Comment by OutOfHere
2 years ago
The US has ceased to remain a first world country. It is not a third world country yet, but it's getting there. Corruption and self-interest at all levels of government has supplanted the pursuit of becoming a better nation. It remains to be seen whether this extreme rise of self-interest at the expense of the collective/national/global/cosmic interest ultimately succeeds or fails.
I don’t think first and third world countries is a useful metaphor any more and It certainly is out of place here. This is one company that is gross. I am Not sure why one article about one gross company should stand as an example of an entire country’s decline. Weird.
This is a story about a single private company, the US is very much a 1st world country as we have a working meat inspection program, independent journalist covering the topic, alternate products from competing vendors, and numerous lively and open discussions involving concerned citizens.
How exactly does this story support the conclusion we are becoming corrupt?
>we have a working meat inspection program
????
The topic of discussion is how a meat plant was allowed to operate despite egregiously failing not just safety rules and procedures but just plain common sense.
You consider that working?
Yes? Failures being identified? Consequences for the failure?
If your definition of “first world country” is no company ever cuts corners, well, name one. It’s probably just Singapore.
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Yes, I think this is a failure of the system but not a failed system. I will go to grocery store this weekend and buy meat to serve to my family and I will not for even a split second assume the meat will hurt them or me, because in a country of 350 million people, these types of things are very very rare.
Our food safety systems work and can be trusted and when a failure happens we talk about it, it makes the news, and changes happen. I really believe that.
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> we have a working meat inspection program
Huh. That's an abject lie. If there were a working inspection program, this would never have happened. It wouldn't even have come close.
The best case is that it never happens. The second best case is that it’s caught as soon as it happens and stopped then. The third best case is that it’s caught some time after it happens and stopped before it has any external consequences (people getting sick). The fourth best case is that it’s caught some time after it happens but only stopped after external consequences.
Etcetera etcetera. Throw in another dimension of punishment besides just stopping operations and it gets more complex. With a little imagination, the worst cases are much worse than any of the above. We can be dissatisfied with the actual circumstances but still recognize the nuanced factors which might make up a “working” system.
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Nah, don’t bet against us.
I'm sure those in the Roman Empire said the same thing.
They were right for an awfully long time.
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It’s amazing how social media can create a picture that doesn’t exist huh?
This is a single plant among hundreds in the US.
If I go to a doctors office that doesn’t follow sterile procedures, would you call it a 3rd world country? Even knowing there are thousands that do follow regulations?
That would be a silly conclusion.
You don't know or understand how it's supposed to work. Every plant is supposed to be routinely inspected, and not be allowed to operate if it is not sanitary. If the inspection process didn't work for this one plant, it means it is not guaranteed to work for any plant.
Basically, it has been left up to the goodness of the plants to operate themselves how they like. That's how it is expected in the third world.
Ahhh, I see where you're confused. You don't know how it works in the third world.
No, in the third world, inspections aren't even done. Laws are created that aren't enforced, inspection teams aren't funded, and inspectors are bribed.
None of that is happening in the US.
And no, constant inspections is not how it's done. Even in Europe, it's random inspections and mostly self-regulation.