Bidenflation and Shortage thread

[BDKJMU]

Massive baby formula shortage in the US,, but Bare Shelves Brandon is sending baby formula to the southern border and 40 billion to Ukraine. Unreal. Shouldn’t be sending even a f’ing bottle of formula to the border as long there are shortages in the interior.



The Biden Administration Is Shipping Pallets of Baby Formula to the Border.
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavl ... a-n2607117

[houndawg]

Massive baby formula shortage in the US,, but Bare Shelves Brandon is sending baby formula to the southern border and 40 billion to Ukraine. Unreal. Shouldn’t be sending even a f’ing bottle of formula to the border as long there are shortages in the interior.



The Biden Administration Is Shipping Pallets of Baby Formula to the Border.
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavl ... a-n2607117

Too bad the hygiene regulations and inspections at the factories were reduced/abandoned during the Trump admin.

Reap what you sow:ohno:

[AZGrizFan]

Massive baby formula shortage in the US,, but Bare Shelves Brandon is sending baby formula to the southern border and 40 billion to Ukraine. Unreal. Shouldn’t be sending even a f’ing bottle of formula to the border as long there are shortages in the interior.



The Biden Administration Is Shipping Pallets of Baby Formula to the Border.
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavl ... a-n2607117

Too bad the hygiene regulations and inspections at the factories were reduced/abandoned during the Trump admin.

Reap what you sow:ohno:

Nah, the new mothers just need to get into Mexico and come across the border, they’ll get all the formula they need!

[kalm]

Massive baby formula shortage in the US,, but Bare Shelves Brandon is sending baby formula to the southern border and 40 billion to Ukraine. Unreal. Shouldn’t be sending even a f’ing bottle of formula to the border as long there are shortages in the interior.



The Biden Administration Is Shipping Pallets of Baby Formula to the Border.
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavl ... a-n2607117

Too bad the hygiene regulations and inspections at the factories were reduced/abandoned during the Trump admin.

Reap what you sow:ohno:

And there’s something like just 3 formula producers in the US. When one goes down…welcome to deregulation and monopoly.

[AZGrizFan]

Too bad the hygiene regulations and inspections at the factories were reduced/abandoned during the Trump admin.

Reap what you sow:ohno:

And there’s something like just 3 formula producers in the US. When one goes down…welcome to deregulation and monopoly.

It’s basically true in almost every industry. All HVAC units are made by something like 3 different producers. All refrigerators, dishwashers, microwaves, etc., are made by about 3 different primary producers. They just slap a different logo on them (Maytag, Whirlpool, Kenmore, GE, whatever) and call it good.

Hell, even the auto industry is getting that way.

[houndawg]

Too bad the hygiene regulations and inspections at the factories were reduced/abandoned during the Trump admin.

Reap what you sow:ohno:

Nah, the new mothers just need to get into Mexico and come across the border, they’ll get all the formula they need!

fucking brilliant!

[BDKJMU]

Biden even losing fellow liberals. Bezos is 100% right. Manchin actually has saved the donk party from an even worse beating (and the country from even higher inflation).

[GannonFan]

Too bad the hygiene regulations and inspections at the factories were reduced/abandoned during the Trump admin.

Reap what you sow:ohno:

And there’s something like just 3 formula producers in the US. When one goes down…welcome to deregulation and monopoly.

The thing is, in this case, it's not like baby formula in the US is unregulated, it's almost entirely the other way around. About 65% of infant formula in the US is sold through the WIC program, and in every state, there's an auction every so many years to see who wins the rights to sell into the WIC program of that state. Winning that auction is a huge boon to the winner, as they see about an 85% boost in market share as a result (they get primary spots on shelves, so they not only get the entirety of the WIC market but they get add on business as well). They only run these auctions every few years or so so when a company wins it, they have access to a huge market share for years. So the barriers to entry for a domestic producer are huge in this market and the government has created those barriers.

On top of that, we have tariffs in place, especially against Canada, that are there to protect domestic manufacture of infant formula. So when we have a disruption in supply, we can't move to Canadian sources of formula as they're crazy expensive. Even more so, we can't use European sources of formula for the same reasons, but also because of FDA labeling requirements. The steps to go through to get an FDA label on infant formula are not only extensive but also really expensive. Given the difficulty of getting through the tariffs, these extra layers of regulation make it next to impossible to get European brands into the US. And amazingly, a lot of these brands already exceed FDA requirements, but the regulations in place are just too costly to navigate.

