Where did food regulation come from? I was pondering that this morning, seeded by thinking about the ‘unlawfulness’ of raw milk in our neighbor state, Oregon. Some of our current food laws, in the U.S., will probably coincide with industrial revolution and scientific breakthroughs. What I was thinking is that as our culture moved away from its agricultural setting and we industrialized food production, and created more unsafe foods, then the rules started. I’m thinking the influence of the rise of socialist philosophies in the 1920s and 1930s would also contribute to our creation of food laws.
Then it struck me that the Jewish cultural has had food rules as long as they’ve had a culture (probably). I suppose many of the ancient societies have rules I don’t know about. That would be interesting to learn more about. It may be true food rules have a long history but are they currently in the consumer’s best interest or in the big, faceless corporation’s best interest?
I might explore that some more, but right now I’m reading about water issues. Water management is a big deal that isn’t getting enough top-of-mind-awareness in our society. But, that’s another post.
