The Milk Crisis is More Than Business

A recent milk crisis has created an earthquake of a different kind here in China...one that has been felt in more places than just Sichuan. A quick look at international news or the China blogosphere will show you that this is a huge disaster not only for the milk powder industries responsible for this "severe food safety accident", but also for all parties involved in what is appearing to be a huge coverup.  Sixty-six milk powder production companies (out of China's 175) have closed, thousands of babies have been found to have kidney stones because of this tainted baby milk powder, a few babies have died (including one now from Xinjiang), and that number is almost sure to rise in the near future.

Everything I've read recently on the internet has focused heavily on the business and PR issues involved with this crisis: Who is ultimately responsible? Was a company in New Zealand involved? How will China survive all of these food safety issues?

Of course these are very good questions, all of which need to be answered,  but when I spend too much time looking at these questions I have a tendency to turn the victims of this tragedy - the Chinese people - into mere numbers.  Take Mary, for instance, our friend and a mother here in Xinjiang whose son as of yet is not counted in the "thousands of babies" diagnosed with kidney stones:

"Well, I don't usually feed my son formula...I don't think I've ever bought any Sanlu  [one of the recalled milk companies] that I remember.  But I'm still worried.  I brought him in to be tested yesterday."

She's not the only one.  Over the past week our main hospital has been inundated with mothers, many of them our friends, who are having their babies tested just to be safe.  Thankfully these tests have been provided to the public for free, at least for the time being, but that hasn't eased the concern of our friends.  I went by the local store today to see if milk products from the recalled companies were still on the shelves, still being sold to those brave enough to buy.  They were, as you can see in the picture below, but it didn't look as if that was a high-turnover shelf space.

 Baby powders from Yili still on the shelf...would you buy it?

When I asked Mary what her immediate solution to the problem was she replied that she will only be feeding her son "fresh milk products."  No surprise there, and I suspect many families will be avoiding milk powders for quite some time, but I fear that this is bigger than just milk powder.

Parental paranoia has grown rampant in China after the one-child policy was put into effect, the idea being that you only get one, so don't mess it up.  No sensible mother ignores the old-wives tales passed down over the generations on how to raise your child - even if she doesn't really believe the tale, and this latest development in baby rearing just adds to an already long list of "do's" and "don'ts" that could make even the most responsible parent go nuts. The milk business has given the world another reason to question the quality of China exports, but it has also given parents here in Chian even more of a reason to be paranoid.

This "earthquake" has jolted China's business sector, but every baby that passes away and every product that is recalled will be a subtle aftershock having a much more profound effect on the common Chinese mother.