It seems almost every month brings news of another outbreak of food-borne illness, even in foods as innocent as spinach and melon. Regulatory oversight has been unable to keep pace with massive food industry consolidation and a complex distribution system. Why does the FDA consider all disease-causing bugs in food “adulterants” (making the food illegal to sell) while USDA does not? Why can’t USDA require mandatory recalls upon an outbreak? Why hasn’t sufficient funding been allocated to the FDA to conduct proper inspection? The answer to all these question is politics.