No, not the comic.
This story just blew my mind. Milton Friedman might argue that the peanut industry can regulate itself; even the Seattle Times (not exactly a bastion of progressive thinking) thought in 2006 that more funding was needed for the FDA.
GWB couldn’t be arsed to appoint a permanent head of the FDA for most of his presidency. I suspect his whole religion is good, science is bad mindset may have played a part in the general tendency to de-fund…of course requiring companies that sell food products to produce *safe* food products is probably regarded as onerous. Requiring companies to actually report when they actually can be arsed to test their facilities, and happen to find something potentially life-threatening? naaaaaaaaah. Requiring them to disinfect their facilities? overseeing them disinfecting their facilities? re-testing to make sure that everything’s kosher? what drugs am I on?! that’s ridiculous.
8 dead people and tens of thousands sickened? aw, that’s just the cost of doing business. Don’t fret. Massive recalls, years later, of products that should never have been manufactured, let alone distributed? hey, not my problem.
This isn’t exactly the first time this has happened (the tomatoes, the spinach, the melamine in the pet food) but I think it may be the most despicable instance of condoned neglect in the interest of lining somebody’s pocket that I have seen in quite some time.
