I give up.......

[Brunotheboxer]

I just went to grab some apple juice to mix in with some protein powder and I noticed in small print that the apple juice is made from concentrate from China.

We cant even make our own apple juice anymore.


Fuhgeddaboudit.

[Gagebuilder]

Well, I bought apples yesterday, grown right down the street from me.

[Grissom]

Read this.....is very enlightening:

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home...el=%27nofollow

How Whole Foods "Primes" You to Shop
by Martin Lindstrom Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Have you ever been primed? I mean has anyone ever deliberately influenced your subconscious mind and altered your perception of reality without your knowing it? Whole Foods Market, and others, are doing it to you right now.

Derren Brown, a British illusionist famous for his mind-reading act, set out to prove just how susceptible we are to the many thousands of signals we're exposed to each day. He approached two creatives from the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi for the "test." On their journey to his office, Brown arranged for carefully placed clues to appear surreptitiously on posters and balloons, in shop windows, and on t-shirts worn by passing pedestrians.

Upon their arrival, the two creatives were given 20 minutes to come up with a campaign for a fictional taxidermy store. Derren Brown also left them a sealed envelope that was only to be opened once they'd presented their campaign. Twenty minutes later, they presented and then opened the envelope. Lo and behold, Derren Brown's plans for the taxidermy store were remarkably similar to the ad campaign, with an astounding 95% overlap.
An interesting experiment, you may say, but hardly a trick you'd fall for. But bear this in mind — it's more than likely you were well primed the last time you went shopping.

Let's take for example Whole Foods, a market chain priding itself on selling the highest quality, freshest, and most environmentally sound produce. No one could argue that their selection of organic food and take-away meals are whole, hearty, and totally delicious. But how much thought have you given to how they're actually presenting their wares? Have you considered the carefully planning that's goes into every detail that meets the eye?

In my new book "Brandwashed," I explore the many strategies retailers use to encourage us to spend more than we need to — more than we intend to. Without a shadow of doubt, Whole Foods (Nasdaq: WFM - News) leads the pack in consumer priming.

Let's pay a visit to Whole Foods' splendid Columbus Circle store in New York City. As you descend the escalator you enter the realm of a freshly cut flowers. These are what advertisers call "symbolics" — unconscious suggestions. In this case, letting us know that what's before us is bursting with freshness.

Flowers, as everyone knows, are among the freshest, most perishable objects on earth. Which is why fresh flowers are placed right up front — to "prime" us to think of freshness the moment we enter the store. Consider the opposite — what if we entered the store and were greeted with stacks of canned tuna and plastic flowers? Having been primed at the outset, we continue to carry that association, albeit subconsciously, with us as we shop.

The prices for the flowers, as for all the fresh fruits and vegetables, are scrawled in chalk on fragments of black slate — a tradition of outdoor European marketplaces. It's as if the farmer pulled up in front of Whole Foods just this morning, unloaded his produce, then hopped back in his flatbed truck to drive back upstate to his country farm. The dashed-off scrawl also suggests the price changes daily, just as it might at a roadside farm stand or local market. But in fact, most of the produce was flown in days ago, its price set at the Whole Foods corporate headquarters in Texas. Not only do the prices stay fixed, but what might look like chalk on the board is actually indelible; the signs have been mass- produced in a factory.

Ever notice that there's ice everywhere in this store? Why? Does hummus really need to be kept so cold? What about cucumber-and-yogurt dip? No and no. This ice is another symbolic. Similarly, for years now supermarkets have been sprinkling select vegetables with regular drops of water — a trend that began in Denmark. Why? Like ice displays, those sprinkled drops serve as a symbolic, albeit a bogus one, of freshness and purity. Ironically, that same dewy mist makes the vegetables rot more quickly than they would otherwise.

So much for perception versus reality.

