What’s Hot: What the presidential election means for American food policy
With early voting underway in New York and the world’s eyes on the United States, the results of the 2024 general elections are set to have lasting consequences for the nation’s food policy priorities. We’ve previously covered Kamala Harris’s potential to contribute to a better American food system. With her strong legislative record as a senator on food security, as well as local, sustainable agriculture, and support for small farmers, a Harris presidency would come at a crucial moment in the life of our food system.
With the expiration of the 2018 Farm Bill, the executive branch of the federal government will need to play a larger role in supporting our national food systems as Congress works to pass a new, better, more equitable, and sustainable Farm Bill. A Harris presidency will be equipped to do just that.
Another Trump presidency, conversely, stands to have deleterious consequences on our food safety, farm and food worker protections, and on the environment that sustains our foodways.
Fact Check: What exactly does Ballot Proposition 2 mean for New York food vendors?
As important as the presidential election is, New Yorkers should also check the back of their ballots this election season, where six ballot measures have been posed to voters. Proposition 1 covers an amendment to the state constitution to protect reproductive rights. Propositions 2 through 6 cover changes to the New York City charter, and while they are more vaguely worded, they are just as important, especially for the city’s food vendors.
Proposition 2 specifically seeks to allow the Department of Sanitation to enforce cleanliness ordinances on public property. The concept behind the amendment may seem pragmatic. Still, the recent uptick in summonses issued to street vendors in parks and the ever-stagnant vendor licensing process demonstrate how this amendment would only put more scrutiny on a largely immigrant community that does not often have adequate access to the legal resources to vend without penalty.
The other four ballot measures similarly endow executive offices with a wider range of authority, fundamentally changing how laws are passed in the City Council. Proposition 3 requires mayoral oversight on budgets or all future city legislation; Proposition 4 mandates 30 days notice to the mayor for any legislation regarding “the public safety operations of the police, correction or fire departments”; and Proposition 6 enshrines the Chief Business Diversity Officer (a position created by Mayor Eric Adams) into New York’s Charter, arguably diminishing City Council’s authority to implement policy change.
Considering the upcoming New York City mayoral election in 2025, the five ballot measures’ potential to augment executive power could have lasting consequences.
Food Policy Watchdog: E. coli outbreak at McDonald’s — Why do we keep seeing these outbreaks and recalls?
With 75 infected and 1 dead from a recent outbreak of E. coli at McDonald’s restaurants across 13 states, a couple of questions inevitably come to mind: Why do these kinds of outbreaks keep happening? What can be done to stop them once they’re underway? And what can be done to prevent them in the future?
Tracking the source of these infections and outbreaks can be a Herculean task, with many variables and vectors for infection at play. In this most recent outbreak, while public health officials linked the deadly infections to Quarter Pounder hamburgers, the bacteria responsible for the outbreak was not actually found in any beef, as one might have expected. Instead, slivered yellow onions from California were identified as the root of the problem, indicating the intricate nature of tracing an outbreak.
Following a rash of listeria outbreaks linked to various refrigerated and frozen foods in the past year, the story of McDonald’s this past week feels all too familiar. It may well be time to rethink how we delegate the authority for monitoring national food safety in an increasingly interconnected and complex food system.
Quote of the Month:
“It’s honest work, and a piece of Americana in which I could always take pride, and now my son works at the same McDonald’s that I did and enjoys it just as much, even feel that little hint of personal legacy, too. So I loved hearing about Kamala Harris starting out working at her local McDonald’s. You never know what’s going to make you feel connected to another person, particularly a national politician you’ve never met.”
— Gracie Ritter, former McDonald’s employee (via Newsweek)
