TARIFFS

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Do movies get considered as an export? Or the super bowl coverage ?

Movies are a big deal in China and for Hollywood. First run movies at the theater bring in big bucks for Hollywood, but when the DVD is released they get copied and sold on the street.

China now has it's own studios and they are making their own movies. Even Hollywood has invested in them. The movie "The Great Wall" with Matt Damon was filmed in China. Universal was involved with it.

Movies are a huge business in China.

[HONDO74]

Movies are a huge business in China.

And if there is money to be made from it the Chinese will get into it one way or another.

So what else do they need from us. FOOD. that is why they bought the biggest hog operation in this country.

Kind of surprised me when they put a tariff on pork. I guess when you own the operation maybe it doesn't effect that one just the rest of the hog exporters.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

FOOD. that is why they bought the biggest hog operation in this country.

I thought they bought it since it was an excellent business making money that they could control and use to control supply here locally. Pigs are pretty easy to raise vs. many other food sources......

Kind of surprised me when they put a tariff on pork. I guess when you own the operation maybe it doesn't effect that one just the rest of the hog exporters.

It has a major impact on the company and the workers right here. Just cut off another export that was supporting US workers and families. Cuts into that 12%.

[HONDO74]

According to this article I posted in another thread it is 50% cheaper to raise hogs here than in China and China has become a big consumer of pork. Kind of looks like they bit themselves in the balls.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/n ... ld-w517973

[Rufus T. Firefly]

According to this article I posted in another thread it is 50% cheaper to raise hogs here than in China

That's hard to believe given all our regulations and requirements; pigs eat damn near anything as well.

and China has become a big consumer of pork. Kind of looks like they bit themselves in the balls.

Always were a big consumer of pork; beef is not common there.

[robert.]

Several Asian countries feed raised shrimp pig poop

[HONDO74]

That's hard to believe given all our regulations and requirements; pigs eat damn near anything as well.

So very true but there is a big difference in the quality and taste of the meat with a hog that eats anything and one that is grain fed. China does not have an abundance of grain like we have in this country. They would have to import the grain and that becomes more expensive. That is why they bought Smithfield

Kind of like Hawaii. The Luau is very popular for the tourist but going back years ago when Hawaii started to become a tourist attraction they used hogs raised in Hawaii. They were fed anything also but the tourist that were used to grain fed hog couldn't stand the taste of Hawaiian hogs. So all the hogs are imported from the mainland.

With China's booming economy from what I have read they have as many millionaires as we do and they also have a developing middle class that likes to eat better than rice and fish heads...

[Rufus T. Firefly]

That's hard to believe given all our regulations and requirements; pigs eat damn near anything as well.

So very true but there is a big difference in the quality and taste of the meat with a hog that eats anything and one that is grain fed. China does not have an abundance of grain like we have in this country. They would have to import the grain and that becomes more expensive. That is why they bought Smithfield

While the country might have an abundance of grain, we rarely fed our hogs much corn or grains. Too costly!

Actually, all the analysis that I read on Smithfield indicated that it was a good buy and one that should make money for new owners.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

Several Asian countries feed raised shrimp pig poop

How does somebody, let alone a whole nation, even think of that. I've seen some pig dropped-loads in my lifetime, but I must admit it never once occurred to me to wonder if shrimp would like eating it. Of course, I've also never seen, in-person, live shrimp bopping around in their natural or farmed habitat. I'll bet that has something to do with my lack of contemplation on the subject, huh.

[Roy]

I remember when the best beef was corn fed. Now, it's grass fed. This is a good thing, as we can't eat grass. Don't the Chinese have any grass?

[robert.]

Pig manure is composted on the farm. As it rots it releases methane gas. This gas is used to light the inside of these facilities. when this is complete. all the dry manure is pressed into pellets. Then feed to awaiting shrimp and other farmed raised fish. when fish and shrimp are cleaned of their entrails. They use these parts as pig chow. Dry it out and turn it into pellets. Then start the process all over again. Fish eats pig. Pig eats fish. A very unhealthy animal is being raised. Don't buy food raised in china.

[up148]

If I'm not mistaken, many asian cultures used human feces as fertilizer in their gardens. I know it worked in "The Martian", but there is something that just doesn't seem right.

BH

[MurphOnMillerAve]

If I'm not mistaken, many asian cultures used human feces as fertilizer in their gardens. I know it worked in "The Martian", but there is something that just doesn't seem right.

BH

You are right, up148. Using it isn't optimal. I have long had (via Cook College @ Rutgers U.) the understanding that the best manure for gardens and crops is horse manure = the "sweetest" (least acidic; least "hot") ; cow manure the next-best, kind of "sweet"; human and dog (because they eat, basically, what we eat) feces are far too "hot" to use, especially around seedlings and growing-plants, that putting manure too close to them will cause the plants to be burned.

The addition of manure as fertilizer to a garden belongs being done when first digging/plowing up the soil, so everything can be mixed together for more thorough assimilation (my word for the process) and creation of good soil.

When I authored and directed a Federal Govt. program, several decades ago, for the employment of inner-city youth, which involved clearing empty lots of debris and establishing community gardens, we had the custom of going to nearby horse stables to gather horse manure, since it was considered an optimum ingredient for soil we were trying to revive and enrich in empty lots around town.

Since I was a municipal official, we were able to open fire hydrants to water the gardens, using specific tools and adapters to connect to traditional garden hoses. The gardens were abundant, featuring Mustard Greens; Collard Greens; tomatoes; cucumbers, affording nearby residents more than one harvest and plenty of community pride and improved appearance. Temporary fencing constructed by the Parks Dept. kept kids playing, and critters and pets out sufficiently, as did vigilant neighbors.

[Roy]

I imagine we learned a few things from British victory gardens.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

I imagine we learned a few things from British victory gardens.

And from the other couple of thousand years of agricultural history.........