3 ms·

I read about apples exported from China, covered in a toxic paint so they look red and beautiful, even though it is harmful, all to make a buck. I just wonder w

I read about apples exported from China, covered in a toxic paint so they look red and beautiful, even though it is harmful, all to make a buck. I just wonder why humans have not evolved to, at a minimum, actually show some caring attitude toward others of their same species. I think we're all doomed.

econochoice 8y ago
Humans are capable of both wonderful and terrible things. We're letting the ones who are willing to do terrible things for personal gain run wild with little accountability.
- Viker 8y ago
  What is worse? The people doing that harm at least do it for personal gain. But the rest of the "bystanders" actively avoid taking action or raising any alarms because they "don't want to be that guy"....
  - econochoice 8y ago
    Often, being "that guy" means inflicting a disproportionate amount of misery on yourself and your family.
philliphaydon 8y ago
Red apples usually are coated in ground up beetle to give the bright redness colour. It’s considered non toxic. Donno if that’s the same as what you’re referring to. I think it’s called Shellac.
- hellofunk 8y ago
  I’m talking about a scandal from a couple years ago where apples were submerged in buckets of toxic paint to get a red color.
  - philliphaydon 8y ago
    OH, I've not heard this story, got a link??? Unsure what to google for.
    - hellofunk 8y ago
      I think it was a Vice video or similar, undercover at a chinese apple export "factory" showing what they did.
- jdietrich 8y ago
  Shellac is a colourless or amber substance, derived from a secretion of the lac beetle. It's used as a coating on many food products (including apples and citrus fruits) to inhibit moisture loss and enhance shine. Cochineal is an insect-derived red food dye, but I haven't heard of it being used to colour apples. It's often labelled as carmine or natural red 4.
sumedh 8y ago
> actually show some caring attitude toward others of their same species. because the person doing the bad stuff does not see the suffering of the end user, even if he sees it, he does not care.
aaron695 8y ago
Sounds like the normal racist urban legends coming out about China. Link? I can't find anything credible, or even a report? Painting a apple and no one see's or cares in the whole supply chain? I think we are doomed for reasons other than what you think.
rf15 8y ago
reminds me of the story where a chinese plastic factory created lots of small white pellets and sold them as rice, making a fortune. (might be wrong on the factory detail, but the plastic rice definitely happened)
- tripletao 8y ago
  Urban legend--some combination of plastic pellets for another purpose (injection molding, or fake rice for Japan-style food models) getting misinterpreted as fraud, and/or deliberate misinformation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_rice#Plastic_rice_rumours https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_rice#Plastic_rice_r...
jdietrich 8y ago
>I think we're all doomed. No, we're fine. Malice is surprisingly rare, but people will cut corners to make a buck. Effective regulation makes cutting corners more expensive than doing things the right way. Most western consumers have a justifiable trust in the food they eat. They walk into the supermarket, load up their trolley and don't give a moment's thought to whether their meat is tainted, their milk is watered down or their flour is bulked out with chalk. They don't worry about whether their candy has been dyed with toxic cadmium or cobalt pigments. They don't worry about whether their wine has been sweetened with lead acetate. They know that food is being rigorously monitored for safety throughout the supply chain, because the cost to a business of non-compliance can be catastrophic. European consumers often worry about "e-number" additives in their food, but the entire point is that e-numbers are given to additives that have been rigorously tested for safety. I don't have the first idea what dodecyl gallate is, but I know that E313 is safe to eat.

econochoice 8y ago

Humans are capable of both wonderful and terrible things. We're letting the ones who are willing to do terrible things for personal gain run wild with little accountability.

Viker 8y ago
What is worse? The people doing that harm at least do it for personal gain. But the rest of the "bystanders" actively avoid taking action or raising any alarms because they "don't want to be that guy"....
- econochoice 8y ago
  Often, being "that guy" means inflicting a disproportionate amount of misery on yourself and your family.

philliphaydon 8y ago

Red apples usually are coated in ground up beetle to give the bright redness colour. It’s considered non toxic. Donno if that’s the same as what you’re referring to. I think it’s called Shellac.

hellofunk 8y ago
I’m talking about a scandal from a couple years ago where apples were submerged in buckets of toxic paint to get a red color.
- philliphaydon 8y ago
  OH, I've not heard this story, got a link??? Unsure what to google for.
  - hellofunk 8y ago
    I think it was a Vice video or similar, undercover at a chinese apple export "factory" showing what they did.
jdietrich 8y ago
Shellac is a colourless or amber substance, derived from a secretion of the lac beetle. It's used as a coating on many food products (including apples and citrus fruits) to inhibit moisture loss and enhance shine. Cochineal is an insect-derived red food dye, but I haven't heard of it being used to colour apples. It's often labelled as carmine or natural red 4.

sumedh 8y ago

> actually show some caring attitude toward others of their same species. because the person doing the bad stuff does not see the suffering of the end user, even if he sees it, he does not care.

aaron695 8y ago

Sounds like the normal racist urban legends coming out about China. Link? I can't find anything credible, or even a report? Painting a apple and no one see's or cares in the whole supply chain? I think we are doomed for reasons other than what you think.

rf15 8y ago

reminds me of the story where a chinese plastic factory created lots of small white pellets and sold them as rice, making a fortune. (might be wrong on the factory detail, but the plastic rice definitely happened)

tripletao 8y ago
Urban legend--some combination of plastic pellets for another purpose (injection molding, or fake rice for Japan-style food models) getting misinterpreted as fraud, and/or deliberate misinformation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_rice#Plastic_rice_rumours https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_rice#Plastic_rice_r...

jdietrich 8y ago

>I think we're all doomed. No, we're fine. Malice is surprisingly rare, but people will cut corners to make a buck. Effective regulation makes cutting corners more expensive than doing things the right way. Most western consumers have a justifiable trust in the food they eat. They walk into the supermarket, load up their trolley and don't give a moment's thought to whether their meat is tainted, their milk is watered down or their flour is bulked out with chalk. They don't worry about whether their candy has been dyed with toxic cadmium or cobalt pigments. They don't worry about whether their wine has been sweetened with lead acetate. They know that food is being rigorously monitored for safety throughout the supply chain, because the cost to a business of non-compliance can be catastrophic. European consumers often worry about "e-number" additives in their food, but the entire point is that e-numbers are given to additives that have been rigorously tested for safety. I don't have the first idea what dodecyl gallate is, but I know that E313 is safe to eat.