Posts in "food"

The Case for Reconsidering GMOs

Stephen Decker
Feb 4, 2013 at 3:35 PM
By Stephen Decker

Everywhere I go, non-libertarians and libertarians ("Big" and "little l") alike all like to pester me about my discomfort with Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO). I see the posts all the time on The Skeptical Libertarian Facebook Page about how they feel GMOs are beneficial to people, how they are backed by science, and how they have helped the hungry.  Reason Magazine recently published an article titled The Top 5 Lies about Biotech Crops, supporting GMOs and the supposed health benefits they are supposed to have.

I'm proud to say I will contest every one you who say GMO's are healthy.

Not solely because they are able to feed hungry populations, or because I want people to starve, but because the evidence the GMO-supporters have is equally (if not more) inconclusive about the long-term effects of GM foods in a human's diet. Here's my reasoning:

Most of the studies on the health effects of GMO's have been short term.  Since short term is relative to many people, I will just go ahead and say that the studies that have been performed have only lasted for a time frame of about 90 days and have all been conducted on mice (although at least one short-term study showed there would be problems with GM foods). How long is that for a mouse? 90 days for us is the aged equivalent of about 15 years in mice.

Free Markets & Food Trucks

John McKenna
Aug 17, 2011 at 4:16 PM
By John McKenna

imageEven though I am a Boston native, I spend most of the year in New York City, where I go to school. One thing that caught my attention when I first arrived was the bounty of food trucks that dot the landscape. Walk down any street in Manhattan, and chances are, there are at least three food trucks on each corner, selling anything from hot dogs to peanuts to waffles to Greek food. A NYC food truck is the quintessential small business: a couple of guys, a metal box, and affordable food in one of the most unaffordable cities in the nation. The existence of the food trucks is thanks in large part to the relatively easy nature of NYC permits, which enable guys with carts and trucks to camp out anywhere and hawk their wares to the always busy New Yorker looking for a quick bite.

Yet, for much of my life, my native Boston has been hostile to the food truck revolution. City permits were so cumbersome and red tape laden that it repelled anybody who wanted to set up shop. It was a real shame because Boston is famous for being a "walking city," which means that a well-placed street cart would make a fair bit of money, especially during an era of penny-pinching, which in the food universe has allowed mobile food units to be very profitable.

Inflation Sparks Food Riots Worldwide

John McKenna
Jul 20, 2011 at 5:57 PM
By John McKenna

As the Federal Reserve continues to weaken our dollar with massive bond-buying programs that are intended to stimulate the economy, we should realize how bad inflation is to countries that don't have developed economies.

Sure, inflation is still a problem, but at least in the US there aren't food riots everyday (not yet at least). However, travel to the Middle East, and it is these food riots, due to the increased cost of food as a result of inflation and bad weather patterns, that are toppling governments.  In fact, there is a claim that the Tunisian dictator Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, the first of the Middle East dictators to be overthrown in the Arab Spring, was "toppled by a vegetable cart", citing the rising food costs.

Food price inflation, though, is not limited to the Middle East. In the last year alone, the food commodity index has risen 27% just last year, with some basic food items like corn nearly doubling in price. As a result, the dollar has declined in value due to the rising prices driving other goods up as well.

The Killing Crutch

Dave Scotese
Jul 18, 2011 at 4:34 PM
By Dave Scotese

Back in 2009, I heard that Michelle Obama had visited a farmer's market near the White House.  I thought it was wonderful. 

However, having read a little Rothbard, I knew there was something wrong with this picture.  How could the administration be encouraging local growers and such when the big corporate interests are so threatened by them, and when local growers create such independence and strength in the citizenry?  It turns out they have a rather brilliant (albeit perverted) plan.

Private atrophy is the general goal of government and explains a lot of the seemingly unnecessary "help" it provides to people.  Michelle said at the time:

I want to reinforce the fact that this market and other farmers' markets around the city participate in the WIC program, the SNAP program, the Double Dollar program, and the Seniors benefits program. And each SNAP and WIC dollar equals two dollars at a farmers' market to purchase fresh produce.

What atrophies here is the farmer's markets' motivation and ability to advertise and educate people who are not on welfare. She's basically saying, look, if you're poor, be a customer of these local food growers and we'll get all the taxpayers to help pay your way.

North Carolina Bans Rare Burgers?

John McKenna
May 31, 2011 at 1:37 PM
By John McKenna

Flavor:  Now banned in the Tar Heel State.

image

We've all heard of government wanting to regulate our health care, the Internet, and what kind of light-bulbs we're allowed to put into our homes. As infuriating as those regulations can be, the state of North Carolina may have just one-upped them all: banning rare burgers.

According to North Carolina state law, restaurants are required to cook burgers until they reach an internal temperature of 155 degrees Fahrenheit, or as burger lovers call it, shoe-leather. The reasoning behind this ludicrous law is that 155 degrees is the temperature that dangerous bacteria like E. Coli die, but it also leads to a burger that's dry, unpleasant, and would be more useful as a hockey puck than as food. Most restaurants across the country put warnings on the bottom of their menus warning about the dangers of undercooked meat, yet people still order their burgers rare.

It is the choice of the customer to have his burger done the way he wants it, even raw if he so chooses (steak tartare anybody?). Call this law a war on fast-food or a war on meat, but either way, its nanny-statism gone crazy, and there isn't enough ketchup to make that go down easier.

Food Revolution

Ryan Gilroy
Apr 12, 2010 at 12:34 PM
By Ryan Gilroy

As a blogger here, I enjoy the regular connection I have with this audience, as well as being able to follow stories as they develop.  I've posted here before about the First Lady's anti-obesity project, and while I'm not a fan of how she's going about this, I found something related which is much more liberty-friendly:

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution is a bottom-up revolutionary act -- he's gone to the most obese areas in America to teach people healthy habits rather than mandating good behavior from the top down, as Mrs. Obama proposes.  Any liberty-lover would enjoy this show, which has so much commentary on how government mandates simply don't work to fix problems like this.  I highly recommend you watch it (and listen for some great quotes about how much red tape he has to deal with).