Saying "this fixes a substantial part of the problem but not everything" is a surefire way to get nothing done.

Same in healthcare. Somebody makes a proposal and immediately people come out of the weeds claiming "But look at this thing! this is much worse" and in the end nothing ever changes.

Right, if there isn't a simple solution that can be explained in a headline a large number of people jump to "there is nothing (useful) that can be done".

"cut" =/= "eliminate"

If I "cut" someone's pay, they get a "pay cut" or, in other words, their pay goes down. They don't lose their entire wage.

They also seem to be ignoring the possibility that the current date indicators take the form they take because the firm that packaged that food has decided they make the most money that with this form of date indicator. Sure, there could be regulations governing this, but like all regulations they'll be written by the firms they regulate.