Food Labeling Quotes
When nutritionists like Dr. Ludwig advocated for whole grain food in the diet, and American consumers started eating more of it, food processors and manufacturers started using the term for a wide range of food that involved grains, many of which were unhealthy. The FDA regulations were too lax and soon the term "whole grain" was being used for very healthy and very unleathy food--a little whole grain and a huige amount of sugar for example was margeted as "whole grain" but was very unhealthy. Often whole gran in small amounts were combined with the traditional milled flour and called "whole grain".
What is fascinating about this quotation is that each year in the United States millions of Americans get sick from contaminated food. Well over 100,000 need to be hospitalized, and over 3000 Americans die from food borne illness. Yet this Congressman from an agricultural state can make such an absurd statement. The US is better than most counties in terms of food safety, and is much improved over the last decades. However, it is certainly not COMPLETELY safe. Ideologically, he was trying to ward off calls for increased Federal Regulation of the Food System which he believed could not be as successful at making the system more safe as if the food industry engaged in self regulation. But it is common in modern politics to completely depart from the truth if the truth might create public and political pressure for legislation that the Congressman was ideologically opposed to. The end of reducing Federal Regulation for him justified a blatant untruth which misled the public who believed him. Worse, Americans have less trust in anything their legislators say as more and more are exposed making statements like this.
Upton Sinclair’s Expose of the Chicago Meatpacking Industry—called “Packingtown” and triggered the government investigation which confirmed almost everything that had been alleged including the mislabeling of products and the use of the meat of diseased animals. As a result, the public pressure was so great that President Theodore Roosevelt was able to institute the first American federal regulation of food.
The Shereth Israel congregation was the first organized Jewish congregation in America. Traditionally, in Europe the congregation would appoint a butcher to ritually slaughter animals and sell them to the congregation members at controlled prices. However, a New York butcher of the time decided that since America was a free country, he would sell directly to Jews and not go through the congregation, thus avoiding the price fixing which he thought unfairly low. The congregation responded as they traditionally had in Europe and asked the civil authorities to enforce their right to control religious activities in the community. The City Council then passed this law. The butcher appealed to the courts which ruled that he had the right to sell his meat regardless of the congregation—that the American law may not be used to enforce any religious tradition. The case set important precedents regarding the relationship between church and state, monopolies, and individual commercial rights.
When nutritionists advocated for whole grain food in the diet, and American consumers started eating more of it, food processors and manufacturers started using the term for a wide range of food that involved grains, many of which were unhealthy. The FDA regulations were too lax and soon the term "whole grain" was being used for very healthy and very unleathy food--a little whole grain and a huige amount of sugar for example was margeted as "whole grain" but was very unhealthy. Often whole gran in small amounts were combined with the traditional milled flour and called "whole grain".
