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2002
Safe Food
October 29 2002
It seems that whenever new technology is introduced, the critics come out of the woodwork. I guess it has always been that way. Hybrid seed corn was not accepted for years. Pasteurization of milk faced fierce opposition. And today, genetically modified food products are met with great suspicion in some countries. Yet all of these technologies have delivered and are delivering enormous benefits to mankind. Another example is irradiation of meat to kill dangerous, sometimes deadly, bacteria.
I was…
Down on the Farm 2002
October 22 2002
Last week I was down on the farm for our annual pig roast. Now I don't want to suggest that all is quiet, safe, tranquil and perfect in rural America. I know that some regions have suffered a serious drought. I know there is crime in rural American and terrible things happen sometimes. But once again I found farm country to be a breath of fresh air, a comforting relief, a bit of useful nostalgia.
This is the comparison I'm talking about. We have a cold-blooded killer on the loose here in the…
EU/US Subsidies
October 15 2002
Those of us in farm country have watched in amazement the hypocrisy of the Europeans criticizing our farm subsidies when theirs are twice what ours are. Now that the Congress, at long last, has given President Bush the authority to negotiate trade, President Bush is challenging the Europeans to reduce their farm subsidies and we will do the same.
EU farm Commissioner Franz Fischler has now presented the EU plan -- if you want to call it that. The plan doesn't reduce the 43 billion dollars in…
Frivolous Lawsuits
October 8 2002
In recent weeks I have talked about the stupid lawsuits filed against restaurants. Their customers get fat and they want to blame the restaurant.
This explosion of frivolous lawsuits is an even bigger national problem than the above example. You may have seen Philip Howard on television or read his book, "The Collapse of the Common Good: How America's Lawsuit Culture Undermines Freedom." He argues that "fear of being sued infects the daily decisions of every American. It has changed the culture.…
