Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[rice07]

Hi

THE MELAMINE-CONTAMINATED milk powder scandal has shaken Taiwan's food industry and has scared the living daylights out of the public. However, prior to this incident, there were many warning signs such as poor quality starch, poisonous hairy crabs and grouper fish as well as pork containing ractopamine, an addictive used in pig feed to tenderize pork. But what have our authorities learned from these incidents?

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2008/10/12/2003425684
...

Do you think that the bold part above,'feed', should be ' fed ' leading the past participal phrase(fed to tenderize pork) referring to ' an addictive '?

Thanks for you help!

Good day!

rice07

[CP]

No. It should read, "an additive used in pig feed to tenderize pork." The additive (not addictive), ractopamine, is added to pig feed (feed or food given to pigs) in order to make the pig meat tender.

For some reason, we call food given to animals feed, but we don't call food given to people feed.
_________________
You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[rice07]

Hi CP

Thanks for having the patience to help us with those questions of English we English learners here have trouble understanding. You are right. It should be ' an additive ' not ' an addictive ', which is a good reminder to me. My casual manner drives me to make such mistakes like that all the time.

Well, let's cut to the core of the question. In fact, I should have noticed that ' pig feed ' might be a fixed noun phrase and ' feed ' in this case was a noun rather than a verb(or a participle) given another pivotal facet of this question. Anyway, with having your help, the truly exhilarating is that I can now shuttle more freely between the English world and soak up the atmosphere of that. I am indebted to you, indeed.

Good day!

rice07