President Donald Trump is waging a war on your fridge—in more ways than one. And he’s doing so with strong voter opposition.
The Food and Drug Administration is reportedly drawing up plans to end most of its routine food safety inspections, shifting the onus of that critical oversight onto state and local officials. The FDA already outsources some of those inspections—but not all of them and not in every state. And it’s not clear how those gaps would be filled if the Trump administration pulls the trigger. As of April, the FDA was disputing reports of the plan.
Either way, voters overwhelmingly hate the idea of the FDA ending its routine food safety inspections, according to a new Civiqs poll conducted for Daily Kos. The poll, fielded May 17-20, finds that 84% of registered voters oppose such a move, including 67% who “strongly oppose” the move.
That opposition comes from every partisan angle too: 95% of Democrats, 81% of independents, and even 75% of Republicans oppose cessation of FDA food inspections. Just 12% of Republicans support that move.
Image via Datawrapper.
It is rare to such strong, bipartisan opposition, but threatening food safety appears to be off limits for the vast majority of voters.
And yet … Trump's FDA has already suspended food safety assurance programs for Grade “A” milk and some vegetables, and the Department of Agriculture snuffed out two committees that advised policymakers on food safety. The Department of Health and Human Services also heavily pared back FDA staff, including those who worked on food and drug inspections—and then walked back some of those layoffs after it disrupted that critical work.
All this chaos surely won't comfort voters about the safety of the food in the fridge.
Speaking of fridges, in early May, reports surfaced of the Trump administration’s plans to eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency’s popular Energy Star program, which certifies the energy efficiency of home appliances and helps Americans save on their energy bills. (You’ll recognize its iconic blue star logo.)
How much money does Energy Star save, you ask? Since 1992, it’s helped American families and businesses save more than half a trillion dollars in energy costs, according to government data. In fact, over the life of the program, every $1 the EPA has spent on the program has resulted in almost $350 in energy savings for American households and businesses. It has also helped massively reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which drive the climate crisis.
Big shocker, then, that voters also don’t want the Trump administration to kill Energy Star.
Fifty-five percent of registered voters oppose eliminating funding for the program, according to the same Civiqs/Daily Kos poll. That includes the vast majority of Democrats (86%) and a narrower majority of independents (55%). Even 1 in 5 Republicans (22%) don’t want to see the program defunded.
Image via Datawrapper.
Newer reporting suggests the government is looking to privatize Energy Star, not kill it outright, but that’s likely due to widespread opposition from industry groups. In fact, nearly three dozen trade groups and appliance companies, including Bosch and the Chamber of Commerce, practically begged the EPA to let Energy Star live.
“Eliminating it will not serve the American people,” the organizations said in a March letter. “In fact, because the Energy Star brand is highly recognizable to consumers, it is likely that, should the program be eliminated, it will be supplanted by initiatives that drive results counter to the goals of this administration such as decreased features, functionality, performance, or increased costs.”
Fewer features and worse performance, all at a higher cost? Well, that’s practically the Trump administration’s motto.
Republished with permission from Daily Kos.