So in this case, it's really welcome to regulation (maybe over-regulation) and monopoly.

Also, in this case, it's also a question of why we're here. The FDA has been amazingly slow about getting this issue resolved. From all reports, there doesn't appear to be a direct connection between the factory that has been closed for about 3 months now and the bacteria that cause the issue with 3-4 infants (genetic testing of the bacteria showed it came from somewhere else). When you know a monopoly exists (and we just showed that, in this case, it's a government-induced monopoly) then you need to be quick to respond and correct when there are health issues. Unfortunately, quickness is not necessarily a normal attribute for government.

[kalm]

And there’s something like just 3 formula producers in the US. When one goes down…welcome to deregulation and monopoly.

The thing is, in this case, it's not like baby formula in the US is unregulated, it's almost entirely the other way around. About 65% of infant formula in the US is sold through the WIC program, and in every state, there's an auction every so many years to see who wins the rights to sell into the WIC program of that state. Winning that auction is a huge boon to the winner, as they see about an 85% boost in market share as a result (they get primary spots on shelves, so they not only get the entirety of the WIC market but they get add on business as well). They only run these auctions every few years or so so when a company wins it, they have access to a huge market share for years. So the barriers to entry for a domestic producer are huge in this market and the government has created those barriers.

On top of that, we have tariffs in place, especially against Canada, that are there to protect domestic manufacture of infant formula. So when we have a disruption in supply, we can't move to Canadian sources of formula as they're crazy expensive. Even more so, we can't use European sources of formula for the same reasons, but also because of FDA labeling requirements. The steps to go through to get an FDA label on infant formula are not only extensive but also really expensive. Given the difficulty of getting through the tariffs, these extra layers of regulation make it next to impossible to get European brands into the US. And amazingly, a lot of these brands already exceed FDA requirements, but the regulations in place are just too costly to navigate.

So in this case, it's really welcome to regulation (maybe over-regulation) and monopoly.

Also, in this case, it's also a question of why we're here. The FDA has been amazingly slow about getting this issue resolved. From all reports, there doesn't appear to be a direct connection between the factory that has been closed for about 3 months now and the bacteria that cause the issue with 3-4 infants (genetic testing of the bacteria showed it came from somewhere else). When you know a monopoly exists (and we just showed that, in this case, it's a government-induced monopoly) then you need to be quick to respond and correct when there are health issues. Unfortunately, quickness is not necessarily a normal attribute for government.

Deregulation goes beyond one sector. It’s also about consolidation.

Tariffs and labeling issues can be mitigated or domestic manufacturers and the FDA can strengthen safety regulations.

Or, in the case of this shortage, more producers/competition would also help.

[BDKJMU]

And there’s something like just 3 formula producers in the US. When one goes down…welcome to deregulation and monopoly.

The thing is, in this case, it's not like baby formula in the US is unregulated, it's almost entirely the other way around. About 65% of infant formula in the US is sold through the WIC program, and in every state, there's an auction every so many years to see who wins the rights to sell into the WIC program of that state. Winning that auction is a huge boon to the winner, as they see about an 85% boost in market share as a result (they get primary spots on shelves, so they not only get the entirety of the WIC market but they get add on business as well). They only run these auctions every few years or so so when a company wins it, they have access to a huge market share for years. So the barriers to entry for a domestic producer are huge in this market and the government has created those barriers.

On top of that, we have tariffs in place, especially against Canada, that are there to protect domestic manufacture of infant formula. So when we have a disruption in supply, we can't move to Canadian sources of formula as they're crazy expensive. Even more so, we can't use European sources of formula for the same reasons, but also because of FDA labeling requirements. The steps to go through to get an FDA label on infant formula are not only extensive but also really expensive. Given the difficulty of getting through the tariffs, these extra layers of regulation make it next to impossible to get European brands into the US. And amazingly, a lot of these brands already exceed FDA requirements, but the regulations in place are just too costly to navigate.

So in this case, it's really welcome to regulation (maybe over-regulation) and monopoly.

Also, in this case, it's also a question of why we're here. The FDA has been amazingly slow about getting this issue resolved. From all reports, there doesn't appear to be a direct connection between the factory that has been closed for about 3 months now and the bacteria that cause the issue with 3-4 infants (genetic testing of the bacteria showed it came from somewhere else). When you know a monopoly exists (and we just showed that, in this case, it's a government-induced monopoly) then you need to be quick to respond and correct when there are health issues. Unfortunately, quickness is not necessarily a normal attribute for government.

