When It Rains It Pours
As I write this column, I am looking out the window of our offices on King Street on a very rainy day in our Nation’s Capitol. It has been a wet, cold and dreary month here. I remind myself, however, that spring is just around the corner, regardless of whether Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow or not.
It also has been raining with contentious public policy issues for our industry of late. For example, the FDA has released a Web site on trans fats to consumers, which unfairly names potato chips as high in trans fats; the Centers for Disease Control has just released a study blaming carbohydrates, and salty snacks in particular, for 30 years of weight gain among Americans; and heightened concern at USDA and FDA regarding mad cow disease and bioterrorism is promising to bring greater oversight over the entire food industry for years to come.