Opinion: Overhaul the FDA

In the US, a nation renowned for putting profits first, our food-producing factories have long embraced the rule of secrecy, speed, cheap “technologies” (a leading reason corporations may claim a need to privacy), and profit. We invite you to a new conversation in changing America’s food culture, clarifying more about American food factories on packaging, ... Opinion: Overhaul the FDA

In the US, a nation renowned for putting profits first, our food-producing factories have long embraced the rule of secrecy, speed, cheap “technologies” (a leading reason corporations may claim a need to privacy), and profit.

We invite you to a new conversation in changing America’s food culture, clarifying more about American food factories on packaging, and creating a new federal agency for food safety.

Sodium nitrite, for instance—a staple in the American deli meat industry, commonly used to cure meats and give them a misleading red hue that simulates freshness—is not well understood by most consumers, as demonstrated by a slew of recent articles. This is in spite of current regulations that require that sodium nitrite appear in the ingredients list on the packaging, often labeled, in as small a font size as “a type size no smaller than 1/16 of an inch (1.6 millimeters)” according to the FDA’s Food Labeling Guide, as either “sodium nitrite” or “curing salt.”

While it serves as a preservative, sodium nitrite produces nitrosamines. In Europe, sodium nitrite is tightly controlled. Many countries have significantly reduced its use, if not banned it outright in certain products. As with many American corporations, cost-cutting measures are continually defended by the industry with phrases like “safe in moderation.”

Similarly, Potassium bromate and propyl gallate, banned in the EU, continue to lace American meat. Potassium bromate, used to “improve the texture” of processed meats, is classified as a carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

Antibiotics, still used rampantly in American cattle, have long raised red flags. In the EU, antibiotic use in livestock is heavily restricted and only used to treat illness, never to promote growth or prevent disease in healthy animals. Here in the U.S., factory farms continue to routinely administer antibiotics to prevent diseases that are otherwise rampant in their overcrowded and unsanitary environments.

The problem—according to an article in the American Journal of Public Health—is not these ingredients alone. It’s a lack of transparency and the absence of a serious food culture in our process. It’s the lack of an educational branch to teach consumers about different ways of producing food. Why? In the United States, the FDA follows a philosophy of “approved until proven unhealthy,” or “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS), which often means harmful substances remain in use for years before enough studies are compiled to disprove their safeness. In contrast, Europe (the EU General Food Law Regulation) at the very least requires chemicals and additives to be rigorously tested and shown to be safe before they are allowed on the market.

For now, current regulations have allowed for billions to flow into oligarchical coffers, enriching a select few while Americans ultimately pay—if not through the cost of meat, then through healthcare expenses, and in the lost promise of healthier lives. As long as the system stays this way, the American public may not fully appreciate what they are eating and its effects on their health, swayed instead by powerful lobbies whose concern is more with margins than morals.

We ask you to envision a full overhaul of the FDA, or the creation of a new agency, unimpeded by executives with ties to the U.S. government, including their lobbying efforts, and by employing former government regulators to lucrative positions.

An independent and transparent oversight board could investigate potential conflicts of interest in the American food industry at large, and a enact a turnaround in the philosophy of the current regulatory system.

Such a board would need to rewrite our reasons for accessing all American factories that produce food for the public, for inspection certificates that publicly display information about food producers, similarly to how restaurants in New York City must display a cleanliness rating, or how nutritional information is mandated on food packaging.

Inspections should note more things: like factory cleanliness, size, pasture-raised versus grass-fed, versus other forms of confinement, and all and any chemicals used that may come in contact before, during or after production.

Most other countries have separate agencies for handling food and medicine, rather than lobbing them together as ours (Food and Drug Administration), including Canada, the UK, EU, Australia and Japan. An agency dedicated to food would ensure that food culture is not mixed with drug and chemical culture.

Decisions regarding food safety and animal welfare should be made in the public interest, and be as far from corporate profits, as church is from state.