Costly Food Regulations

In the ongoing battle surrounding the food industry the approach most often taken is “us versus them”; you know, food activists and consumers against the big bad food industry. In reality, the food industry is not just one big multi-billion dollar company with deep deep pockets. Instead it’s made up of several diverse groups, much like any other industry. First and foremost is the family farmer or rancher who must face a continual onslaught of ever changing, restrictive and costly regulations. Next there are the processors and packers, the distributors, and the retailers. Those who cheer the passing of new regulations and requirements on the food industry need to remember that there is a trickle down effect, and that the higher costs inevitably created by such new rules and regulations will find its way to the consumer in the form of higher costs at the grocery store. The farm to fork concept is not just a warm and fuzzy marketing campaign. It’s a fact of life. Does this mean we shouldn’t seek new and better ways of doing things, or work to update food regulations? No, but it does mean that legislators should make darn sure any new rules they impose on the food industry will pass along benefits from farm to fork, and that the high cost of compliance meets a true need.