POL 300: April 12

Should a company have the power to decide what information to give consumers about their food?

I do not think so. It should be mandated by the government that a company must release all nutrition information as it relates to the product that is being sold by said company. There is no way a company would release any information that they consider to be undesirable to them selling their product. A good case in point would be McDonald’s and the beef industry’s attempt to not make public the practice of putting pink slime in their beef products. The public reacted with swift fury and basically every major supermarket chain and McDonald’s have now stopped including it in beef. Obviously they did not want the public to know about the filler they put in it because they knew of its exceptionally poor quality. Therefore, a company should not be allowed to determine what information they want or do not want to release to the public since it is obvious they will only act in their best interests, not the public’s.

Who do you think should have the power to decide food policies (i.e. laws about food safety)?

Ultimately most responsibility lies with the people; however, I think that leading nutritionists and medical professionals should be the ones in charge of determining food policies. I wonder if there is a way that we can elect or nominate qualified individuals to determine these policies as to prevent people who used to work for special interests, such as the National Cattlemen’s Association, within the government. I think those who have very few affiliations with special interests should be the ones who are making the decisions involving our food. They are more likely to actually act in our interests rather than those who only want to make more money even at the cost of selling their soul.