The US baby formula shortage isn’t bad luck. It was completely preventable

theguardian.com:

For the last four months, the collapse of America’s baby formula production and distribution has terrified mothers across the country. “It is easier for me to get a pound of weed than a pound of formula,” a young father told me a few days ago.

Why is this crisis happening? The baby formula market is highly consolidated, with Abbott Labs, the firm at the center of the crisis, controlling 43% of the market. The Food and Drug Administration shut down one of Abbott’s major plants after a whistleblower alleged that the plant was dangerously unsanitary and falsifying records to cover it up.

Many policymakers think that the combination of slow regulation, corporate greed, and heavily consolidated supply chains is unique to baby formula. TV commenters ask how could the richest country in the world be unable to feed its babies. Or they shake their heads and say, “it’s a perfect storm.”

But shortages of vital, life-preserving goods are routine in America. We all saw the images of nurses wearing garbage bags during the initial stages of Covid, and heard of ventilator shortages. More recently, rapid Covid tests weren’t in stock while the nation dealt with the Delta and Omicron variants. Those too were overly regulated by the FDA, which refused to approve dozens of manufacturers making tests for Europe. That scandal even includes Abbott Labs, which was one of two firms approved to make tests here.

As 60 Minutes recently reported, there are hundreds of vital pharmaceuticals out of stock, as well as a host of medical supplies like contrast dye for hospital imaging. One hospital employee told me there are “new shortages cropping up all the time in healthcare. Right now, there’s a lidocaine shortage. Before that it was opioid pain