Food Fortification as Healthcare Policy: The Ethics of Removing Choice

By Charlie Rubsamen

Over two billion people throughout the world suffer from some form of Iodine Deficiency Disorder [1]. Iodine is a Halogen that is critical for the body’s production of thyroid hormones, key metabolic regulators [2, 3]. Poor Iodine intake can have disastrous consequences ranging from birth defects to IQ deficit to hypothyroidism [4]. While Iodine deficiency is a predicament worldwide, North America is largely an exemption. Citizens of the United States retain many privileges, but paradoxically one of the most important is the freedom from choice.