The Market Provides

Although the piece argues against itself, this article in the NYT describes a program California vegetable farmers have established to make sure they don't have problems with salmonella or E coli. Free market advocates always claim, "The market will provide," arguing that losses sustained during outbreaks should motivate producers to work hard to avoid outbreaks in the future. Leftists contend that consumers need protection from ruthless corporate interests and that the government should do the job. I generally fall into the latter camp, especially when I see the peanut processors knowingly distributing tainted products until they go out of business, but I have to tip my cap today to these folks. In the long run, the producers who can't operate cleanly are driven out and those who protect consumers remain- it's hard to argue with that logic! I just wish consumers didn't have to suffer through the outbreaks that the ineffectual FDA has failed to prevent....