Harvey W. Wiley, the Poison Squad, and the FDA

We as a people assume that the food we order or buy is safe to eat.  This faith in our food comes in part from the FDA and the laws and regulations that govern our food.  Currently the FDA oversees the country’s food supply.  Also, it is responsible for assuring the safety of human and veterinary drugs, medical devices, cosmetics and tobacco.  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) came into being with the passage of the 1906 Pure Food and Drugs Act.  This law prohibited interstate commerce in misbranded food and drugs. Harvey Washington Wiley, chief chemist of the Department of Agriculture, had been the driving force behind this law and headed its enforcement. In the 1880s, when Wiley began his 50-year crusade for pure foods, America's marketplace was flooded with poor, often harmful products.

In 1902, Wiley was given a grant of $5,000 in order to study the safety of the chemical preservatives that were being added to foods.  With this money, he assembled a troop of twelve men who became known as “The Poison Squad”.   These men would meet in the basement of the Department of Agriculture (DOA), dressed in suite and tie, for the finest meals. The goal of the Poison Squad was to consume some of the most commonly used food additives in order to determine their effects. During each of the Poison Squad’s trials, the members would eat steadily increasing amounts of each additive, carefully tracking the impact that it had on their bodies. They would stop when they started to get sick.  The members of the Poison Squad took an oath that, for a year, only allowed them to eat food prepared in the DOA kitchen. 

(The goal was to) “Investigate the character of food preservatives, coloring matters, and other substances added to foods, to determine their relation to digestion and to health, and to establish the principles which should guide their use."

-Wiley

The Poison Squad tested additives such as borax, sulfuric acid, saltpeter, formaldehyde and benzoic acid.  These brave and iron stomached men suffered from many ailments including nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, liver damage, kidney damage, brain damage, and jaundice.  The Poison Squad experiments got wide media coverage and caught public attention.  It allowed people to question what they ate, and become open to change.

            In 1907, the Poison Squad came to an end.  In 1912 Wiley went to work for Good Housekeeping Magazine as the head of testing.  It was during this time that the Good Housekeeping “Seal of Approval” became so desirable on a product Wiley also explored the effects of additive sugar and the negative effects of cigarettes.  In 1921, an article of Wiley’s contributed to the passage of the Maternity Bill, which increased Federal funds for improved infant care and led to a reduction of the appalling infant mortality rate. 

                Quality food is important.  Still today many preservatives are put in our food that we may not know the long term health effects of.   Harvey Wiley started to examine the many questions that were proposed about preservatives and coloring in our food and opened up scientific and public knowledge on the subject. 

Advertisements for many different remedies in the late 1800's and early 1900's

"The Poison Squad"

Harvey W. Wiley

http://www.fda.gov/aboutfda/whatwedo/history/default.htm
http://www.fdahistory.com/Clips_and_Trailers.html
http://www.blackcollegetv.net/VideoDetail.aspx?assetId=24712259746&pv=bio

Blogging as an Education Tool

Test

Radiation, the Media, and Public Health

On March 11^th, 2011, a tsunami, following a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, in Japan disabled three nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.   All three cores were in a full meltdown. There have been no deaths or cases of radiation sickness from the nuclear accident, but over 100,000 people had to be evacuated from their homes.  Some of the many issues that have been associated with the Fukushima event has been airborne radiation, radiation in the food and water, and also the global spread of radiation. This nuclear meltdown has been the worst recorded nuclear accident to date.  The media has an infamous way of reacting to major events such as this one.

 Three Mile Island, a nuclear incident that occurred in 1970’s New York is a good example of the media’s influence.  At Three Mile Island, no radiation was ever leaked from the reactors, and no harm was done to humans or the environment.  Once the media got a hold of the news that a malfunction happened, they set fear into the hearts of the public, and in turn, grew the situation to great proportions.  Still today, confusion amongst the public stands on what actually happened at Three Mile Island. 

With the widespread access to technology, and the ability for all opinions to be heard on the internet, it is difficult to discern actual events and true information.  Nuclear radiation, and how it’s measured, is not common knowledge to the public.  According to the CDC, radiation can be measured in Curies, Becquerels, rads, grays, rems and sieverts.  The unit of measurement chosen depends on reference to the source of radiation, whether it be the body, the environment, or direct emissions. 