My buddy when I asked him last week if they are having any issues getting it for their 2 month old twins said they order theirs from overseas (I guess bulk. Don’t know where overseas, but his wife is Polish). I’m sure its more expensive than what you buy at the grocery store.

[GannonFan]

The thing is, in this case, it's not like baby formula in the US is unregulated, it's almost entirely the other way around. About 65% of infant formula in the US is sold through the WIC program, and in every state, there's an auction every so many years to see who wins the rights to sell into the WIC program of that state. Winning that auction is a huge boon to the winner, as they see about an 85% boost in market share as a result (they get primary spots on shelves, so they not only get the entirety of the WIC market but they get add on business as well). They only run these auctions every few years or so so when a company wins it, they have access to a huge market share for years. So the barriers to entry for a domestic producer are huge in this market and the government has created those barriers.

On top of that, we have tariffs in place, especially against Canada, that are there to protect domestic manufacture of infant formula. So when we have a disruption in supply, we can't move to Canadian sources of formula as they're crazy expensive. Even more so, we can't use European sources of formula for the same reasons, but also because of FDA labeling requirements. The steps to go through to get an FDA label on infant formula are not only extensive but also really expensive. Given the difficulty of getting through the tariffs, these extra layers of regulation make it next to impossible to get European brands into the US. And amazingly, a lot of these brands already exceed FDA requirements, but the regulations in place are just too costly to navigate.

So in this case, it's really welcome to regulation (maybe over-regulation) and monopoly.

Also, in this case, it's also a question of why we're here. The FDA has been amazingly slow about getting this issue resolved. From all reports, there doesn't appear to be a direct connection between the factory that has been closed for about 3 months now and the bacteria that cause the issue with 3-4 infants (genetic testing of the bacteria showed it came from somewhere else). When you know a monopoly exists (and we just showed that, in this case, it's a government-induced monopoly) then you need to be quick to respond and correct when there are health issues. Unfortunately, quickness is not necessarily a normal attribute for government.

Deregulation goes beyond one sector. It’s also about consolidation.

Tariffs and labeling issues can be mitigated or domestic manufacturers and the FDA can strengthen safety regulations.

Or, in the case of this shortage, more producers/competition would also help.

So you're saying deregulation in other sectors is trumping the impact of significant regulation in this area?? That's bending way over backwards even for you.

We don't have more producers/competition for this because of the regulation we have now and how the market works. It's predominately WIC impacted (and WIC is a government program) and other competitors aren't going to be sitting around, idle, with significant investment, just waiting for the next auction. This is a market that leans towards monopoly because of how the government regulations are set up, not because of any deregulation. And I'm not saying that's good or bad - I think WIC is important and useful - but it is what it is.

[kalm]

Deregulation goes beyond one sector. It’s also about consolidation.

Tariffs and labeling issues can be mitigated or domestic manufacturers and the FDA can strengthen safety regulations.

Or, in the case of this shortage, more producers/competition would also help.

So you're saying deregulation in other sectors is trumping the impact of significant regulation in this area?? That's bending way over backwards even for you.

We don't have more producers/competition for this because of the regulation we have now and how the market works. It's predominately WIC impacted (and WIC is a government program) and other competitors aren't going to be sitting around, idle, with significant investment, just waiting for the next auction. This is a market that leans towards monopoly because of how the government regulations are set up, not because of any deregulation. And I'm not saying that's good or bad - I think WIC is important and useful - but it is what it is.

No. I’ll try again. Financial deregulation coupled with insufficient anti-trust regulation creates a scenario where you have only three domestic formula manufacturers (one of which is large pharmaceutical company). They wield political power win favorable regulation/deregulation.

WIC being a player completes the crony capitalism circle. On that, I think you and I agree?

[GannonFan]

So you're saying deregulation in other sectors is trumping the impact of significant regulation in this area?? That's bending way over backwards even for you.

We don't have more producers/competition for this because of the regulation we have now and how the market works. It's predominately WIC impacted (and WIC is a government program) and other competitors aren't going to be sitting around, idle, with significant investment, just waiting for the next auction. This is a market that leans towards monopoly because of how the government regulations are set up, not because of any deregulation. And I'm not saying that's good or bad - I think WIC is important and useful - but it is what it is.

No. I’ll try again. Financial deregulation coupled with insufficient anti-trust regulation creates a scenario where you have only three domestic formula manufacturers (one of which is large pharmaceutical company). They wield political power win favorable regulation/deregulation.

