Nutrition Facts in a free market?

[Major_C_Natural]

Everyone says that if there is enough demand, companies will put on nutrition labels. What if the demand is not sufficient enough to warrant companies to put labels on their products? As many people in this thread stated, the majority of Americans do not even read the labels. Why should the people who care about their bodies (which forms a minority in this country) be excluded from knowing what they put in their bodies?

I agree that the FDA as a inefficient and unaccountable government agency needs to go so I offer a compromise solution: Privatize or abolish the FDA while mandating all companies to submit their products to be tested and labeled by one of the independent testing companies that will surely replace the duties of the FDA. That way, labels on products will be guaranteed while the regulators will be overseen by free market forces.

 

[Sola_Fide]

Everyone says that if there is enough demand, companies will put on nutrition labels. What if the demand is not sufficient enough to warrant companies to put labels on their products? As many people in this thread stated, the majority of Americans do not even read the labels. Why should the people who care about their bodies (which forms a minority in this country) be excluded from knowing what they put in their bodies?

Would you buy a product from a company that refused to put nutrition labels on their products?

I agree that the FDA as a inefficient and unaccountable government agency needs to go so I offer a compromise solution: Privatize or abolish the FDA while mandating all companies to submit their products to be tested and labeled by one of the independent testing companies that will surely replace the duties of the FDA. That way, labels on products will be guaranteed while the regulators will be overseen by free market forces

Makes no sense^^

 

[Major_C_Natural]

Would you buy a product from a company that refused to put nutrition labels on their products?

I would not, but does that account for the masses who ignore labels?

Makes no sense^^

Privatize the FDA but mandate companies to test and label their products.

 

[Sola_Fide]

I would not, but does that account for the mass of Americans who ignore labels?

Not to make a big deal of this, but this is the standard answer of people who can't stomach Liberty, bro....



They always say "Oh, I would never take drugs and destroy my life, but we need the State to save everyone else from themselves" or "I am smart enough to never buy food from a company that refused to put nutrition labels on their products, but other people aren't".



It may just be that most people have enough self-interest to protect themselves, and the people who don't have the self-interest to protect themselves should have the Liberty to not protect themselves if they truly want that. And if the government can create a failed, unaccountable agency like the FDA, then people in the market (who have an interest in accuracy and are directly accountable) can do it better.

 

[TexanRudeBoy]

Let me ask you people this. Who tests the quality of electronic and mechanical products to ensure their safety and working ability? It most certainly isn't the government. Nearly every single consumer product of this nature is tested by Underwriters Lab. Go and see for yourself. Check the back or bottom of all the stuff around you. You will see the UL logo. Companies pay UL to test their products and UL puts their stamp of approval on them. There was an EXCELLENT Mises daily on this a last year:

http://mises.org/daily/3440

Nutritional facts in a truly free market would work the same.

 

[Major_C_Natural]

Not to make a big deal of this, but this is the standard answer of people who can't stomach Liberty, bro....

They always say "Oh, I would never take drugs and destroy my life, but we need the State to save everyone else from themselves" or "I am smart enough to never buy food from a company that refused to put nutrition labels on their products, but other people aren't".

It may just be that most people have enough self-interest to protect themselves, and the people who don't have the self-interest to protect themselves should have the Liberty to not protect themselves if they truly want that. And if the government can create a failed, unaccountable agency like the FDA, then people in the market (who have an interest in accuracy and are directly accountable) can do it better.

Lol, it is cool, dude. Constructive criticism always improves a person.

It is not the other people's lives I am concerned about about but rather my own body. How can I protect myself if I do not have access to the proper information? Like I and many others have said, the majority of people do not read labels so what gives the companies incentive to spend money on properly informing its consumer if there is not enough demand for information in the first place?

 

[Sola_Fide]

Lol, it is cool, dude. Constructive criticism always improves a person.

It is not the other people's lives I am concerned about about but rather my own body. How can I protect myself if I do not have access to the proper information? Like I and many others have said, the majority of people do not read labels so what gives the companies incentive to spend money on properly informing its consumer if there is not enough demand for information in the first place?

