Ever since Charlotte started eating solids, we’ve paid a great deal of attention to what goes into that tiny, growing body. Yes, we are those parents–those hippie-granola troublemakers who refuse to feed our child refined sugars, processed foods, non-organic when possible, and anything with ingredients we can’t pronounce. There is just so much crap out there masquerading as food; while we can, we’d like to keep that stuff out of Charlotte.
Since arriving in China, our food philosophy has taken on a new spin. Of course, we’ve had to adapt to local circumstances: there is no Whole Foods-type superstore nearby selling certified organic everything. Indeed, organic is a serious issue here. Official certification is very difficult to obtain. Those who do manage to are often looked at with suspicion (what did they have to do to get it?); those who don’t are unregulated and often unreliable. And it’s not just local Chinese brands and stores; Walmart was recently in hot water in China when it was discovered that their organic pork was not in fact organic.
But the real issue we face here, when it comes to providing Charlotte with healthy, nutritious food, is the food safety problem.
If you run a Google search for “food safety scandal China”, you might be shocked by what comes up: melamine in infant formula, watermelons that spontaneously combust, fake eggs that look completely real until you try to fry them. It’s enough to make you lose your appetite.
We have friends, long-time expat residents of Beijing, who have managed to deal with the issue by turning a blind eye. We all have to eat after all, and worrying about every little thing you put in your mouth will only make you crazy.
Maybe it’s because we’re still fairly new to Beijing. Or maybe it’s our hardcore food philosophy. But I just can’t shake the worry and suspicion I face every time I go grocery shopping. When I buy food, every item faces scrutiny: what’s really in it? Do I trust the source? And why is it so friggin’ cheap? Or so friggin’ expensive?
Luckily, I’ve found ways to cope that keep me from totally losing it. I buy imported when I can, even though it sometimes costs an absurd amount. I’ve researched the local organic brands available in my supermarket and found a couple reputable ones that (I hope) I can trust. We avoid eating meat too often, and avoid domestic seafood altogether after my family doctor told me that she refuses to feed Chinese fish to her kids. When we travel out of the country, we gorge ourselves on fish, fruit and dairy.
When it comes to my child, the baby I grew in my belly and laboured for 3 days to birth, I only want the best. And for me, that includes high quality food. Which is why, despite the stress, worry and challenges posed by trying to figure out what we can safely eat, at the end of the day I feel happy knowing that I’ve done my best to ensure that the food I serve Charlotte, that she’s putting into that tiny, growing body, is good, healthy food.
How do you ensure the food you and your family eat is safe?
This is an original post to World Moms Blog by mother of one, Taryn. This is her second post for World Moms Blog.
Photo credit to Noodle Bones. This photo has a creative commons attribution licens
Mamasgotwanderlust (China)
You could say that Taryn has travel in her blood: a South African-born Canadian, Taryn has lived in Toronto, Vancouver, and Indiana, and has travelled extensively to Iceland, Israel, Italy, India, and a few places that don't begin with the letter I. After a brief stint as a
travel guide writer, where she realized that her dream job was actually a lot of work for not much pay, she gave in to the lure of a steady job (and pay cheque) and settled in Canada's beautiful capital, Ottawa.
In 2010, she embarked on her biggest adventure when her daughter Charlotte was born. A few months later, her hubby J. accepted a work assignment in Russia, and the family moved to Moscow. In 2011, Taryn accepted a work assignment of her own in Beijing, China where she currently lives. While excited about the opportunity to live in the world's biggest up-and-coming country (and to practice herMandarin skills), moving to China has meant leaving J. behind in Russia while he finishes up his work assignment before moving to Beijing this summer.
In the meantime, Taryn juggles career-dom, living in a foreign culture, and being a temporary single-mom to a spunky toddler. Taryn is also the blogger behind Mama's Got Wanderlust, where she writes about her adventures in travelling, parenting, and living abroad.
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We are very lucky I think here in Norway as most food is safe, of course we have to make sure that vegetables are cleaned and so on, but we don’t really have that much to worry about.
Great post! We adopted my son from Vietnam when one of the formula scandals was going on in China. Since most of the formula in Vietnam comes from China, it was greatly stressing.
We are fortunate to live in a place with easy access to locally grown, organic and pesticide-free meat, fruits and veggies. Although we do our best to feed our kids wholesome food, we try not to stress about all the unknowns, even in our food.