Speaking of fruit, you may think a banana is just a banana, but it's not. Dole and other banana growers have turned the creation of a banana into a science, in part to manipulate perceptions of freshness. In fact, they've issued a banana guide to greengrocers, illustrating the various color stages a banana can attain during its life cycle. Each color represents the sales potential for the banana in question. For example, sales records show that bananas with Pantone color 13-0858 (otherwise known as Vibrant Yellow) are less likely to sell than bananas with Pantone color 12-0752 (also called Buttercup), which is one grade warmer, visually, and seems to imply a riper, fresher fruit. Companies like Dole have analyzed the sales effects of all varieties of color and, as a result, plant their crops under conditions most ideal to creating the right 'color.' And as for apples? Believe it or not, my research found that while it may look fresh, the average apple you see in the supermarket is actually 14 months old.

Then there's those cardboard boxes with anywhere from eight to ten fresh cantaloupes packed inside each one. These boxes could have been unpacked easily by any one of Whole Foods' employees, but they're left that way on purpose. Why? For that rustic, aw- shucks touch. In other words, it's a symbolic to reinforce the idea of old-time simplicity. But wait, something about these boxes looks off. Upon close inspection, this stack of crates looks like one giant cardboard box. It can't be, can it? It is. In fact, it's one humongous cardboard box with fissures cut carefully down the side that faces consumers (most likely by some industrial machinery at a factory in China) to make it appear as though this one giant cardboard box is made up of multiple stacked boxes. It's ingenious in its ability to evoke the image of Grapes of Wrath-era laborers piling box after box of fresh fruit into the store.
So the next time you happen to grab your wallet to go shopping, don't be fooled: retailers for better or for worse, are the masters of seduction and priming — brandwashing us to believe in perception rather than reality.

Martin Lindstrom is a 2009 recipient of TIME Magazine's "World's 100 Most Influential People" and author of "Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy" (Doubleday, New York), a New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-seller. His latest book, "Brandwashed: Tricks Companies Use to Manipulate Our Minds and Persuade Us to Buy," will be released in September.

[CoopJr]

Interesting read Griss...I knew the apples were old but not that old.

[Numismatist]

I'm out when Rolex moves to China...

[drtooth73]

Sad, sad news. I was shocked as well when I noticed kids apple juices boxes were made in China. Hope there is no lead in there.
I, too, can't believe USA buys apple juice from China, free trade at it's "best"

[Welshwatchman]

I knew that apples, potatoes and carrots could be safely stored for months on end if their storage environment was tweaked. Apples are stored in oxygen free environment and potatoes/carrots are treated with chemicals to inhibit those sprouts.

It is interesting that my lunch apple is probably older than my Apple Ipad, version 1.

[gregmoeck]

just hope we never go to war with them. They are just now building their cities infrastructures like highways at an incredible pace. The east is where its all happening, the USA got left in the dust. We dont produce like we used to.

[chicfarmer1]

Originally Posted by Brunotheboxer

We cant even make our own apple juice anymore.

We absolutely can, and do. It takes effort and will, but shoppers can seek out food and other grocery items from here and not from there (wherever your "here" may be).

[BarkMaster]

Originally Posted by gregmoeck

just hope we never go to war with them. They are just now building their cities infrastructures like highways at an incredible pace. The east is where its all happening, the USA got left in the dust. We dont produce like we used to.

We all want the value of our stocks to rise over time, right? The attraction of shifting labor costs to low cost zones helps in that regard. The global economy helps some and hurts others by spreading the "wealth". The Chinese middle class is booming while the USA middle class: not so much. http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/21/news..._class_income/

Not saying that is good or bad; just the way it is IMO.

I can remember joking about the "made in Japan" tags on everything many years ago... All roads now seem to lead to China (for the moment); but once their costs rise to the point where another low cost zone is more attractive, they will also experience the same thing.

I'll give up when the Swiss move watch manufacturing to Viet Nam or the Italians move shoe manufacturing to the Philipines.

[Demosthene]

You just have to be aware of what you buy.

Also apple juice from concentrate pales in comparison to genuine cloudy apple juice, preferably Nudie 20 apples for those in Aus.
Also great when you add a shot or two of Żubrówka
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%BBubr%C3%B3wka

[Gagebuilder]

Hmmm, the orchard and pick-your-own option could all be a front.

Nah these really are fresh. I haven't had a "fresh" apple in 9 months and the difference is noticeable. Crisper, tangier (is that a word?) better.

