53,000 babies and Chinese values.

Do the Chinese value human life? Or do they value money? A society answers this question not by what it says, but by what it does. Repeatedly, China has answered my first question in the negative, by doing something that shows a disregard for human life. As I write, 53,000 Chinese babies (up from 6,200 yesterday) are ill, some seriously, some dead, from melamine poisoning from contaminated milk. China, once again, has answered the question.

It is not possible, in a country in which its people value the lives of others as much as their own, for such a food poisoning scandal to occur. You see, melamine has been found in the dairy products of 22 companies in China. Melamine is more commonly used in fire retardants, floor tiles, kitchen ware and in the making of fertilizers. It is not a foodstuff and, indeed, causes death by renal failure if ingested in toxic quantities. That, of course, is just what is happening: babies are suffering kidney damage and some have died, others being seriously ill.

The fact that companies throughout the width and breadth of China are all manufacturing poisonous milk products can only mean one thing: hundreds, perhaps thousands or tens of thousands of suppliers and milk processors in China are adulterating the milk with melamine in the quest for additional profits, at the expense of the lives and health of unknown, random babies, by the thousand.

Think about that. The poisoning of babies on a large scale is considered a reasonable way to make money in modern China, by hundreds, perhaps thousands or tens of thousands of people. Furthermore, it was thought reasonable, by the Chinese authorities, to keep the whole thing quiet, while babies continued to drink poisonous milk, so that there was no embarrassment leading up to the Olympics. You see, first awareness of the problem goes back to March this year. Shortly after that, the relative of a leading Sanlu executive made a report to the authorities about it: she was told to keep quiet, apparently until the Olympics had passed. Thus, we return to the lies and deceptions surrounding the Olympics and the image of perfection China wished to present - at whatever cost. It seems, now, that one of those costs was the lives and health of 53,000 babies (and counting...after all the number declared was only 6,200 yesterday). How many of them could have been spared if the milk had been cleaned up in March?

Now, a toddler in Hong Kong has been revealed to have developed kidney stones after consuming Yili milk - one of the contaminated brands. How many others around the world are there, showing unusual sickness for their age...but unidentified because their doctors have not put two and two together? The contaminated milk has ended up in less than obvious locations - in everything from yogurt, to ice cream to confectionery...yes, that is right, your kid's favourite Chinese sweets, could kill them.

Everyone talks of the need for better regulation on the issue in China, but I don't really think regulation is the problem. The problem is a lack of basic humanity in their business people. Everyone knows you don't poison your customer to make a quick buck - everyone except the Chinese, it seems. There is no need for a regulation that states: "Don't poison your customer". That should be needless in any society that has reached even the most basic level of civilization. Perhaps China, in truth, hasn't reached that basic level yet - at least, its business people haven't.

What is needed in China is an elevation not of its economy (which will grow on the backs of lots of sick and dying people unwise enough to buy their products), but an elevation of its people: they must become responsible global citizens, thinking not just of the dollar today, but of people and society tomorrow. They must think of the consequences of their actions, beyond the immediate financial rewards that can be made by a particular course of action. If an action is sure to make more money, but the price is that it kills babies - then NO-ONE should be taking that course of action. Shockingly, however, in China it seems that hundreds, perhaps thousands or tens of thousands of people in the dairy supply chain took just that decision: to make money, while killing babies.

I don't think I will be visiting China in a hurry - and if I ever do, I won't be drinking the milk.

By the way, I have heard of something else that finds its way into Chinese milk to enrich the nitrogen content and thus the apparent protein content: urea. That's right: they are pissing in the milk supply. It gives a new meaning to "Made in China".

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.)

Chinese products: a danger to the world?

"Made in China" may soon be seen not as a recommendation, but as a warning.

Three babies have died and at least 6,200 have fallen ill, many with kidney stones, after consuming milk manufactured by the Sanlu group of China. The milk had been contaminated with melamine. Shockingly, the milk from 20 other Chinese milk manufacturers has also been found to contain the adulterant.

Now, for those who attend to the news, this seems all very familiar. Even the word melamine should be known to many readers. This is because China has done this before. This is the not the first poisonous baby milk scandal. It is also not the first time melamine has ended up in food. What is really disgusting is why melamine is put in food - deliberately. It fools the chemical tests used to determine the quality of the food. Yes, that is right, melamine is deliberately being put in Chinese food to make it look better on scientific tests. You see, melamine is nitrogen bearing and fools tests into determining that the food is protein rich (since nitrogen is used as a marker for the presence of protein, which contains nitrogen). That is why it is being put into baby milk - to make the milk seem richer and better. In fact, it becomes a toxic beverage that can kill babies. Thus, those who adulterate the milk supply with melamine do so for personal profit, at the expense of the lives and health of thousands of babies. That is the reality of modern Chinese business practices.

It is not long since thousands of American dogs fell ill, many dying due to melamine contamination of their pet food - for the same reason, no doubt, as the baby milk was contaminated - to make money for some crooked businessman.

In the Sanlu case, two brothers have been arrested for supplying three tons of adulterated milk, per day, to Sanlu. They had been watering the milk down, to increase profits, and had hidden this dilution by adding melamine to make it seem richer in protein than it actually was (thus obscuring the fact that it had been diluted). They face the death penalty if convicted - and frankly I hope they get it, for babies have died because of their greed and dishonesty and many thousands are ill.

The nauseating twist in the tale is the motivation of the brothers for doing this. It was a way of getting back at Sanlu for rejecting past shipments of milk (no doubt for being substandard) and costing them lost revenue. So, they hatched the plot as a means to extract extra money from Sanlu to compensate them for previous losses. It was a case of business revenge. Yet, babies are paying the price for this spitefulness with their lives.

The fact that 20 companies in China have been producing contaminated milk shows that dishonesty, greed and a disregard for the health of the consumer are rampant in Chinese business. This means that no Chinese product can be regarded as safe for consumption. There are many instances of poisoning in other foodstuffs and pharmaceuticals, as well as many other areas such as lead bearing toys.

These kinds of problems in Chinese business have been going on for many years - and nothing effective seems to be being done about it. So, as a consumer, there is only one thing you can do to protect yourself and your family: look for the Made in China label - and refuse to buy it. Yes, it may be cheap, but it may also be dangerous and, to my eyes, dangerous is never truly cheap - for the price in health can be very high.

I hear that the FDA of America has checked with all major US manufacturers of baby milk to check that they are not sourcing their materials in China. It is time for other countries, too, to be wary of anything of Chinese origin.

I hope to see a day when Chinese business behaves with the regard and respect for the consumer common in the Western world. What is certain is that they are not there yet.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.)