INFANT FORMULA CONSUMES WASHINGTON: The infant formula situation spiraled into one of the top talkers in politics and the press in recent days, with politicians on both sides of the aisle trying to wrest control of the political narrative, your host and Meredith Lee recently reported. Where we are: Republicans are loudly blaming President Joe Biden for the shortage, claiming it's part of the fallout from his economic policies — and that his administration was too slow to act. The White House, meanwhile, is scrambling to help ramp up production. FDA is expected to relax some import restrictions in the coming days to help fill the domestic supply gap. Biden admin pushes back: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg defended the administration on CBS Face the Nation over the weekend. "Fundamentally we are here because a company was not able to guarantee its plant was safe, and that plant has shut down," Buttigieg said. Abbott's facts: For its part, Abbott posted a Twitter thread over the weekend claiming that the company had nothing to do with the four hospitalizations and two infant deaths that sparked the January inspection and February recall. That thread went viral, as the right tried to assign blame squarely to the Biden administration. The antitrust angle: Democrats increasingly are raising red flags about market consolidation and what role that may have played in the current shortage. Abbott is estimated to control about 40 percent of the U.S. infant formula market (pre-recall). Democratic Sens. Cory Booker (N.J.), Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) and Tammy Duckworth (Ill.) led a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Friday urging USDA to use its powers to make the market more competitive, your host reported. The ask came a day after Duckworth wrote to the FTC asking for a formal study of the sector (your host scooped both asks). The WIC angle: Both the left and right are now asking questions about the role WIC contracting may have played in encouraging consolidation in the infant formula sector. The senators' letter Friday noted that something like half to two-thirds of infant formula sold in the U.S. is purchased through WIC. In the past three decades, WIC has used what's called sole-source contracting. Just three companies have been awarded contracts during this time: Abbott Nutrition, Mead Johnson, which makes Enfamil, and Nestlé, which makes Gerber. State monopoly? These contracts have a massive impact on a company's market share in each state, the lawmakers noted. "For example, in 2007, California switched its contract from Abbott Nutrition to Mead Johnson," they wrote. "This change resulted in Abbott Nutrition's market share in California falling from 90 percent to 5 percent while Mead Johnson's market share rose from 5 percent to 95 percent." Do not forget: While the shortage of infant formula has gotten the most attention, the shortage of specialty formulas is an increasingly urgent and potentially life-threatening situation, as POLITICO recently reported, because the Sturgis plant manufactured the lion's share of these formulas that are sold in the U.S. Abbott Nutrition has also begun releasing limited supplies of these specialty formulas on a case-by-case basis. GOTTLIEB: FDA SHOULD HAVE ACTED EARLIER: While we're here, Scott Gottlieb, who served as FDA commissioner during the Trump administration, criticized the government's response on infant formula over the weekend. Per a New York Post recap: "These were persistent problems that appear to have been handled poorly, certainly by the company," Scott Gottlieb said on CBS News' "Face the Nation." "FDA didn't exert all the oversight that they could have of that facility. There were known problems with that facility going back many years or findings on previous inspections." "The agency had a 34-page whistleblower report in hand, making pretty serious allegations that there was data falsification and data falsification information withheld from inspectors. So these should have prompted more aggressive action earlier," he added. Brush up on the whistleblower chapter of this saga, which your host first reported, here. CALIFF IN THE HOUSE THIS WEEK: FDA Commissioner Robert Califf will face House appropriators Thursday, ostensibly to discuss the agency's fiscal 2023 budget — but the formula shortage is sure to consume much of the conversation. And you can bet that committee chair Rosa DeLauro, in particular, will bring her fire. The Connecticut Democrat — who's been all over cable news in recent days — is furious at the agency over its handling of the infant formula recall, its lack of response to the whistleblower warning (which she released into the congressional record last month) and the current shortage. DeLauro is planning to release an emergency spending bill this week aiming to boost formula production. A