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#5SmartReads - October 15, 2024

On food safety, the voting bloc that can't be swayed, and the downfall of Victoria's Secret

Hitha Palepu

Oct 15

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#5SmartReads is a weekly news digest that amplifies underreported news and underrepresented perspectives. My goal is to help you stay informed without being overwhelmed, and to embrace nuance and reflection over picking a side.

How a Chemist and His ‘Poison Squad’ Inspired the First Food Safety Regulations (Scientific American)

Something I want to dig deeper into is the current wellness > radicalization pipeline (the push for unregulated food and supplements over food safety investment, clearer labeling on food, and investing in preventative healthcare).

We’ll tackle that in future issues, but I want to start this conversation from the beginning - how food regulation actually came to be in the United States.

Much has changed since Harvey Washington Wiley, a chief chemist from the US Department of Agriculture, exposed the use of toxic ingredients in food and set the stage for what would become the FDA. And some things stubbornly remain the same, such as the food industry’s support of the Food Traceability Enhancement Act (which exempts retailers from a number of rules in place to track illness outbreaks).

How Victoria's Secret Lost Its Way (Back Row | Amy Odell)

I can recall the inexplicable allure of flipping through a Victoria’s Secret catalog whenever it arrived. The annual fashion show was an event - cheap wine and all the snacks, comparing notes about our favorite angels, and an immediate vow to hit the gym together and deprive ourselves of sugar.

It was toxic. And it was sadly my norm, even through my 30s through the very last runway show.

The way the brand preyed on our insecurities with unattainable standards and free underwear coupons warrants careful study and reporting, which Chantel Fernandez and Lauren Sherman do in Selling Sexy. Amy Odell’s interview with the authors is detailed and salacious, and had me purchasing the book within seconds of reading this. ...