m&m- Milk and Melamine?

m&m- Milk & Melamine?

Today I have issues to focus on milk and melamine.  With milk a problem is within us and with melamine is the issue of ethics and morality.

“What I am doing right now?”  Perhaps this thought might have not come to minds of those people while injecting melamine, a toxic nitrogenous rich chemical substance, which is harmful to human beings and leads to development of kidney stone.  They didn’t realize at that time that they are injecting poison into young children who have just stepped into this beautiful world.  I am very disturbed after closely following China’s milk scandal which has left thousands of children infected with tainted milk formula.  Approximately 54,000(perhaps it could be more as you can t rely on China when it has such media restrictions and solid control) children have been infected and four infants dead, as result of the toxic melamine.

What is milk? Why do we drink milk?

It might seem this question to you rather a stupid one but that is the way you ask yourself as you try to solve problems.  Ask basic questions and solve problems.   Well I will answer the question first and then confront you with the problem we have.

Milk is an emulsion or colloid of butterfat globules within a water-based fluid. The fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K are found within the milkfat portion of the milk.  I like chocolate milk and honey bunch of oats cereals as morning breakfast.

* Biotin and pantothenic acid are B vitamins important for energy production.

* Iodine is a mineral essential for thyroid function.

* Potassium and magnesium are for cardiovascular health.

* Selenium is a cancer-preventive trace mineral.

* Thiamine is a B-vitamin important for cognitive function, especially memory.

* Vitamin A is critical for immune function.

* Vitamin B12 and riboflavin are necessary for cardiovascular health and energy production.

* Vitamins D and K are essential for bone health.

Human milk contains, on average, 1.1% protein, 4.2% fat, 7.0% lactose (a sugar), and supplies 72 kcal of energy per 100 grams.    Apparently from china’s milk scandal and we now know the problem that, there is a decline in the number of children that are breastfed over past.  80% of children hospitalized were 2 year old or younger.  Otherwise the number of infected children in china could have been lowered if the infant were breastfed.  I remember that while I was in school, may be in 4^th or 5^th grade, number of commercials on television on breastfeeding were quite significant, as of now we hardly we see any of those commercials. Furthermore, early lactation milk is known as colostrum, and carries the mother’s antibodies to the baby. It can reduce the risk of many diseases in the baby.

So whats going on ?  Clearly corporate giants would not like if their packaged milk(milk&melamine) products are not consumed over mother’s milk.  They can also prove that packaged milk is far better than mother’s milk to raise their sales. What an achievement for them.  I am saying this in order to urge more and more children should be breastfed.  As of now I consider my article to be an advertisement to promote breastfeeding, which can also alleviate risk of breast cancer.

We all know that life is fast and very fast, we don’t want to waste time.  We want to do it quickly and effectively.  We think that we are smart when we save time, save money, save energy, save our mind from thinking.  Corporations take this common mind set of people for granted and slashes media with those advertisements.  Finally we are changing our habits to fill their pockets with dollar bills.  So don’t get captivated when you see such commercials about cheaper and time saving ads of products.  Hence our mind set has resulted into resorting  to those packaged milk, milk products and powdered milk.

What is Melamine and why is it in milk?

Well the first part of the question can be easily answered but second one is not as easy.  Melamine is an organic base and a trimer of cyanamide, with a 1,3,5-triazine skeleton. Like cyanamide, it contains 66% nitrogen by mass and, if mixed with resins, has fire retardant properties due to its release of nitrogen gas when burned.  Melamine is combined with formaldehyde to produce melamine resin, a very durable thermosetting plastic, and melamine foam, a polymeric cleaning product. The end products include countertops, dry erase boards, fabrics, glues, housewares and flame retardants. Melamine is one of the major components in Pigment Yellow 150, a colorant in inks and plastics.

Years before we had a small family furniture business, as we inherit carpentry as ancestral family occupation, but now no longer we do it.  For polishing the finished product we used melamine polish to give a glossy touch.  So while spraying you have cover nose else it can have harmful effects.

So why was melamine used in milk? It could be useful in many products but is it meant for humans?  Certainly not, when incidents indicate Melamine leads to kidney stone and death of human beings.  Melamine rich in nitrogen was used to enhance the protein content of food products and also in addition to protein in milk it can increase the whiteness.  Melamine can also be used to cheat quality checks.

When you know importance of milk to human beings how could those do this inhuman activity of mixing toxics to milk?  They don’t have any morals, ethics, responsibility or heart while doing these things.

Morals?

After seeing and reading dozens of news headlines we are aware of morality of white collars.  I don’t criticize everyone but there are people who are doing this?  These people don’t have a face because I believe there are hidden forces who are doing these, they don’t have heart because they do such inhuman activities, don’t have mind because they don’t think what is right and wrong and they don’t have a family because they don’t consider everyone as God’s own children.

China knew about harmful effects of melamine way before in 2007 but they didn’t take firm action.  The governing body also relaxed rule as far as quality checks was concerned.  Sanlu, china’s biggest dairy and at least six other companies on the list of 22 contaminated milk producers had been exempted from national quality checks. They were awarded “inspection-free” status.  How could you bare companies from quality checks?  After all companies are run by individuals and one can be good or even bad.  It is not fair at all on part of china.  WHO should pose ban on china’s products totally or at least urge china to have open up third party inspection on quality of products.

Before running into quality checks of products one should run a self check.  Since we now feel that everyone is corrupt and now anything can happen, so what are we suppose to do.  Perhaps do something to change the way people think.  As I mention that all problems don’t generate in isolation, we too have equal responsibility and so we should examine ourselves too and do what is ethical.  Those involved in scandals and we people should ourselves on issues of milk scandal, and breastfeeding, “What I have done?”