Where does our food really come from

I read an article this morning on Facebook that scared the beejeesus out of me.  After thinking about what I read, I decided to do a little research.  I went to the Snopes website to see if what I read was factual.  The article stated that the Smithfield Co. was sold to a Chinese Co. and that their products would now be processed in China and shipped back here.  That's a rather brief overview of the article.  Snopes says that the company was indeed sold back in 2013 but here's the direct quote from Snopes:  "people engaged in that industry have told us that the notion of a Chinese-owned company raising hogs in the U.S., shipping them live all the way to China for slaughtering and processing, then exporting the meat back into the U.S. would be prohibitively cost-inefficient — especially since the slaughtering and processing infrastructures already exist in the U.S., and the Chinese domestic market for pork is far, far larger than the U.S. market for pork."  So, pork is being exported to China not imported here.  Don't get me wrong folks, I don't like buying food that is from China.  Their standards for processing are nowhere near ours.  What I am saying is, you have to be aware of misleading information.  Which brings me to a great subject, how to read a label and know what it means.  Everything sold in the super market has a bar-code.  And, every bar-code has a number.  The number actually tells you where the product came from.  Here's a list you might want to copy and keep handy when you shop.

Here's a link to a more detailed list

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_GS1_country_codes

You still have to be careful when reading labels because companies are getting clever with wording.  For example:  I was worried about buying treats for my dog, Coal.  I've read of some scary things happening to pets because their treats came from China.  I looked at the back of a bag and it said Distributed by Big Heart Pet Brands San Francisco, Ca.  Further down it said Produced in Topeka, Kansas.  OK that sounds safe, right?  The bar-code first 3 numbers are 750, which on the list is Brazil.  What?  So there was a phone number listed.  I called and asked the very nice lady that answered, how can this be?  Her answer blew me away.  Yes, the product was made in Kansas but some of  the ingredients came from South America.  

I guess the only way to be absolutely sure where our food comes from, is to grow it at home.  Maybe going off grid and homesteading isn't so far fetched after all.   Anyone want to move to a farm with me?  🐓🐑🐄