On a slightly tangential note, US companies are subsidizing this stuff. China gets preferential rates for products shipped to the US to the point that it costs less to ship packages from China to a US destination than it does to ship to that same destination from a domestic source. I had recalled that this was under a 1960s U.N. initiative to help spur international trade from "transition" countries. I just read that part of the issue also derives from an organization named the Universal Postal Union that was stood up in the late 1800s. Here's a second article. There's a good Forbes article out there on the UN initiative, but I cannot find it. Another benefit Chinese vendors derive from this arrangement is that when we receive their products and they don't meet spec, return freight to China is on the customer's dime...at full non-subsidized international shipping cost. When the cost to ship products back for a refund exceeds the cost of the product itself, we just toss it and move on. US vendors have no such shield against the cost of returned product. So this mass-mailing of seeds China is engaging in is subsidized by us. edit to add: Here's an article on a USPS program set up in 2017 called ePacket that also gives China preferred rates.
I read all three articles. It's interesting how one topic can lead to another, seemingly not closely related. I'll lead to yet another topic from that; how did we end up empowering China, with her awful totalitarian society, in her bid for world takeover? A flaw in free market capitalism is when national capitalism becomes 'world' capitalism. When giant multi-nationals can profit from a venture they pursue it. China's profit at our expense is a natural outcome of that. If we want to preserve our sovereignty and national market, we should not participate in world currency exchange, where a dollar here is equivalent to a dollar there ( abroad ). Instead we need to exchange currencies based on a standard of mutual value ( gold, uranium,oil, whatever. ). That, together with tariffs to keep cheap goods from flooding the country, will preserve our manufacturing and keep most everyone employed, ending the need to subsidize a large perpetually unemployed labor force. Limits on the amounts of personal and corporate wealth will lead to, among many other things, us getting our news and information from hundreds of sources, not just five or six. This can't help but raise the general living standard, along with the better educational standards and greater participation in democracy that entails. Less socialism and more free market - IF.we keep our economy somewhat independent from the rest of the world. The free market I mean is a supervised one, not the libertarian one that's driving us into poverty., having to compete with the cheapest, most desperate labor from around the world.
This article is exactly in line with my views on wealth concentration: America’s Monopoly Problem Goes Way Beyond the Tech Giants https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/a..._content=20200729&silverid=Njc3ODM1ODM0OTM0S0
USDA Able To Identify Mysterious Seeds Americans Received from China http://click1.e.conservativetribune...wfmff.html?a=1662918599abca866fdde14e192404dd "Art Gover, a plant science researcher at Penn State University, warned against planting the seeds because they could introduce problematic weeds and diseases, according to The Times." "Unidentified seeds could also turn out to be invasive species and harm the environment, Bernd Blossey, a professor in the department of natural resources at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, said."
What I have read is that they are just a variety of plain seeds, and not anything harmful. It was part of a scam for advertising to make it look like more people were buying their product. I don’t think that I have bought any seeds from Chinese sellers; but I do know that they advertise seeds. They are no more likely to turn out to be invasive that seeds from anywhere that are for invasive plants. We have all kinds of plants already here that are considered invasive in some areas and not in others. I remember when I lived in Missouri, there were beautiful rose bushes just growing wild, and the farmers just mowed them down. At one time, they had planted roses along the country roads, to help beautify the area, and as the roses spread, they gradually became invasive in the fields around there. For most places, roses are not considered an invasive species of plant .
"What I have read is that they are just a variety of plain seeds, and not anything harmful. It was part of a scam for advertising to make it look like more people were buying their product." That's the gist of the article, Yvonne. .
I think we would all be astounded to see how much comes into this nation with visitors and immigrants, just wanting to have "a piece of home." But it's really just a furtherance of what began when world trade took off, both plants and critters. Just add it to the long list of stuff in the real world that lacks an Undo button.
... my opinion on 'invasive' species. I always thought dandelions beautiful, but when I was teenager working at gardening and cutting grass, most homeowners wanted dandelions to be gone and had me dig up as many as I could. Now, if dandelions were rare they'd be prized. People are just quirky like that - except me, of course.
Dandelions are one of the species of plants that were specifically brought to America when the first settlers came from other countries. Another one that is almost everywhere , and also considered a weed nowadays, is called plantago, or plantain. It comes in both a wide leaf variety, and a spike leaf variety. Both kinds have healing properties, just as the dandelion plant has. The Indians called plantain, white man’s footprint (or something very similar to that) because everywhere that the settlers moved, they brought plantain, and it grew and spread. The seeds on plantain are called psyllium, which is where we get the fiber used in products like Metamucil.
Your facts about dandelions and plantains are entirely new to me and fascinating. I can't afford real Metamusil. I have Wal-musil from you know where. It probably has fake psyllium.