WIC being a player completes the crony capitalism circle. On that, I think you and I agree?

Eh, I don't think we agree. The market is only so big - 65% is the WIC component and it's auction-awarded. The manufacturers already give significant discounts (80%) to win that business. Yay for us, government purchasing done in bulk driving down the costs to the consumer. But that directly leads to limited competition, and competition by manufacturers with deep pockets, since when you lose an auction you are frozen out of the market, almost completely, while you wait for the next auction to come up. That structure practically ensures that you winnow the competition down to a select few (i.e. monopolistic conditions) because the barriers to entry for anyone else are too steep to overcome. Your financial deregulation and anti-trust regulations are red herrings in this discussion because they don't impact this market due to the other, overwhelming conditions. Are they problems elsewhere? Sure, potentially. In this case? Nope.

I'm not even sure crony capitalism applies here - did the industry create WIC and try to use government buying power to drive down the costs to WIC consumers and then the taxpayers? No, the government did. It's a well-intentioned effort and something that progressives claim to want to do everywhere (I'm sure it's been talked about with regards to prescription medicines and costs for instance). But there are knock-down effects of this that don't require any bad behavior and limiting competition is one such outcome.

[kalm]

No. I’ll try again. Financial deregulation coupled with insufficient anti-trust regulation creates a scenario where you have only three domestic formula manufacturers (one of which is large pharmaceutical company). They wield political power win favorable regulation/deregulation.

WIC being a player completes the crony capitalism circle. On that, I think you and I agree?

Eh, I don't think we agree. The market is only so big - 65% is the WIC component and it's auction-awarded. The manufacturers already give significant discounts (80%) to win that business. Yay for us, government purchasing done in bulk driving down the costs to the consumer. But that directly leads to limited competition, and competition by manufacturers with deep pockets, since when you lose an auction you are frozen out of the market, almost completely, while you wait for the next auction to come up. That structure practically ensures that you winnow the competition down to a select few (i.e. monopolistic conditions) because the barriers to entry for anyone else are too steep to overcome. Your financial deregulation and anti-trust regulations are red herrings in this discussion because they don't impact this market due to the other, overwhelming conditions. Are they problems elsewhere? Sure, potentially. In this case? Nope.

I'm not even sure crony capitalism applies here - did the industry create WIC and try to use government buying power to drive down the costs to WIC consumers and then the taxpayers? No, the government did. It's a well-intentioned effort and something that progressives claim to want to do everywhere (I'm sure it's been talked about with regards to prescription medicines and costs for instance). But there are knock-down effects of this that don't require any bad behavior and limiting competition is one such outcome.

1) Significant discounts are also a red herring if you’d like to circle back to shortages. Who wouldn’t be willing to make less per unit if you could capture market share? And pricing still isn’t the ultimate issue here. It’s shortage.

2) Crony capitalism is favorable treatment of industries or companies at the expense of the free market and more importantly consumers. This is a fine example. WIC didn’t cause the shortage.

[GannonFan]

Eh, I don't think we agree. The market is only so big - 65% is the WIC component and it's auction-awarded. The manufacturers already give significant discounts (80%) to win that business. Yay for us, government purchasing done in bulk driving down the costs to the consumer. But that directly leads to limited competition, and competition by manufacturers with deep pockets, since when you lose an auction you are frozen out of the market, almost completely, while you wait for the next auction to come up. That structure practically ensures that you winnow the competition down to a select few (i.e. monopolistic conditions) because the barriers to entry for anyone else are too steep to overcome. Your financial deregulation and anti-trust regulations are red herrings in this discussion because they don't impact this market due to the other, overwhelming conditions. Are they problems elsewhere? Sure, potentially. In this case? Nope.

I'm not even sure crony capitalism applies here - did the industry create WIC and try to use government buying power to drive down the costs to WIC consumers and then the taxpayers? No, the government did. It's a well-intentioned effort and something that progressives claim to want to do everywhere (I'm sure it's been talked about with regards to prescription medicines and costs for instance). But there are knock-down effects of this that don't require any bad behavior and limiting competition is one such outcome.

1) Significant discounts are also a red herring if you’d like to circle back to shortages. Who wouldn’t be willing to make less per unit if you could capture market share? And pricing still isn’t the ultimate issue here. It’s shortage.

2) Crony capitalism is favorable treatment of industries or companies at the expense of the free market and more importantly consumers. This is a fine example. WIC didn’t cause the shortage.

