Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Prices Are Dropping At Wal-Mart. So Are Your Dogs

Yesterday, Wal-Mart quietly pulled dog treats from their shelves that are rumored to be making dogs ill and in one reported case, dead.

They made no announcement, no recall, and no warnings to people who may have the treats at home.
A Wal-Mart spokesman came up with the usual corporate lame response:
“When we took it off shelves at the end of July, we pulled it based on the customer feedback so we could do testing prior to announcing anything publicly,” Galberth said. “That’s why did not make a public announcement — it was still going through the testing process.”
Of course Wal-Marts customers, looking for the lowest price, are getting what they are paying for and have already started field "testing" these products.
Philadelphia television station WPVI reported last week that a woman claimed her 2-year-old Chihuahua died after eating Bestro Chicken Jerky Strips. The station reported that an autopsy found the dog died of an infection caused by toxic bacteria.
Wal-Mart once again showed that the well-being of their customers comes in second to profits even if they have to resort to tainted products cheaply produced in lawless China.

When will the American people realize that no one is looking out for them. The government is not. They have cut food inspectors and are hundreds if not thousands of inspectors short of what is needed to protect America's food supply.

It is boggling to me to think that we are producing food, selling it to China and they are processing it with chemicals and other substances and then reselling it to profit mad companies like Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart wraps itself in the flag, buys off republicans and poisons America's pets and does not say a word.

It is time to hold Wal-Mart responsible. When you pay the lowest price and the product comes from some third world cesspool, then you get what you pay for.

Walmart's spokesman finally, yet unintentionally, tells the truth.
“We are diligently testing this product,” she said.
They are testing their product on us.

Jim Martin

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7 Comments:

Blogger Capt. Fogg said...

China isn't exactly lawless, but they tend to rely on draconian punishment instead of scrupulous regulation. The poison toothpaste guy was shot for his negligence and the toy maker who was duped into using lead paint hanged himself (after making sure the payroll was in order) before the government inevitably came and shot him.

A hundred years ago, during the barely regulated capitalist period Upton Sinclair wrote about in The Jungle, tainted food was all too common. We didn't shoot anybody and the perpetrators prospered even despite the institution of food and drug regulation.

Instead of vilifying China, perhaps we should look to our own increasingly less regulated brand of Bush capitalism and think about the possible results.

9:54:00 AM  
Blogger Jim Martin said...

I think perhaps China should be vilified along with the our present government for allowing them to sell whatever they want, wherever they want.
American business should be held to the same standards they were when American were making their products.
It's time to stop buying this crap and start demanding something better.
Surely we are willing to pay good money for good products for our pets and families.
Yes, I know, that is way too simple and the average American just wants a good price, even if he has just given up his job to some third world slave laborer.

10:19:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

How hard can it be to make a dog treat? I don't understand why China is screwing up so bad. it's theirs for the taking and they are blowing it. I wonder if there aren't party politics involved. Like maybe the factory owners are being appointed based on their loyalty , rather than earning their jobs based on performance. China may be "lberalizing" but they still have a massive state apparatus.

12:13:00 PM  
Blogger Jim Martin said...

Lester
I have heard China described as the wild west where anything goes.
Of course, if you get caught poisoning the big noses(Caucasians) and cause the loss of face then you will lose your life.
If anyone thinks that they have a problem putting poison in our food they should think again. Antifreeze in toothpaste is just the tip of the iceberg.

12:26:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I dn't know. Granted, i'm a little biased, but usually in wild west scenerios, people who make stuff that other people don't like go out of business.

capt fogg- the free market made them change!! government couldn't have cared less. Upton sinclairs story resonated with the people.

1:31:00 PM  
Blogger Capt. Fogg said...

China is all about money and the people have little say. The only thing that will force them to regulate their products is if we regulate them and exclude what's inferior and poisonous, etc.

The reason we don't do that is that the US is all about money and the people have little say. Wal-Mart doesn't want us examining freight containers much less testing paint for lead. Wal-Mart speaks quietly and we shout and scream, but guess who gets heard.

My biggest objection would be the same if it were any country - We really shouldn't lump together a billion and a half people as though everything one of them did reflects on all of them. I hate it when others do it to Americans as well. Yes governments are corrupt and out of control and so are businesses, but I don't want to be judged by what Bush and his cronies do.

2:06:00 PM  
Blogger Jim Martin said...

Fogg
I agree that you shouldn't use too wide a brush and that we need to fix this on our end.
When there is money involved it's the only thing talking and Wal-Mart's money talks pretty loud.
When they buy politicians, they tend to stay bought.

2:30:00 PM  

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