Texas Reb, so heartbreaking. I'm so sorry.....If only good intentions meant good outcomes....... You are obviously a tremendously good person, trying everything to help your furred family members. May much sunnier days be ahead.
professor-yellow, you are right of course but unfortunately the average Amercian is not going to be able to sort through all that to find out exactly who the good and bad guys are, in America or China. Sadly, all too often the identity of a bad actor isn't known - if then - until after tragedy strikes (e.g. the pet food crisis). In a country where nowadays it practically takes an act of Congress to get a human being to answer the phone at a company (shortly after which one is sometimes disconnected and then has to start all over!), it's an uphill battle to get good information. Hence general boycotts are envisioned, in the hopes that this will inspire change - better Q&A - but I don't even believe a meaningful boycott will happen as too many Americans are walking through their lives unconsciously, uncaring about the impact of their decisions. That said, I wouldn;t want to discourage trying! And I do agree that whenever possible we should deeply explore the quality control employed in the manufacture of whatever we buy. Ironically, the pet food recall involved a number of the "higher end" brands, where people genuinely believed (myself included) that we were buying high quality nutrition for our pets. To investigate where every ingredient came from, what Q&A was employed - wow - a tall order even for a researcher scientist type like me. I ask a million more questions with everything I buy since but there is not a critical mass of people doing this (and even though I do, I get conflicting info from employees at the same company - every company - that I query). At some point, one must get off the phone and go to work! A very daunting situation for all of us, sorting out what is safe... JJ
professor-yellow, you are right of course but unfortunately the average Amercian is not going to be able to sort through all that to find out exactly who the good and bad guys are, in America or China. Sadly, all too often the identity of a bad actor isn't known - if then - until after tragedy strikes (e.g. the pet food crisis). In a country where nowadays it practically takes an act of Congress to get a human being to answer the phone at a company (shortly after which one is sometimes disconnected and then has to start all over!), it's an uphill battle to get good information. Hence general boycotts are envisioned, in the hopes that this will inspire change - better Q&A - but I don't even believe a meaningful boycott will happen as too many Americans are walking through their lives unconsciously, uncaring about the impact of their decisions. That said, I wouldn;t want to discourage trying! And I do agree that whenever possible we should deeply explore the quality control employed in the manufacture of whatever we buy. Ironically, the pet food recall involved a number of the "higher end" brands, where people genuinely believed (myself included) that we were buying high quality nutrition for our pets. To investigate where every ingredient came from, what Q&A was employed - wow - a tall order even for a researcher scientist type like me. I ask a million more questions with everything I buy since but there is not a critical mass of people doing this (and even though I do, I get conflicting info from employees at the same company - every company - that I query). At some point, one must get off the phone and go to work! A very daunting situation for all of us, sorting out what is safe... JJ