I live in South Africa. The greatest irony is that our best local products get exported! I recently had visitors from Italy (who always buy South African fruit back home) who were very disappointed by the fruit & veg available here. That said, we’re very lucky that we can trust the local brands. I totally understand what you mean about wanting to ensure that you feed your precious child the best quality possible. I’m very fortunate that my children actually like vegetables and wholesome food more than take-aways! 🙂
This was a great article, and you really exposed us to think about the foods we eat while traveling.
I trust the brands, here, in the US. We try to buy local as much as we can, and we grow our own veggies in the summer.
My gut mothering feeling tells me that the food we give our children has a big impact on their behavior, how they feel and their health. My parents always cooked us fresh foods, but the difference from when I was growing up was that, in addition, I had unlimited access to devil dogs, twinkles (both are highly processed cakes) and soda. This made me overweight as a kid + the after school video games + lack of exercise. I want different for my children!
Good for you for standing up for healthy food for your children! Keep doing what your doing!
Jen 🙂
Interesting post! I don’t take enough advantage of the resources around me. We have great organic grocery stores that I do go to from time to time, but I live in a rural area with many farms that offer crop shares and seasonal veggie/fruit bags. They even throw in recipes so you can try and make lots of different meals. You are making me think about really signing up this summer.
I never gave it a thought when I lived in Taiwan, but then I didn’t have a baby (and I am not hardcore either). I think I would probably have no problem with the fresh produce and worry more about the MSG in the prepared.
Hi Taryn,
The melamine in formula was huge news here, as it was farmers contracted to our largest dairy exporter who were doing the deed…. so to speak.
For our famiy: we are lucky enough to be able to grow lots of our own food and live in a ‘food bowl’ so produce and decent meat is easy to find. I avoid as much packaged food as I can. The boys have only milk and water to drink (with a half glass of cola on their birthdays from age six) – we simply don’t have much c-rap in our house – then we can’t eat it!
Honestly, I am not sure what I would do if I had to live in China (I live in the US, where everything is readily available)…..you are doing the absolutely best you can in a difficult situation. You should be proud of yourself for having researched it all! Like you, I choose organic when I can, and try not to feed the kids refined sugars, etc, and ironically enough, I don’t buy food that’s imported from China. I also try to get local when I can (which is mainly in the summer, since I live in New York). A dear friend of mine once told me (about my son who was eating sand at the time) “what doesn’t kill him will only make him stronger”. Stay strong, my friend. Charlotte will grow into a healthy beautiful woman! 🙂
Wow, sobering post. When our daughter was 18mos, we lived in China for a short spell while my husband was doing a semester of business school there. We had an Ayi a few days each week and on those occasions we completely put all of our food shopping and meal preparation needs in her hands. I never considered the quality of the food she bought and was always amazed at how little she could spend on her food shopping excursions vs. my few “experimental” ones. The majority of our meals we ate out, since it was actually cheaper than buying food at the local expat market. I have no doubt we ate some pretty dicey stuff but then, my husband and I have done a lot of third-world traveling and have guts of steel…I can’t say the same for our (now 6yo) daughter but she sure seems to have a varied palette and a fortified immune system. I attribute it, in part, to her brief life abroad.
Living in Poland I was actually less concerned about food than living here in US. Of course living back there I was young and didn’t have kids but still, most of our veggies and fruits (excluding citruses and bananas) come from Poland and being a part of UE we have high standarts if it comes to the policy of using certain pesticides. Farmers can’t use anything that’s dangerous to peoples health and there is still a huge amount of farmers growing fresh organic fruits and veggies altogether with grass fed animals.
Imported food even if organic does loose almost all its nutrients so the best way is to buy localy.
In my opinion keeping kids under very clean and with zero bacteria cloche might cause their health problems in the future. I am not saying that we should be feeding them with anything and everything. I just think that a little bit of everything might built up their immune system and make them stronger.
Great post. Nice to see you concerned about food safety.
As a resident of Beijing, I have found some organic food stores around (though few and far between). Also, big western supermarkets (E.g. Carrefour, BHG) carry generally safer foods.
For rookies reading this article, general rules are don’t drink the tap water, watch out for the street food, and check up on the cleanliness of the restaurant. For a more in depth answer, check here http://trip-per.com/blog/index.php/how-to-eat-safely-in-china/.
Hope that helps! Have a good day.