Many Proposals, but Little Desire to Act

December 23, 2021 10:37 PM

“Does it have to be yours?” she asked recently. “Is that what it’s gonna take to get it?” TW: This story discusses a child’s fatal case of food poisoning.

Over the last 25 years, three presidents — Clinton, Obama & Trump — proposed unifying the food safety system, but none made it a political priority. The Clinton administration, for example, released its plan on his last day in office.

posted by infinite intimation (2 comments total)

Wow, what a crazy system of agencies that can all avoid responsibility. I had no idea that NOAA graded seafood!
posted by starfishprime at 3:54 AM on December 24, 2021 [2 favorites]

Thank you for sharing this! It was exactly as infuriating a read as I expected, but ultimately ended on an interesting note.

I wondered why not Bush II and then read the part about reorganizing/creating Homeland Security and realized that was probably why no one in that administration wanted anything to do with it.

It was particularly noteworthy that the solution people advocating in this space seem to be working toward is modernization rather than consolidation. I understand why - the politics of power - but damn, that still seems like a loss and an inefficiency that will lead to preventable deaths.
posted by librarylis at 12:28 PM on January 3, 2022 [1 favorite]