Talk about timing

By Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance

Politics • 6/01/11 8:48:06 am • Views: 485

Just as we’re hearing about a massive, and deadly outbreak of E. Coli in Europe, Republicans in the house are trying to gut the new food safety law.

Talk about being tone-deaf. But even worse this is what they planned to do when they were elected in ‘10. Jobs? Who cares, they’re completely focused on undoing everything done by this administration full stop.

Recent Pages by Dreggas (Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance):
My Experience as a Juror Police raided a man's house over...okra plants In 2012 the Earth Dodged a Cosmic Sized Bullet Sea Eagle steals camera left to video crocodiles A good commentary on Tragedy and Video Game Violence

Jump to bottom

5 comments

shutdown Wed, Jun 1, 2011 9:57:10am

It’s not simply about undoing any legislative achievements of the Obama administration. The objective is to take the Bush agenda of benign neglect of market regulations to its logical conclusion: the dismantling of any regulatory framework which might crimp corporate profits. And since we all know (insert sarc tag here) that profits automatically generate new jobs (hey, picking fruit for $1.25 is a job), the GOP can jump up and down and scream about how this is all about jobs. It is not. It is about profits. I like money as much as the next guy, but ultimately, we have to decide whether society is about the welfare of the greatest number of people, or the wealth of the strongest few.

shutdown Wed, Jun 1, 2011 1:44:59pm

One more thought - it is very interesting, in the context of the e.coli outbreak in Europe, that the GOP is attempting to weaken food safety regulations and oversight. This will, over time, drive consumers to the so-called “locavore” movement. Small farms and farming co-operatives will benefit at the expense of large factory farms. That can hardly be what the large livestock and agriproduct companies are hoping for with their lobbying efforts.

calochortus Wed, Jun 1, 2011 2:36:30pm

re: #2 imp_62

I would like to think this will drive people to smaller, more responsible producers, but I have some doubts. An awful lot of people shop by price only and have no idea where their food comes from or how it gets to the supermarket.

I suspect that if people thought about it much they might be willing to spend a bit more so that animals are treated humanely, food supplies are safe, and farm workers don’t die of heat stroke, or develop health problems from agricultural chemicals contacted while working in the fields. But many people are totally disconnected from their food sources.

shutdown Wed, Jun 1, 2011 8:20:57pm

re: #3 calochortus

Demand ultimately leads to an increase in supply, which leds to a reduction in price. Even WalMart has organic produce and locally sourced produce (at least in some areas with nearby agriculture). Higher end chains like already emphasize local connections. People like cheap food, but there is a tipping point where the incremental savings is not worth the incremental risk. I think this tipping point is fast being reached.

calochortus Wed, Jun 1, 2011 9:42:56pm

re: #4 imp_62

Like I said, I hope you’re right, but people are used to the extremely low prices produced by factory farming and there isn’t a lot smaller operations can do to compete on price. When you figure quality in, then its a different game, but I just don’t have a lot of hope that most people really care. I can afford to do things like pay $5-$6 a pound for grass fed ground beef, and I’d rather spend my food dollars on that than eating at restaurants, but I know people who think I’m nuts.

Big Organic isn’t the same as local and sustainable whether its fully organic or not. Nor is it necessarily safe as the Earthbound Farm e Coli outbreak of a few years ago shows. I have nothing against Earthbound Farms, but there is debate as to whether that sort of operation is really sustainable.

But, any improvement is a good thing and I’m happy that there is a greater availability of real food than there was a few years ago. :-)

Auto

This page has been archived.
Comments are closed.

Jump to top

Create a PageThis is the LGF Pages posting bookmarklet. To use it, drag this button to your browser's bookmark bar, and title it 'LGF Pages' (or whatever you like). Then browse to a site you want to post, select some text on the page to use for a quote, click the bookmarklet, and the Pages posting window will appear with the title, text, and any embedded video or audio files already filled in, ready to go.
Or... you can just click this button to open the Pages posting window right away.
Last updated: 2016-01-01 10:29 am PST LGF User's Guide RSS Feeds Tweet

Help support Little Green Footballs!