The Price of Liberty

As we walk down the aisles of a supermarket, even a so-called “natural foods” one, we see an ever increasing number of products. Hundreds of different soft drinks. Dozens of different vegetables, flavors, styles, and claims. More “dairy” products than you can possibly imagine. A seemingly never-ending array of breakfast foods, specialty breads, and more.

All these things have at least one thing in common. They are “GRAS” – “generally recognized as safe.” Safe to sell, and theoretically, safe to eat. On every package, unless you are a rare member of a specialized profession, you see a very long list of ingredients that appear to be baffling and just plain confusing – even scary. And perhaps a few warnings about peanuts, dairy, etc. And you see all of the “plant-based” products: fake milk, fake meat, and more, as these are listed more and more. Supposedly introduced into the food stream due to popular demand.

As a correspondent recently shared, “Most Americans hear those words and assume the FDA has independently reviewed the ingredient, declared it safe, and given it the government’s blessing. That is not what GRAS necessarily means. In fact, the phrase itself deserves much closer scrutiny. Most of us might imagine panels of “independent” government scientists reviewing years of evidence before deciding that a new ingredient belongs in the food supply. That is not how the modern system works. For one thing, who pays all these “independent” analysts? The FedGov (Congress) or some State legislature. We know how well that works, don’t we?