You're tap dancing all over the place here. I'll use shorter sentences for you. The shortage happened because there was a concern about bacteria contamination at a manufacturing plant. The FDA and the manufacturer have apparently been at it for more than 3 months without any resolution. There's no indication that products from the manufacturer were infected with bacteria. When one plant goes down it's a big deal since only so many people can participate in this market due to how it is setup and run in this country.

As for your points...

1) Pricing matters because it keeps competitors out of the market. Not everyone, especially those entering the market, can afford the upfront investment that would allow them to go low in the bid process. That limits participation in the market. When there's another market blow, such as a closed manufacturing plant, it leads to a shortage. Not a big leap here.

2) Crony capitalism implies the favorable treatment was ill-gotten or undeserved. There's no indication of that here, just the outcome of how the market is setup and how government, in this market, plays a huge role. WIC, per se, didn't cause the shortage. WIC (which again, is a good program, not arguing that), does lead to the market conditions that greatly limit participants. And like in 1), when there's another market blow, such as a closed manufacturing plant, it leads to a shortage. Not a big leap here either.

[Ibanez]

And there’s something like just 3 formula producers in the US. When one goes down…welcome to deregulation and monopoly.

It’s basically true in almost every industry. All HVAC units are made by something like 3 different producers. All refrigerators, dishwashers, microwaves, etc., are made by about 3 different primary producers. They just slap a different logo on them (Maytag, Whirlpool, Kenmore, GE, whatever) and call it good.

Hell, even the auto industry is getting that way.

Most eyeglasses and sunglasses are produced by 1 conglomerate and then branded.

[kalm]

1) Significant discounts are also a red herring if you’d like to circle back to shortages. Who wouldn’t be willing to make less per unit if you could capture market share? And pricing still isn’t the ultimate issue here. It’s shortage.

2) Crony capitalism is favorable treatment of industries or companies at the expense of the free market and more importantly consumers. This is a fine example. WIC didn’t cause the shortage.

You're tap dancing all over the place here. I'll use shorter sentences for you. The shortage happened because there was a concern about bacteria contamination at a manufacturing plant. The FDA and the manufacturer have apparently been at it for more than 3 months without any resolution. There's no indication that products from the manufacturer were infected with bacteria. When one plant goes down it's a big deal since only so many people can participate in this market due to how it is setup and run in this country.

As for your points...

1) Pricing matters because it keeps competitors out of the market. Not everyone, especially those entering the market, can afford the upfront investment that would allow them to go low in the bid process. That limits participation in the market. When there's another market blow, such as a closed manufacturing plant, it leads to a shortage. Not a big leap here.

2) Crony capitalism implies the favorable treatment was ill-gotten or undeserved. There's no indication of that here, just the outcome of how the market is setup and how government, in this market, plays a huge role. WIC, per se, didn't cause the shortage. WIC (which again, is a good program, not arguing that), does lead to the market conditions that greatly limit participants. And like in 1), when there's another market blow, such as a closed manufacturing plant, it leads to a shortage. Not a big leap here either.

It takes two to tap dance. No wait…that’s tango isn’t it?

Anyway, we’re talking past each other as usual. But I still love ya, Ganny.

[UNI88]

You're tap dancing all over the place here. I'll use shorter sentences for you. The shortage happened because there was a concern about bacteria contamination at a manufacturing plant. The FDA and the manufacturer have apparently been at it for more than 3 months without any resolution. There's no indication that products from the manufacturer were infected with bacteria. When one plant goes down it's a big deal since only so many people can participate in this market due to how it is setup and run in this country.

As for your points...

1) Pricing matters because it keeps competitors out of the market. Not everyone, especially those entering the market, can afford the upfront investment that would allow them to go low in the bid process. That limits participation in the market. When there's another market blow, such as a closed manufacturing plant, it leads to a shortage. Not a big leap here.

2) Crony capitalism implies the favorable treatment was ill-gotten or undeserved. There's no indication of that here, just the outcome of how the market is setup and how government, in this market, plays a huge role. WIC, per se, didn't cause the shortage. WIC (which again, is a good program, not arguing that), does lead to the market conditions that greatly limit participants. And like in 1), when there's another market blow, such as a closed manufacturing plant, it leads to a shortage. Not a big leap here either.

But I still love ya, Ganny.

FYP

[kalm]

But I still love ya, Ganny.