I prefer Macintosh and Honey Crisp and the MI crop has been bad enough the last few years that the storage runs out every year.

Actually, Honey Crisps are a young enough breed that they'll sell out in only a couple of months, just not that many mature trees yet. But, for now, they're $1.49/lb, Macintosh about $1.15/lb. Woohoo!!

[TheVTCGuy]

Originally Posted by Numismatist

I'm out when Rolex moves to China...

I heard they already moved... To Switzerland..

[blackmsport]

Originally Posted by Numismatist

I'm out when Rolex moves to China...

at this rate, in few years time

Rolex Movement = made in Swiss
Case = Chinese Made
Box = Vietnam Made

[threemonkeys]

We don't consume any (and I mean ANY) food/drinks from China. After the baby formula incident several years ago, I will never put my trust in any of their products. All in the name of making a buck...simply amazing.

[Lisa]

Originally Posted by Brunotheboxer

I just went to grab some apple juice to mix in with some protein powder and I noticed in small print that the apple juice is made from concentrate from China.

We cant even make our own apple juice anymore.


Fuhgeddaboudit.

Makes me want to grab an All-Clad skillet ("proudly made by American craftsmen" but really made in China) and knock myself silly.

[speedo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bYek22eD18

a very good song worth listening to.....

[Pix]

I know one of the "Dr" shows had a report on kids juice and the amount of arsenic that is contained. way too much according to the numbers.

[daunwaun]

It is amazing that the cost to:

1. plant
2. grow
3. pick
4. peel
5. process
6. extract
7. process again
8. additives
9. bottle
10. package
11. store
12. delivery/shipping
13.wholesaler
14. receiving
15. stocking
16. retailer

and probably many more steps I've missed in between are cheaper than doing it here.

Like mentioned above its only a matter of time until costs catch up but when they do will salaries have caught up to, to be able to purchase a $15 bottle of apple juice?

[Gagebuilder]

Originally Posted by Lisa

Makes me want to grab an All-Clad skillet ("proudly made by American craftsmen" but really made in China) and knock myself silly.

Yep, I've been eyeing a revived 'merican icon, the Dodge Challenger (made in Canada)





Well, at least it's North American.

[Grissom]

As a former Challenger owner (1970) I was somewhat taken aback by that as well.....

[Demosthene]

Originally Posted by Pix

I know one of the "Dr" shows had a report on kids juice and the amount of arsenic that is contained. way too much according to the numbers.

Dr OZ is a quack and should not be listened to.
He claimed that apple juice was loaded with deadly arsenic — a claim he supported by running quick&dirty chemical tests on fruit juices, getting crude estimates of total arsenic, and then going on the air to horrify parents with the thought that they were poisoning their children.

One problem: his tests weren’t measuring what he claimed. The FDA got word of the fear-mongering he was doing, and sent him this warning letter.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is aware that EMSL Analytical, Inc. has obtained and tested 50 samples of retail apple juice for total arsenic content on behalf of Zoco Productions. It is our understanding that, based on these test results, you will assert during an upcoming episode of The Dr. Oz Show that apple juice is unsafe because of the amounts of total arsenic found in the samples.

We appreciate that you have made the results of these tests available to us. As we have previously advised you, the results from total arsenic tests CANNOT be used to determine whether a food is unsafe because of its arsenic content. We have explained to you that arsenic occurs naturally in many foods in both inorganic and organic forms and that only the inorganic forms of arsenic are toxic, depending on the amount. We have advised you that the test for total arsenic DOES NOT distinguish inorganic arsenic from organic arsenic.

The FDA has been aware of the potential for elevated levels of arsenic in fruit juices for many years and has been testing fruit juices for arsenic and other elemental contaminants as part of FDA’s toxic elements in foods program. The FDA typically tests juice samples for total arsenic first, because this test is rapid, accurate and cost effective. When total arsenic testing shows that a fruit juice sample has total arsenic in an amount greater than 23 parts per billion (ppb), we re-test the sample for its inorganic arsenic content. The vast majority of samples we have tested for total arsenic have less than 23 ppb. We consider the test results for inorganic arsenic on a case-by-case basis and take regulatory action as appropriate.

