In what seems to be a part of the modern American experience there’s another case of a scientific group proposing some changes and a regulatory agency ignoring the suggestions. In this case, a group of scientists proposed further limiting sugar and alcohol but the USDA didn’t include these in their official guidance. There may be some truth to the USDA’s claim that there wasn’t enough evidence to justify a change but I can’t help but think this is another example of strong private interest groups sacrificing the public good for themselves.

It’s dangerous for society that we’re even in this situation. The world is polarized but we should still have faith in the motivations of the various groups driving policy. People have always disagreed on implementation but the saving grace was that there was alignment on motivations. Once we lose that alignment it’s going to be very difficult to rebuild.