But the real question: Why did Menu Foods use Chinese wheat?

Investigators have discovered that the pet food causing the kidney failure of hundreds (perhaps more) of dogs and cats is laced with a common rat poison, aminopterin, apparently used on shipments of Chinese wheat to North America.

A source close to the investigation tells ABC News that the rodenticide, which the source says is illegal to use in the United States, was on wheat that was imported from China and used by Menu Foods in nearly 100 brands of dog and cat food.

A news conference is scheduled for this afternoon by experts in Albany, N.Y., where scientists at the state's food laboratory made the discovery a week after a massive recall of 60 million cans and pouches was issued.

No one is yet sure this is the only contaminant.

There are other questions that we have not seen raised, let alone addressed.

1. Are the Chinese using rat poison in all shipments of wheat they export?

2. If so, what other foods - human or animal - could be affected by the imports?

3. We understand Menu Foods is a Canadian company but the plant where the bad pet food allegedly originated was in Emporia, Kansas. Consider that Kansas is a big wheat producer. For that matter, so is central Canada. The big question thus becomes: Why use Chinese wheat?

These questions need to be asked and answered, and soon. Lives could be at stake.

We live in such an inter-connected world today that our exposure risk is much greater than it once was. A rogue operation, a bad corporate player, can do great harm to a great many in a short amount of time. There is the issue of inspection of imported cargo at our seaports. There are more ways to spread mayhem among a population than simply smuggling nukes. While the pet food incident is likely the result of lax standards and a clash of cultural standards, it points to gaping holes in our inspection regimen as a country.

It also raises another question: Was Chinese wheat used because American wheat is increasingly devoted to the production of ethanol fuel?

A nation that is neither self-sufficient in energy nor food will find itself suffering the hazards and indignities of an international beggar with little control over the results.

AN AFTERTHOUGHT - Will all those hot-shot trial attorneys foaming at the mouth to be the first to file tort actions in this pet food tragedy please shut the hell up for a day or two!

And where is the U.S. Department of Agriculture on all this?

From what we can discern, USDA has regulations governing the content and labelling of pet food, but is not required to do actual inspections. That may be changing. The principle regulator appears to be the Food and Drug Administration, plus each of the various states has its own regulatory scheme.