foodperson.com

Imagine my surprise when I tipped a can of Libby’s organic black beans to drain them and read “Prod. of China” on the bottom.

I’ll be the first to tell you I don’t eat exclusively local foods, but I at least try to eat food from this continent, which means no “fresh” strawberries in December for me. Of course, there’s the whole food additives problem brought to light with tainted ingredients from China. (NPR has a fairly disturbing report on Chinese food imports that will encourage people to eat whole foods.) But canned beans, even from a food giant like Libby’s, an arm of the even bigger food giant Seneca, would seem fairly safe. The ingredients list: organic black beans, water, sea salt. Not an unpronounceable mysterious ingredient in ‘em. The preparation: cooked and canned.

I was consoled somewhat that the beans were certified organic by the Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA), so I ate them anyway.

But it did make me think that more than my can of beans needs to be turned upside down. According to the USDA’s dry beans briefing room, “The United States is the sixth-leading producer of dry edible beans, behind Brazil, India, China, Burma, and Mexico.”

That means two of the six biggest dry bean producers are on this continent, and a third is in this hemisphere. China isn’t on the list. I assume Seneca went there because there was bigger profit potential. I also now assume that avoiding mystery additives isn’t enough to eat even relatively local.

Meanwhile, you’ll be pleased to know that our federal government is hot on the case and has issued demands for the Chinese food industry. I’m nevertheless glad that for the next several months I have other sources for food - and I know where they live.