User:Zpippin/essays/Abolish the FDA
From Free Talk Live
This is an essay written by Zach Pippin for a class at the University of South Carolina.
It has been suggested that essays are best posted on the forum, because they have a single author but can be commented on by others. You can then link to those forum threads from appropriate wiki articles, like Food and Drug Administration.
Essay
The recent spinach scare proves the worthlessness of the FDA and USDA. The government was not able to stop the E. Coli outbreak. It was only after the fact that it issued a recall. This was useless. Who in his right mind would have purchased the spinach anyways after hearing of the E. Coli and not knowing which brands were affected? The best solution to the problem is to abolish the FDA and USDA and replace them with private, voluntary agencies.
Some critics claim that we would all die if it was not for the FDA and its regulations. Stop and think about it for a moment, though. If Lay’s potato chips are found to cause any health problems then I doubt many people would continue to purchase them. Lay’s knows this, and they want to maintain and even grow their profits. Therefore Lay’s will make sure that their product is the best they can produce.
Also, I said replace with private agencies. What agency? Well, they do not exist yet, but they would surely spring up once we eliminate government regulations. They would be a hybrid of certification and insurance agencies.
First, there would be the certification side. Today food and drugs are tested and approved, or certified, by the FDA. There is no reason that a private company could not perform the same function. If they approve it the product could carry the seal of approval of that company. Consumers would then feel safer knowing that the product has been tested and certified. They would be more likely to buy certified products rather than non-certified, therefore motivating everyone to obtain certification.
Certification companies would be superior to the FDA because they would be accountable to the consumers. If the potato chips certified by the Good Food Certification Company was found to cause health problems, then consumers might not buy other products from certified by the same company. Manufacturers would then cease to purchase certification from that company. Like Lay’s GFCC is also motivated by money. They would make sure that their testing standards were strict and would not certify a product unless they were sure it was safe.
The companies could also have an insurance side. It would most likely be closest to health insurance today. GFCC could insure Lay’s that it would pay for lost profits due to recalls. They would be reluctant to sign agreements, though, is Lay’s manufacturing practices were sub-standard. Like a smoker trying to get health insurance, it would be harder for a bad company to get food insurance.
Privatizing food regulation would be beneficial to both the producers and the consumer. It would create a currently inexistent accountability factor. The food would likely be tested to higher standards. The producers would be voluntarily complying with these standards. Not to mention it would all be funded voluntarily rather than by taxes stolen from people by the government at the point of a gun.
