This classic post my Mankiw highlights how confidently economists feel about trade. That is why it is so frustrating to read
this news. Usually these things are meet with retaliatory tariffs and in the end no one wins. It will be interesting to see how the US reacts.
Becca Keener 0850 Sect. 2 M/W/F 10-10:50
ReplyDeleteI never really thought about what we did with chicken feet and extra chicken wings. I know wings are decently popular in the United States but not chicken feet. I do think it is cool how we don't waste them though and send them to China where chicken wings and feet are a delicacy. It just sounds like it's bad for the Chinese economy. The chicken we send is cheap, and that hurts Chinese chicken producers. It makes sense we would sell it cheap because we don't even want it. If they didn't take it we would probably just dispose of it, aka: throw it away. It's just a shame both countries aren't benefitting from the trade of chicken parts. I feel like there has to be a way to to make this situation benefit both nations.
Dana Ricci MWF 10-10:50
ReplyDeleteI recently watched Food Inc. so any news about the poultry industry immediately makes my stomach turn a little. From what I've gathered about the poultry market in China, poultry is not a product that is as mass-produced as it is in the United States, which makes it more expensive than it is here. It makes sense that there would be a tariff on the chicken products that the U.S. sends China because our cheaper products hurt their markets. Since I doubt that Applebee's is going to put chicken feet on the menu anytime soon, poultry producers in the United States are going to want to get rid of them. Unfortunately, if they cannot profit from it, large corporations like Tyson aren't going to want to go through the hassle of shipping chicken feet to China and they will therefore end up in the waste pile of slaughter houses. This ties in a little to what we were talking about with moral obligations of corporations in the sense that it may be morally better for a company to not produce more waste than they have to by sending biproducts to a country that can use them. However, if these corporations cannot profit from it is not in their best interest to do so.
Maria Villanueva MWF 10-10:50
ReplyDeleteI was very suprised to be reading a article about chicken wings and chicken feet! I never realized that they are a delicacy to China. I think that it is actually a great idea that we give our extra meat to them. I dont find it a problem at alll. As long as we do not waste it and the meat that we are giving them is not bad.
Julia Katz MWF 10-10:50
ReplyDeleteWhile it is morally good for the US to reuse their waste (ie. chicken feet) by sending it to China, a country in which they want the chicken feet, it does bring up the moral question of is it really all that good for the Chinese economy. By sending in our cheap chicken, Chinese producers are suffering the consequences. If this situation was turned the other way around I can't help but wonder what our reaction as a country would be. We would want to encourage domestic buying to help stimulate our economy instead of helping out China's. So while we are reducing the amount of waste we accumulate here, are in as a by-product hurting the Chinese economy? And if so, then is it really morally good?
Megan Fayer MWF 10-10:50
ReplyDeleteFrom this article it seems as those both the US and China are in a Predicament . On the surface it seems as though the US is doing a good deed for China in the sense that we are transporting parts of chickens (wings/feet) that we do not use, to a country where it is desired. However, this does not exactly benefit chinese companies, which in the end is more important than us trying to sell them cheap goods. By no longer selling this product, yes we are causing a large waste pile-up, however, that is our issue, not China's.
I think the trade between the US and China is is a really good thing, for the US that is. Why not make money off of a product that would just be waste here. Unfortunately the Chinese economy is suffering which is morally incorrect. It is not fair for us to hurt someone else economy just to boost ours. However, if they are the ones willing to buy it than that is their choice. As long as they know the consequences than I guess it is not really Americas problem.
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