Why Matzo Makers Love Regulation : Planet Money : NPR Hmm go figure, more regulations mean less competition...
It's a real pisser...but IMHO we need laws and regulations to prevent fraud and harming others out of greed...BUT there is no need for any law or regulation that has the sole purpose of hindering others from getting into or maintaining a business that is NOT harming anyone or the environment. lawyers are real good at collaborating with accounting firms on how to screw people, and when you put those same lawyer/accountant types in DC, we get laws that fuck the people trying to climb the economic ladder in favor of those already at the top rung...we get 99% of us being fucked hard, with sandpaper.
How exactly are the rabbis preventing competition? They're not even talking about government regulations, they're just following the rules of the Talmud. People who buy matzo, do it because it's part of a religious holiday and they want it to be kosher. You could still make matzo that wasn't prepared by the rules of the Talmud but you're not going to be getting any business because it's a very niche market.
The article says that they throw matzo away if it isn't prepared exactly as directed by religious laws, even if the food is still edible. Matzo is made out of wheat, but there are types that are made from other material for those who cannot eat wheat or gluten, such as those who have Celiac Disease, a wheat allergy or sensitivity. I don't know what the rabbis think of that. The Catholic Church also has very strict rules about the communion host, which is made of wheat and therefore not digestible by people with Celiac Disease. A man cannot become a priest if he can't take communion. It seems that wheat is worshipped by these religions. It's about time that this type of thinking is classified as mental illness. Whether it is matzo or communion hosts, there's nothing sacred in a grain, least of all a grain such as wheat, which isn't very good for any of us. Religions suck, all of them.