LOOK AT INFANT FORMULA LOBBYING: On a related note, our friends over at POLITICO Influence took a look at what infant formula companies have spent on lobbying in recent years. A MASSACRE INTERSECTS WITH FOOD ACCESS: A mass shooting at a Tops supermarket on the East Side of Buffalo, a predominantly Black community, left 10 people dead — in what law enforcement is calling a "racist hate crime." In the wake of the incident, community members have pointed out that this neighborhood — which was specifically targeted — had a long history of inadequate food access. The very grocery store that this community had fought for was the target of unspeakable violence over the weekend. Leslie Mac, a digital strategist and communications director for The Frontline, a coalition of social justice and other groups, wrote about the history of the Tops grocery store on Twitter: "The Black community in Buffalo fought for DECADES to get this store," Mac wrote. "They won that fight in 2003." SNAP: Mac noted that the massacre took place the day after Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits were disbursed: "This was the day after SNAP benefits would have been distributed and a [Saturday] when folks (mostly Black Women!) would be doing their shopping for the week." Scars of segregation: The New York Times noted the food desert connection and the connection to longstanding racist policies. "Buffalo bears a tell-tale scar of long-standing segregation , a highway built in the 1950s and 1960s that cut directly through a Black neighborhood, severing those communities and stifling economic development for decades to come. That highway, the Kensington Expressway, is about two blocks from the Tops supermarket." Targeting peak shopping: "The dearth of options helped make Tops a neighborhood establishment," the Times reported . "Many families were shopping for their Sunday dinners there when the shooting began. The suspected gunman said in his manifesto that, in addition to targeting the area for its Black population, he had researched the days and times when Tops was busiest." BIDEN'S PICK FOR TOP USDA TRADE ROLE: As your host and Meredith Lee scooped last Friday, Biden tapped Oregon's ag director, Alexis Taylor, to be the Agriculture Department's undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs. Prior to her current role, Taylor managed USDA's farm and foreign agricultural services. She is an Iraq War veteran. Praise for Taylor rolled in over the weekend: NCGA: Brooke S. Appleton, vice president of public policy at the National Corn Growers Association, said she "[could not]think of a better person to represent the Biden administration on this issue." Appleton described Taylor as "someone with a deep understanding of agriculture, particularly as it relates to foreign markets, and she is widely respected by policymakers on both sides of the aisle." NASDA: Ted McKinney, who served in the same role during the Trump administration, gave his "enthusiastic endorsement" for Taylor's nomination. In a statement to MA, McKinney, now chief of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, added, "We know Director Taylor's passion for seeking market opportunities for American farmers, ranchers and food producers of all types." OREGON TASK FORCE EYES HEMP ENFORCEMENT: Hemp enforcement problems in Oregon are evolving as the state seeks to crack down on unregulated intoxicating cannabinoids and illicit marijuana growers masquerading as hemp farmers. An Oregon task force convened to address cannabis-derived intoxicants and illicit production met on Thursday to plan how it will develop recommendations for the state legislature. The group was originally created to address the proliferation of hemp-derived Delta-8 THC products, and its scope was expanded in recent legislation to include illegal cannabis production, too. The task force includes elected lawmakers, agency officials, researchers and representatives from the cannabis industry. An evolving problem: Bad actors are changing their practices and in some cases moving away from the state altogether thanks to increased state enforcement efforts. "Some of the illegal operators have left the playing field and unfortunately have popped up in other states that are less [regulated] such as Oklahoma," said Rob Bovett, an attorney for Washington County. "We've also seen a lot of them stay and just diversify." Instead of operating illicit grow operations on massive farms with many hoop houses, some of the operations are separating into multiple smaller farms with fewer hoop houses. The changes indicate that state efforts to crack down on illicit grows are having an impact, Bovett said. But it also poses additional challenges for law enforcement because executing a search warrant on a large farm requires similar resources as a small farm.
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