Under the guise of a public health program, the Chinese government is currently engaged in a crackdown of the gutter oil (地沟油) industry. However, as more information leaks out, troubling questions are being asked about the real reasons why used cooking oil is being seized.
A recent report in the Beijing News (translation courtesy of Global Times) relates the official story:
Local police authorities in Zhejiang, Shandong, and Henan provinces arrested 32 suspects for making and selling illegal cooking oil in mid-July. The police found hundreds of tons of illegal cooking oil, collected from oil already used in restaurants and scraped from the gutters. The nationwide crackdown reveals that the processing of "gutter oil" has formed an industrial chain.But is this mere propaganda? One cooking oil magnate, surnamed Zhang (not his real name), expressed his frustration with the new policy. "I thought the government was into recycling, and I was proud to be involved with a "green" sector. But with this new crackdown campaign, I don't know what to think. Things change so quickly in China! My risk management department is totally confused these days."
The police operation was an unprecedented success as it seized colossal amounts of illegal oil and many suspects. More importantly, it is the first time for the police to dismantle a nationwide illegal cooking oil ring, which confirms the rumors that many restaurants in China use gutter oil to cook food.
Environmentalists are not the only ones disappointed with the new initiative. Other critics claim that confiscating gutter oil is a violation of personal freedom.
Ms. Li Dilian, who hosts the popular Jia You! cooking show in Chengdu, recently devoted an entire episode to dishes made with gutter oil. "The response was fantastic. The smoky, tangy flavor associated with gutter oil can do wonders to simple, everyday dishes. I don't understand this crackdown campaign. People should be free to use whatever ingredients they wish."
With the public so obviously opposed to the new policy, some analysts have questioned the official explanation issued by the government and disseminated by local media outlets.
Fred Yellin, Shanghai bureau chief for the Washington Blade newspaper, thinks there is more to the story than is being reported in quasi-government media. "My sources tell me that a member of the State Council has ties to a large, State-owned cooking oil company whose market share is being threatened by the new gutter oil trend. This whole thing just comes down to protectionism."
Others point out that alternative uses for gutter oil may hold an explanation. Tex Cohen, energy consultant and principal at Houston-based The Lubricants Group, says that recent findings at Tsinghua University may hold the key. "Professor Wu Ran last month published research on thermal breeder reactor energy yields from a variety of fuels. Using gutter oil, breeding ratios are off the charts! That stuff puts U-233 and Thorium to shame and gives santorum a run for its money."
Cohen believes that the latest gutter oil crackdown is an attempt by the National Development & Reform Commission to build up a strategic gutter oil reserve that could be drawn upon to fuel the next generation of China's nuclear plants. "Within five years, China will be the world's leader in gutter oil power generation."
As public opposition mounts, one has to question how long the gutter oil crackdown will continue.
Reader Comments
I doubt it. If it's inexpensive or free, you can bet the government (any government) will do something to curtail it or grab it for itself to sell it back to the public. Remember, we're looking at cradle to grave government involvement.
"The police found hundreds of tons of illegal cooking oil, collected from oil already used in restaurants and scraped from the gutters."
The 'gutters' cited might be merely the catchments below grills and the drains of deep fryers, or the term might also refer to street gutters, even sewer catchments. It's well known that unscrupulous Chinese will do anything to make a yuan, no matter how dangerous, if they can get away with it. We saw that a few years ago when a deadly chemical was added to pet food because it artificially raised the tested protein content and therefore price, and shipped to the US, killing hundreds if not thousands of pets. Would some Chinese scrape the sewers for used cooking oil and sell it? I have no doubt whatsoever that some cynical, greedy Chinese might stoop to that.
Even if it's only used oil collected from restaurant grease sumps, it is still unsanitary and a potential health hazard. Used oil will contain dead flies and other insect parts, rat and mouse droppings, and who knows what else. Unless it's filtered and redistilled to be pure, it's a public health hazard. So China might be putting regulations in place.
Sure, China is a totalitarian dictatorship that is run by an entrenched political and economic oligarchy, but Western capitalists are looking on in envy and doing everything in their power to take us to its level.
Zhang, (not his real name), the oil magnet, doesn't understand corruption within the Chinese system. How utterly niave of him or totally unconvincing. One assumes that whatever is going on, doesn't benefit him and thus he doesn't really 'get it'. I guess to "understand" this mystery, a person needs to firstly put it in context, and then check to see who is benefiting? There's usually more than one person 'up to no good' behind the scenes.