FYP

I’ll bet if I keep pressing he’ll eventually write a full length book on the topic, really really proving his point that monopolistic practices and crony capitalism have nothing to do with this.

And you will purchase copies for all your friends and family.

[BDKJMU]

You're tap dancing all over the place here. I'll use shorter sentences for you. The shortage happened because there was a concern about bacteria contamination at a manufacturing plant. The FDA and the manufacturer have apparently been at it for more than 3 months without any resolution. There's no indication that products from the manufacturer were infected with bacteria. When one plant goes down it's a big deal since only so many people can participate in this market due to how it is setup and run in this country.

As for your points...

1) Pricing matters because it keeps competitors out of the market. Not everyone, especially those entering the market, can afford the upfront investment that would allow them to go low in the bid process. That limits participation in the market. When there's another market blow, such as a closed manufacturing plant, it leads to a shortage. Not a big leap here.

2) Crony capitalism implies the favorable treatment was ill-gotten or undeserved. There's no indication of that here, just the outcome of how the market is setup and how government, in this market, plays a huge role. WIC, per se, didn't cause the shortage. WIC (which again, is a good program, not arguing that), does lead to the market conditions that greatly limit participants. And like in 1), when there's another market blow, such as a closed manufacturing plant, it leads to a shortage. Not a big leap here either.

It takes two to tap dance. No wait…that’s tango isn’t it?

Anyway, we’re talking past each other as usual. But I still love ya, Ganny.

Translation: After taking a beating without putting up much of a fight, Kalm is

[UNI88]

FYP

I’ll bet if I keep pressing he’ll eventually write a full length book on the topic, really really proving his point that monopolistic practices and crony capitalism have nothing to do with this.

And you will purchase copies for all your friends and family.

I'll be getting autographed 1st editions.

And Ganny's detail is a drop in the ocean compared to JSO's redundant word salads.

[kalm]

It takes two to tap dance. No wait…that’s tango isn’t it?

Anyway, we’re talking past each other as usual. But I still love ya, Ganny.

Translation: After taking a bwating without putting up much of a fight, Kalm is

What’s a “bwating”?

[GannonFan]

FYP

I’ll bet if I keep pressing he’ll eventually write a full length book on the topic, really really proving his point that monopolistic practices and crony capitalism have nothing to do with this.

And you will purchase copies for all your friends and family.

No fair trying to distort the debate on your way out the door. We agreed that monopolistic practices certainly prevail in the infant formula market. We differ on how they are created (I proved it came from government and regulatory pressures, you waved the crony capitalism flag with nary a thought to back that up). This all came about because you said deregulation, in one of the most regulated sectors of manufacture, was to blame. Now you can close the door.

[BDKJMU]

All she has to say is raising taxes doesn’t reduce inflation. Simple. She is as dumb as a box of rocks.

[kalm]

I’ll bet if I keep pressing he’ll eventually write a full length book on the topic, really really proving his point that monopolistic practices and crony capitalism have nothing to do with this.

And you will purchase copies for all your friends and family.

No fair trying to distort the debate on your way out the door. We agreed that monopolistic practices certainly prevail in the infant formula market. We differ on how they are created (I proved it came from government and regulatory pressures, you waved the crony capitalism flag with nary a thought to back that up). This all came about because you said deregulation, in one of the most regulated sectors of manufacture, was to blame. Now you can close the door.

Aside from the obvious role financial deregulation plays in consolidation of manufacturers, you’re also wrong in this particular case.

But eight years earlier, the formula industry rejected an opportunity to take a more proactive approach — not only for increasing supply capacity, but also for preventing a potential outbreak. Records show that the industry successfully mobilized against a 2014 proposal from the FDA to increase regular safety inspections of plants used to manufacture baby formula.

At the time, the FDA had proposed rules to prevent the adulteration of baby formula in any step of the process in order to prevent contamination from salmonella and Cronobacter sakazakii, which led to this year’s Sturgis plant shutdown.

The largest infant formula manufacturers quickly stepped up to delay the safety proposals. The International Formula Council, now known as the Infant Nutrition Council of America, is the lobby group that represents Abbott Nutrition (owned by Abbott Laboratories), Gerber (owned by Nestlé), Perrigo Co., and Reckitt Benckiser Group, the companies that control 89 percent of the baby formula market in the U.S.

https://theintercept.com/2022/05/13/bab ... -lobbying/

I’m trying to exit hopeless discussions where one side (in this case you) are so in love with their own ideas despite obvious examples and history, that there’s nothing to be gained by proceeding.