Free trade = bad food

The elitist free trade fetish has not only killed American jobs. It's also flooded our grocery stores with spoiled food, promoted bad farming practices, and exported unhealthy food to children abroad.

Oppressive free trade policies have hampered America's ability to enforce rules promoting a safer food supply. A few years ago, the World Trade Organization decreed that the U.S. had to lift its longstanding rule that required meat imported from other countries to follow U.S. safety standards. China went through the WTO to challenge a U.S. ban on importing chicken from China. After the bird flu pandemic, Congress intervened, but then backtracked because of WTO interference.

After America's power to regulate and inspect food was infringed upon, salmonella increased in the U.S. There was even a hepatitis outbreak caused by tainted strawberries served at school.

Trade policies have also menaced Europe. One change would have undercut American family farms while promoting huge, inhumane factory farms by allowing these factory farms to export to Europe - violating European regulations. Much of the meat from these factory farms is produced with huge amounts of pesticides, chlorine, and growth hormones.

Sometimes, America is its own worst enemy. A few years ago, a Republican bill in Congress would have preempted state animal welfare laws. (It's not as if Democrats are blameless. In fact, they're worse now.) Supporters said they were just trying to protect the "free market." But trade policies have unfairly subjected countries to other countries' whims.

Some would ask why I assailed snack food taxes while not criticizing some food regulations of other countries. For starts, a food tax is usually a regressive tax, and these taxes in particular played favorites by benefiting well-connected companies that make bad products. Plus, other countries' recent laws were designed in part to fend off restrictive COVID-19 measures. There's an entire media movement to toughen COVID-19 rules on individuals - no matter how strict the rules already are. This movement is a malicious effort to destroy the economy of various countries. Many media outlets and politicians have acted in bad faith by toughening stay-at-home orders and lockdown culture. In addition, it appears that under the food rules that were enacted instead of lockdowns, anyone who needs certain food items may still get them. These laws primarily do not target traditional snacks that are locally produced, but processed foods. Processors are seen as too willing to make a buck off the public.

Whatever the weather, however, better food is mostly a product of fairer trade and better education.