In an announcement intended to show that the government is serious about improving food safety, the Ministry of Public Security said over the Internet on Thursday that the police had caught traders in eastern China who bought rat, fox and mink flesh and sold it as mutton. But that and other cases of meat smuggling, faking and adulteration that were also featured in Chinese newspapers and Web sites on Friday were unlikely to instill confidence in consumers already queasy over many reports about meat, fruit and vegetables laden with disease, toxins, and banned dyes and preservatives.
I’m not going to get all high and mighty about how much more civilized we are in America versus those rat-eating Chinese, because Bieber knows we’re just a couple more beast-starving votes from having a dozen USDA inspectors covering the entire country.