If there isn't a market demand for something, why should it exist? Think about it


There is market demand for accurate labeling, just look at all the links that people have posted in this thread. There are many companies that independently test products. And those companies have the interest to be accurate because they are directly accountable to the consumer... the FDA is not.

 

[Fox McCloud]

Everyone says that if there is enough demand, companies will put on nutrition labels. What if the demand is not sufficient enough to warrant companies to put labels on their products? As many people in this thread stated, the majority of Americans do not even read the labels. Why should the people who care about their bodies (which forms a minority in this country) be excluded from knowing what they put in their bodies?

I agree that the FDA as a inefficient and unaccountable government agency needs to go so I offer a compromise solution: Privatize or abolish the FDA while mandating all companies to submit their products to be tested and labeled by one of the independent testing companies that will surely replace the duties of the FDA. That way, labels on products will be guaranteed while the regulators will be overseen by free market forces.

If we go by your logic, then we can mandate a plethora of things in society that ultimately destroys wealth.

The ADA is a prime example that fits your line of thinking "well, since there's not enough demand for easy to access buildings, we must mandate it!"

Another example is something that will very likely come up in the near future regarding 3D TV; inevitably, a group of stereoblind viewers will probably lobby the government to mandate that all 3DTVs have a "stereoblind mode" that "flattens" the media for them. Its not warranted to put this economic burden on those who purchase 3DTVs who are not stereoblind; it will also likely prevent a handful of people who are interested in 3DTvs from purchasing them, because of the increased costs. At this point, I'd like to state that I am stereoblind, so if you're going to bring up the nonsense that "well, you'd have to be in some minority group that is marginalized by the market to understand!"

 

[MelissaWV]

Everyone says that if there is enough demand, companies will put on nutrition labels. What if the demand is not sufficient enough to warrant companies to put labels on their products? As many people in this thread stated, the majority of Americans do not even read the labels. Why should the people who care about their bodies (which forms a minority in this country) be excluded from knowing what they put in their bodies?

I agree that the FDA as a inefficient and unaccountable government agency needs to go so I offer a compromise solution: Privatize or abolish the FDA while mandating all companies to submit their products to be tested and labeled by one of the independent testing companies that will surely replace the duties of the FDA. That way, labels on products will be guaranteed while the regulators will be overseen by free market forces.

Or companies could have a certain "seal of approval" if they submit to testing. Let's use Consumer Reports, since they're well-known. Now, if you care about testing by an outside, impartial source, then you might only purchase cars from the companies that have the Consumer Reports seal of approval. Others? You can't be sure that they have been tested.

The MAJORITY of people might just buy cars at random based on superficial, moronic criteria (number of cupholders!), but there is still ENOUGH demand for Consumer Reports to exist and offer its seal. Car manufacturers will still get customers based purely on the aforementioned criteria, but they can also go through nominal additional testing and cost to meet Consumer Reports' standards. In addition, this might strike the car manufacturer as a good idea, since they will be less likely to face lawsuits if their product is safe. They will also get advertising from being a "Consumer Reports best buy," and can use that seal of approval in their advertising.

You don't need the MAJORITY of people to want to know what's in products. You simply need enough people to want to know what's in something that the company sees it as worthwhile to spend a little to gain that market share. There are, right now, some people who are allergic to gluten. The numbers are small, but there are certainly gluten-free products out there. They also attract people who believe a gluten-free diet is beneficial. There are people who like ostrich meat (you should try it, by the way) and pay a premium to get it. Is it the majority of people? Of course not. There are enough customers to keep some suppliers in business, however, and so the business continues until that is no longer the case.

I'd love to see some food companies expand their label to include more information about what's in their food. This could even be done via website, of course, expanding every ingredient to its source. Are those potatoes from Iowa? Where did the peanut oil originate? Were they organic oranges before they became juice? From where? There is a cost involved, though, and thusfar the demand and the potential for making money off of that have not met in the middle.