It’s peanut-butter-jelly time! Looks like American athletes will be bringing and preparing their own food for the Olympics.

The United States Olympic Committee, which will have more than 600 people in its delegation, is planning to transport its own produce because of fears about public health and food standards in China.

The athletes will eat their three daily meals at their training camp at a local university, which is outside the official confines of the Olympic Park.

“I feel it’s a pity that they decided to take their own food,” Kang Yi, the head of the food division for the Beijing Olympic organising committee, said. “We have made lots of preparations to ensure that the athletes can get together at the Olympic Games.”

I’ve gotten Shandong Stomach enough times to completely understand the athletes’ decision! It would be terrible if an athlete missed the Olympics or couldn’t perform well, thanks to one of the random, frequent stomach upsets that plague visitors to China.

But I think it’s important not to call this a “boycott” as this article did. Calling it a boycott will definitely offend China, already so defensive about food contamination and product safety. I don’t think it’s meant to be a political statement, or meant to call China’s food contaminated or inedible, just to take all possible precautions to look after our Olympians’ health.

Unfortunately, pictures of Americans eating their own imported food doesn’t make a very good image for international friendship.

Via The Times Online