The analytical method for inorganic arsenic is much more complicated than the method for total arsenic. You can find the method that FDA uses to test for inorganic arsenic at this web address:

http://www.fda.gov/Food/ScienceResea.../ucm219640.htm

The FDA believes that it would be irresponsible and misleading for The Dr. Oz Show to suggest that apple juice contains unsafe amounts of arsenic based solely on tests for total arsenic. Should The Dr. Oz Show choose to suggest that apple juice is unsafe because of the amounts of total arsenic found by EMSL Analytical, Inc.’s testing, the FDA will post this letter on its website.

His show got this letter that clearly explains why his measurements were invalid a week before the show was aired, and Oz ignored it and went ahead and broadcast a misleading and hysterical piece.

[rsg]

Originally Posted by Demosthene

Dr OZ is a quack and should not be listened to.
He claimed that apple juice was loaded with deadly arsenic — a claim he supported by running quick&dirty chemical tests on fruit juices, getting crude estimates of total arsenic, and then going on the air to horrify parents with the thought that they were poisoning their children.

One problem: his tests weren’t measuring what he claimed. The FDA got word of the fear-mongering he was doing, and sent him this warning letter.



His show got this letter that clearly explains why his measurements were invalid a week before the show was aired, and Oz ignored it and went ahead and broadcast a misleading and hysterical piece.

Dr. Oz is actually a very good surgeon, I've watched him perform more than a few surgeries in the past. The fact that he informed the FDA of the test results should speak to his character. I don't watch is show so I can't speak to whether or not it was sensationalized.
I can say as someone who deals with the FDA on a regular basis, they are mostly boneheads that are heavily influenced by industry.

[Timber Loftis]

If you start by going organic for the thin-skinned fruits and veggies and the juices made therefrom you can go a long way. Fruits that will perish sooner are actually better for you -- plus they're less likely to have been on a boatride for a few weeks. Also always check country of origin, if you care about that sort of stuff, which I do. There are tons of variables to consider and rules of thumb are hard to outline. The good news about organic fruits and veggies is that a lot of times they can be nearly comparable price-wise to the conventional counterparts, especially if they're in season.

I get into labels and research regarding food and food choices a lot, personally. It doesn't mean I always pick only the good stuff to eat -- sometimes the stomach wins over the mind, even after conscious thought about it. I realize it may be totally hypocritical to pair a totally organic sandwich with a bag of cheetos and a coke for my bag lunch, but some days I can live with that (though I limit myself to one can of any kind of soda a day, usually).

I think the single biggest thing that could start straightening our society's crooked relationship with food is if people started cooking at home more. That's probably the biggest health kicker there is -- so long as you don't think "cooking at home" means microwaving frozen food.

[daveathall]

I bought some China, well, whadda ya know.........Made in England.

[sherwin]

Its amazing to see how "reliant" we are on the east. china in particular pretty much makes everything we use on a daily basis.

[Brunotheboxer]

I just bought new balance sneakers made in the us of a. I spent extra on them but I don't care plus they fit my wide EE feet better. I'm gonna make a huge effort to always buy American from now on even my next car will be a corvette.

Pics of sneakers to be provided on request.

[esm]

Originally Posted by TheVTCGuy

I heard they already moved... To Switzerland..

whats that got to do with the price of fish in..... China?

[BarkMaster]

Originally Posted by Timber Loftis

I think the single biggest thing that could start straightening our society's crooked relationship with food is if people started cooking at home more. That's probably the biggest health kicker there is -- so long as you don't think "cooking at home" means microwaving frozen food.

Agreed 100%

Originally Posted by Brunotheboxer

I just bought new balance sneakers made in the us of a. I spent extra on them but I don't care plus they fit my wide EE feet better. I'm gonna make a huge effort to always buy American from now on even my next car will be a corvette.

Pics of sneakers to be provided on request.

My New Balance walking shoes are my ol' faithfuls... also for wide feet.

[Lisa]

Originally Posted by daveathall

I bought some China, well, whadda ya know.........Made in England.