Although most of us would want to lead a healthier lifestyle by eating healthier food and exercising, how can we be 100 percent sure that what we eat is organic?
An organic diet has a lot of benefits to offer for sure, and not just for our well-being, but it’s for the environment and the animals too.
Today, we’re constantly seeing food on markets and in stores labelled as ‘100% organic’ and we immediately reach for it, thinking we’re eating clean and doing our bodies a favour.
Sometimes, even though we think we’re buying organic, we’re actually eating food that’s been imported from China and grown on contaminated soil and with polluted waters!
Soil Contamination, Major Problem for China?
In a Greenpeace report, it’s been written that soil contamination with toxic metals like lead and cadmium is a major and ongoing issue for a lot of parts in Hunan province in China.
High presence of these metals has also been found in rice that’s been grown in these regions.
According to the Chinese quality regulator, around 1/5 of the food and products they tested in a nationwide survey were below standard or tainted with.
The Yangtze and the Yellow Rivers, both of which are very contaminated, is where most of the large-scale agriculture in China lies.
Thousands of factories operate along these rivers and throw away their waste into this water that’s being used for food growing.
Back in 2012, a chemical fertilizer plant threw excessive amounts of ammonia into the Fu River that’s a tributary of the Yangtze River and caused the deaths of 110 tons of fish.
And, the water from it continued being used for agriculture. A lot of other chemicals and metals have been discovered in these rivers, as well as in food from this region.
Below, check out the list of 6 top foods you should avoid if they come from China!
6 Foods to Avoid from Chinese Origin
- Fish
Approximately, 80 percent of the tilapia on US markets is with Chinese origin and 50 percent of cod too.
- Rice
Rice is a staple food in China and a lot of it in the US comes from this country.
But, some rice from China was found to be contaminated with potatoes and resin and resulted in a plastic-like texture.
- Black pepper
Did you know that a Chinese vendor was caught while trying to sell flaked mud as black pepper?! This being said, avoid black pepper from Chinese brands!
- Garlic
Believe it or not, almost 1/3 of the garlic sold in the US comes from China; however, some of it was found to contain methyl bromide, a pesticide.
- Green peas
If you want to buy peas, make sure they don’t come from China- fake green peas were discovered and they’re made using soy, green dye, and only a bit of real peas.
- Mushrooms
Around 34 percent of processed mushrooms come from China- choose Canadian or American mushrooms only!
Sources: