Economist makes case for increased regulation in wake of egg recall

David Swenson

There is only one way for agriculture to move forward safely, argues Iowa State University economist Dave Swenson, and that’s through increased government regulation of its industries.

Since there is currently no way to satisfy demand for meat and poultry products using traditional farming techniques, Swenson wrote in a recent post on the blog Insider Iowa, “it demands that food regulations evolve to include a priori the risks inherent in modern animal production systems.”

Swenson’s thoughts come in the wake of a massive voluntary recall of Salmonella-tainted shell eggs by two Iowa-based producers. The DeCoster family’s agribusinesses, which have a long history of running afoul state and federal regulators, are once again the focus of a national investigation, and are likely responsible for the illness of more than 1,500 Americans.

There are, as expected, harsh words for DeCoster in Swenson’s column, but he also holds strong criticism for the Iowa media.

There was scant to no coverage at all in Iowa major news outlets about the victims of the salmonella outbreak – those who suffered or were suffering as a result of the contamination.  Instead, besides the simple reporting of the Wright County Egg, and then later the Hillandale Farms, recalls, coverage focused on the impact the regulatory action would have on the state’s egg industry.  We insultingly were treated to the obligatory egg industry spokesperson assuring us that the egg supply was in fact safe, the massive evidence to the contrary notwithstanding, and that our well-being was really in our hands.  No one would be sick, after all, if we all washed our hands after handling eggs and cooked our eggs thoroughly.

You see, it was really the consumer’s fault.

Keeping us safe is government’s number one job.  Business, however, howls at the mere thought of increased regulation or, more appropriately in this case, merely adequate regulation, and we currently have a wave of ill-thought libertarian sentiment demanding less government and more market freedom. Freedom to sicken babies. Some freedom.