> Maybe I'm an asshole sometimes and legal restraint is what keeps me from mounting a bunch of microwave oven magnetrons on a tower ...

That would be illegal regardless? Please note my earlier up front acknowledgement that these areas of society do indeed appear to require some amount of regulation. I never presented an argument for a laissez-faire approach.

> I can grow my own food. I can share it with my neighbors. In Ohio, at least, I can sell a ton of produce every day to random strangers ...

If you look into it more deeply I believe you will find that your mileage varies in some surprising and offensive ways.

> The USDA, FDA, and FTC help to ensure that the national brands I buy from the grocery store contain what they say they do, and that they're safe to consume ...

Certainly they do. (I never disputed the need for this BTW. In fact I explicitly acknowledged it. Are you sure you're actually responding to what I wrote? Like at all?) Although since you brought it up I'll point out that they also fail in a number of ways. Consider for example the long standing failure of the FDA to competently audit the composition of "supplements". Or recall that time that the consumers bringing a lawsuit for false advertising over "real juice" lost. If you simply ignore all the gaps then sure it can be made to look like we do a great job in the US.

> I guess we could go back to letting them do just fucking-whatever again ...

Yeah nowhere did I suggest that. The opinion that regulation of the commercial food supply is necessary and the opinion that the FDA as it currently stands is a flaming pile of shit aren't mutually exclusive.