GLOBALOSITY KILLED THE CAT

We used to say "Curiosity Killed the Cat", but "Globalism Killed the Cat" may be more accurate.

The Food and Drug Administration has said the investigation into the pet deaths was focused on wheat gluten in the food. The gluten itself would not cause kidney failure, but it could have been contaminated, the FDA said.
Paul Henderson, chief executive of Menu Foods, confirmed Friday that the wheat gluten was purchased from China.
The point is although the U.S. exports nearly two thirds of the wheat it produces and it is grown in at least 42 states, why are the pet food companies buying wheat gluten from China? With our staggering trade deficit with China it seems the last thing we need to import is a wheat product. I realize the company in question is Canadian and the plant in Kansas but why are we buying pet food from them? If you say that we can't compete on price then why are most of the names on the list of suspected products some of the most expense brands such as Science Diet, Iams, and Eukanuba?
We have spent decades and billions of dollars refining our product and worker safety codes and regulations only to abandon these practices in just a few short years to the siren call of "Globalization". We are constantly told that it is a global economy and there is nothing we can do about it, I suggest that is nothing more than manipulation. Do what you can to buy locally from your neighbors when ever possible. Check out the origins of your purchase if possible. Don't purchase what you don't need. Reuse and recycle. Remember that when you shop for the lowest priced items you are not considering the true cost equation. You are probably adding to the hugh national trade imbalance, costing your neighbor a job, decreasing the local tax base that funds your schools and other local projects and supporting countries that often imposed tariffs and restrictions that make it impossible for us to sell goods to them. Free trade is not the same as FAIR TRADE.