related in anyway whatsoever to the Marijuana ETF thing, yet it is to the stock market in general and since most of us are trying to keep our health so we may enjoy our wealth, well, it seemed worthy to share.
https://www.farwestchina.com/blog/your-ketchup-probably-came-from-xinjiang/
https://www.theepochtimes.com/lax-standards-allow-gmos-in-organic-food_1240572.html
For many consumers, paying a pretty penny more for products labeled “100% Organic” with USDA certification, is worth it for the peace of mind and certainty that they and their families will not be eating genetically modified organisms.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/5-reasons-you-shouldnt-trust-organic-from-china_1612468.html
Since organic products sell at higher prices, food producers, and not just ones in China, may tack fraudulent “organic” labels on their products for a higher profit. As issues arise in all levels of the supply chain, Chinese authorities and the USDA find it hard to find all the violations. A 2010 USDA report said some producers purposefully avoid the annual certificate renewal process and continued using expired organic labels in order to reduce costs, while other retailers simply mislabeled conventional products as organic.
https://www.naturalnews.com/039195_organic_foods_China_pollution_nightmare.html
Buying from China means higher profit
Here's the dirty little secret of the natural products industry... and yes, the "dirty" is quite literal in this case: Raw materials from China are cheap! Across the board, raw materials (foods, superfoods, supplements) from China are about 1/4th the cost of materials grown in North America or Europe.
This means getting your ingredients from China grants your product a lot more profit in the marketplace. For those selling through Whole Foods -- whose product shelves are littered with ingredients made in China -- this profit margin is essential to economic survival.
If you're buying a superfood powder sold at Whole Foods and paying $50 at retail, the actual ingredient cost that goes into that superfood canister is often as little as $5. So sourcing those materials from China is crucial to having the margins. Whole Foods might only pay your company $22 or so for a product they sell at $50. So your company has to buy the materials, pay for shipping, insurance, labor, packaging, formulations and everything else and still somehow make a profit to stay in business. So you source from China. You make a really nice-looking label, you get it "certified organic" with a nice USDA logo on it, and you sell it to Whole Foods which adds another layer of legitimacy to the product.
But inside the bottle, there could be mercury hiding in there. Or pharmaceutical residues. Or pesticide residues. Or just about anything, including melamine.
Now, obviously Whole Foods has a level of quality control in place, and they do require C of A's for products they carry. But China is expert at FAKING these documents and tricking importers, formulators and manufacturers.
