Tainted Milk

Well, I had a good story I was going to write about a meeting, but I will save that to post later this week. I am saving it because I feel I should say something about the tainted milk scandals that have been in the news throughout China. As you have probably have heard, there is a milk scandal brewing in China. If you haven't heard, look it up in the news.

I was rather surprised about how many people are talking about the milk here. Over the past week or two, I have had almost more conversations about milk than I have about rice. People want to talk about it. And they are not happy about it. I am surprised because last summer when I was here, the US and international newspapers were filled with stories of tainted dog food and toothpaste from China. But not many people here knew much about it. Of course, the problem had been primarily in exported foods and not necessarily domestic products.

A little over a year later, people are upset about the milk case. They know this is not the only case, but it is the case that is getting publicized and receiving attention. I have had people tell me that there is no future for 'green foods' (China's organic and ecological agricultural products) because the entire regulatory system is corrupt. Products are labeled one way, but they may not necessarily reach those standards. The best food to eat, I have been told, is in the countryside at the homes of farmers who grow their own food. It sounds similar to alternative food movements in the US these days. Unfortunately, China has a lot more barriers to hurdle regarding industrial food production.

What I see is a sad but fascinating story unfolding. Consumer activism is taking place in China. Mothers are demanding investigations and higher quality standards. When I was in China in 2005 researching environmental activism for my master's thesis, I heard the same stories told over and over again about the beginnings of the environmental movement in China. These were stories where the government first acknowledged there was a large-scale pollution problem and encouraged local governments to come together to fix the problem. Environmental NGOs flourished. But, unfortunately, fixing the environment takes time, as we saw with the polluted skies in Beijing last month that the government desperately wanted to hide.

With the milk case, I think strict food safety regulations are beginning to get stronger. The government is publicizing this case, firing regulators responsible for the tainting, and discussing the problem of food safety openly. In years from now, this case will be talked about as a major starting point for strict control of food safety. But, if the environmental movement is any indication, people will get involved and incentives will be offered to companies, but it will continue to be a slow process to rid the industry of all corruption. Let's hope that lessons can be learned more quickly.

In the meantime, I am avoiding milk.

Environmental Determinism

One of the first things most geography grad students learn is that the theory of environmental determinism had been thrown out years ago. Jared Diamond, author of Collapse and Guns, Germs, and Steel, brought this theory back, earning him popularity as a geographical author, but not within the field of geography. At least in my department, Jared Diamond is a bad word. Just for background information, environmental determinism is the theory that environmental, climatic, and geographical conditions affect people's behaviors and determine their culture. Environmental determinism leaves out social, political, and economic conditions that affect societies. While many geographers look at the relationship between people and the environment, that relationship is reiterative, not deterministic.

One of the questions I ask people about northeast rice production is the relationship between growing rice and the environment. Most of the responses I get are why the physical features of the environment and the climate in the northeast are advantageous for producing good rice. There is good soil here, the weather is cool at night and warm during the day, there is a lot of sunlight during the day in the growing season. Yes, these are all very true responses. Japonica rice responds well to these conditions. When I ask about the effects of rice production on the environment, the responses are that it uses a lot of land and water. True, water especially is a problem in the northeast.

Yet, what is missing from these responses is the role that social and economic conditions play in this relationship. For instance, much of the technology that Chinese use to grow quality rice here has come from the Japanese. While the climate and environment here are advantageous, scientists have spent years breeding seeds that work best in these conditions. Chinese government policies have established standards that farms must reach to ensure that the rice has been produced to meet the conditions which produce quality. There is a lot of man-made actions that go into producing high quality rice. The historical connections this area of China has with Japan have been advantageous for scientific collaboration and the establishment of Japanese joint-venture rice businesses.

I know that rice production is not the same as culture, so the equivalence between environmental determinism is not quite the same. However, there is a lot of similarities here. The Chinese are not exactly best friends with the Japanese. Twenty years ago, they welcomed their scientific expertise and economic aid. I am not suggesting that they are purposefully leaving the Japanese out of this story, but that this side of the story where quality rice grows in the natural conditions of the northeast is not complete. To say that the reason northeast rice is quality is a result of natural environmental and climatic factors leaves out the complex role that international politics and economy have played in making this quality rice. This also leaves out the role of marketing this rice plays in convincing consumers that it is quality (that story will come later).

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

Today is a holiday in China. Based on the Chinese lunar calendar, we are midway through autumn! The appropriate way to celebrate mid-autumn festival is by eating mooncakes while looking at the moon. Mooncakes are little round pastries, filled with dried fruit or some other kind of sweet filling. They are really heavy and not necessarily my favorite snack, but recently some friends gave me one that was not very heavy or sweet and it tasted pretty good.

I find it hard to believe we are mid-way through autumn already. I continue to wear sandals and a T-shirt everyday. However, over the past week, I have had three different people tell me that it is too late to wear sandals because its fall now and I will get sick if I wear sandals without socks. The wardrobes of people here have changed within a week. Even though the days are still sunny and warm, everyone wears a jacket or sweatshirt. The Chinese tend to consider the season, not necessarily the weather itself as an indicator of what to wear. I, however, am determined to continue to wear sandals and T-shirts as long as they are comfortable. I guess I can't adapt too well to these customs.

On the weekends, I like to go shopping (which sounds funny because really I hate shopping). But part of my research is to consider the rise of supermarkets and consumerism in China. So I try to visit different supermarkets throughout the city. Supermarkets in China, as they have grown substantially over the past decade, generally refer to large stores where one can buy just about any household item. Like a Super Wal-Mart in the US, they include food and clothes and everything in between, usually separated by 2-3 different floors. As I strolled through supermarkets in town yesterday, I was greeted with winter jackets and long underwear. The long underwear here is thick and bulky, meant to protect against the cold Siberian winds that winter in Harbin faces.

I have been warned by more than enough people that winters in Harbin are long, dark, and cold. The only goal when one goes outside is to get as fast as they can to the next building. Ah! I am just trying to get used to the idea that it is fall here, I can't even think about winter in Harbin. Its only September, but happy mid-autumn festival!