If a producer of food were to not adhere to food safety rules then consumers could potentially die. This would likely result in the producer going out of business. With regulations this could be prevented.
The regulations and regulators must be paid for with taxes
It is a shame that people pay the taxes because that DOES support regulation and that DOES prevent it from happening. As a result more people are alive (which is good), but there are loads of food producers that don't create healthy food and are slowly killing everyone (which is bad, and outweighs the good of those few still being alive by several magnitudes). If we stopped supporting the regulation, we could get rid of the bad actors because they would no longer be protected from their small, agile, and often healthier competitors. Free the market, and you end up improving the world. Regulate it, and you make it more fragile.
Speaking of which, I just read and enjoyed Nassim Tableb's "Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder." I recommend it!
A lot of people (who don't pay/file taxes) make this argument. If you don't believe in paying taxes then how would food safety be paid for, or how would national defense be paid for?
Food safety is the responsible of both consumer and producer. And national defense alone don't cost 30%+ income from everyone in the country.
If a producer of food were to not adhere to food safety rules then consumers could potentially die. This would likely result in the producer going out of business. With regulations this could be prevented.
The regulations and regulators must be paid for with taxes
Food safety rules and regulations are written to support big commercial farms and in turn target and burden family farmers especially regarding sustainable and organic farming, and thus reduce the availability of fresh, local food in our communities. The over-regulate rules cost farmers their profits and keep beginners from starting to farm.
Music to my hears
The vast majority of regulations are unnecessary, contre productive and/or implemented because of corruption or for an other bad reason; the more regulation you have the more difficult it is for the small companies and the newcomers that is why most big corporations love regulation and big government
2012 Food Poisoning Statistics (National)
Salmonella poisoning is the most common type of food poisoning. It causes 40 percent of food poisoning cases. There were 7,800 reported cases of Salmonella poisoning in 2012, with 33 deaths.
Campylobacter, a type of bacteria that is spread through chicken and unpasteurized milk and cheese, is becoming more common. In 2012, 7,000 people were sickened by Campylobacter, and another six died.
Vibrio infections caused by contaminated seafood spread via warm sea water have increased 43 percent. In 2012, there were 193 cases of Vibrio infections and six deaths.
Approximately one in six Americans (48 million people) is sickened by foodborne illnesses every year, and about 3,000 die.
Roughly 128,000 people are hospitalized annually for foodborne illnesses.