Are (the US) Headed here?

[Arvon]

The European Union allows fruits and vegetables to be sold only in prescribed sizes and colors (such as its 35 pages of regulations governing 250 varieties of the apple, or rules that cucumbers must be straight and bananas curved). In June, British marketer Tim Down complained that he was forced to discard 5,000 kiwi fruit because they were 1 millimeter in diameter too small and one-fourth ounce too light. (It is illegal even to give them away, as that would undermine the market price.) "Improvements" in the EU system continue, according to a July Washington Post dispatch from Brussels: Despite 10 pages of standards on the onion and 19 amendments, the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture recently issued a report urging further refinements, using 29 pages and 43 photographs. [Washington Post, 7-8-08; Daily Mail (London), 6-27-08]

[Yorick]

??

[Firestormalpha]

Ummm, I'm not sure exactly how all that pertains to the US? Last I checked the Washington Post was just a newspaper, so unless I'm missing something...

That is to say, the post is to my eyes very unclear.

[machinehead]

I doubt we will ever be that picky about size, shape or color of fruits and vegtables, much less needing to document what is correct to the degree that the article suggests that the EU is doing. Europeans are just - well you know - "different".

[Yorick]

I heard the Europeans were bending their rules to allow bent cucumbers etc. due to the food shortage anyway.

[Firestormalpha]

Seriously, throwing away perfectly good food because it's not aesthetically pleasing?

[Yorick]

Throwing away food period!

To hell with maintaining "market value". It's actions like that (and dumping wheat) which make capitalism seem heartless, callous and permanently determined to squash the have-nots so the have's can have more.

Doesn't have to be that way.

[Jaradu]

*Jumps to the rescue of fellow Europeans*

I would be very sceptical of anything the Daily Mail publishes, especially with regards to the EU. Nine times out of ten when we hear of these ridiculous laws implemented by the EU, they turn out to be fake, hysteria-inducing urban myths. Or, at the very least, complete exaggerations.

In this particular case, the vendor was not forced to throw away the kiwis, he was allowed to sell them as long as they were labelled as 'non-standard' (in terms of size).

Check here for more EU-Myths ^^
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/communicatio...s/index_en.htm

[VulcanRider]

Originally Posted by Yorick Throwing away food period! To hell with maintaining "market value". It's actions like that (and dumping wheat) which make capitalism seem heartless, callous and permanently determined to squash the have-nots so the have's can have more. Doesn't have to be that way.

Capitalism? This article sounds more like government bureacracy gone mad, elected officials on a power trip. "The government" is usually the single biggest impediment to capitalism, IMO.

[Raistlin Majere]

Dunno about that, but the EU sure is one whacky bunch of nutters calling themselves politicians!

As I drive a garbage truck for the moment, I can say that the amount of perfectly good food(bread, in particular) is pretty absurd...we're on a one way road to disaster if matters don't take a turn for the better.