So what's up with the click bait subject line of this newsletter. $1000 for 200 grams of peanut butter? I'm joking right?? No. It's quite serious. As serious as $600 for a half pound of shrimp, $1000 for a can of powdered milk, and $1000 for a can of meat. These are all sold by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, an agency of the United States Department of Commerce.

The NIST through analytical chemistry produces reference materials for large food manufacturers. Companies like Smucker's purchase this "one peanut butter to rule them all" and use it to calibrate their equipment. If Smucker's makes a peanut butter that doesn't have enough fatty acids, for instance, they'll just add a bit more soybean oil to match up with NIST's reference. Or if levels of arsenic are significantly higher than the reference, then it's back to the drawing board for Smucker's.

Likewise, seafood importers purchase standardized shrimp and salmon from the NIST to ensure that they're getting what they're told they're getting. Food fraud is a big deal, especially in the international trade of both wild and farmed seafood (I'm surprised that the NIST doesn't offer a standard olive oil because EVOO is mostly fraudulent).

The NIST's food program is essential to safeguard the health and trust of American consumers. But only because most of American consumption revolves around a non-local food system run by a handful of large companies. The further one gets away from the source of one's food, the more important an agency like the NIST becomes.

I've written before about how "progress" has a tendency to solidify problematic things in good ways. I think that the NIST's food program is a hidden, and strange, example of this phenomena. The program is certainly a good one. But it allows for the perseverance of a homogenized and non-local food system. It's something that I think about quite a lot, and something that I just wanted to share in today's newsletter.