In Fukushima, one of the original readings was 900,000 Becquerels (Bq), with a later revisal of 5 million Becquerels.  That sounds like a very large amount of radiation.  One Curie is equal to 37 billion becquerels.  900,000 Bq sounds a lot more dangerous than less than 1 curie.  To make the situation more confusing, nuclear incidents are also evaluated on an international rating scale.  Fukushima was originally given a rating of 3.  This rating sounds mild and really doesn't present too much fear in the general public.  However a level 3 is considered a “serious incident.”  Recently, the Fukushima power plant meltdown was rated a 7.  A 7/10 is pretty high, but it’s still not the highest rating.  Wrong.  The rating scale is a 1-7 scale.

This confusion and multiple ratings and readings are used by the media to warp a situation to favor their agenda.  The facts can be misconstrued to be both an immediate health risk and also of no real concern.  By doing this, public health officials have to work harder to report the actual facts and inform the public in a way that is generally understood.  Even after much research, the true levels of radiation released at Fukushima are debatable.  The media needs to team up with public health officials to dismantle false reports and inform the world of the truth behind Fukushima and other disasters.  

Map showing the decrease in radiation from 2011 to 2012

Fukushima Daiichi shortly after the reactor meltdowns

http://world-nuclear.org/info/Safety-and-Security/Safety-of-Plants/Fukushima-Accident/
http://www.tasnimnews.com/English/Home/Single/276880
http://www.emergency.cdc.gov/radiation/measurement.asp
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2013/08/130829-fukushima-level-3-serious-incident-rating/
  Michio Kaku        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STSmFZeE50E  
  Fukushima Now     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB-K78L8oNI
  Experts Shocked at View of Reactor  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-BXmlYouWA   
  Picture of Japanese TV showing meltdown. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SANdl2DtbCs 
  Seattles dying sea stars    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRohJfskNWs  
  Measuring Radiation   http://www.emergency.cdc.gov/radiation/measurement.asp 

Leary's "Transform America"

In the 1960’s, Timothy Leary was the father of the LSD movement.  While working on his PhD at Harvard, Leary gave psychedelic mushrooms to graduate students as part of his clinical trials.  Leary believed that psychedelics would open up the mind of the user.  Leary left Harvard and began experimenting with LSD.  The residence at which Leary and his family lived at this time, known as Millbrook, became a weekend getaway for anyone looking to trip.  Leary claimed that LSD would be a great mental cure for America.  He believed that by the 1970’s, America would go through a transformation and 20-30 million people would take LSD on a daily basis in hopes for spiritual growth.

Could America be transforming as Leary once hoped, with marijuana replacing LSD?  In 2012, it was said that 4 million adult (18 and older) habitually smoke marijuana.  The number of habitual smokers is estimated to be closer to 14 million people, ages 12 and up.   There are many reasons why people smoke marijuana; medical, recreational, and spiritual.  These reasons, especially according to Leary, are the same for why a person would take LSD.  Marijuana was made illegal in the 1940’s, while LSD wasn’t illegal until 1967.  With this being said, LSD wasn’t synthesized until 1938 in Basel, Switzerland. 

Marijuana and LSD have many similarities.  Both drugs are labeled as hallucinogenic and can affect the mental state of the user.  According to enthusiasts of the drugs, they both have medical purposes.  These medical effects of marijuana are the very things that started the nation to come around to the legalizing of the drug.  Currently, 20 states have legalized medical marijuana, 2 of which, Colorado and Washington, have legalized marijuana for recreational use.  Even the nation’s capitol, Washington D.C., is considering the legalization of marijuana. 

             LSD, lysergic acid diethylamide, unlike marijuana, is typically a drug that would be taken by someone looking for a specific experience.  Leary wanted the nation to be able to enlighten them on a daily basis.  LSD has many negative effects that go along with habitual use.  Most of these effects are mental, however, and not a direct physical harm.  What is known as an “Acid Flashback” is one of the more discussed side effects.  Also, sever distressed, depression, terrifying thoughts and feelings, and psychosis can come out of the use of LSD.  Marijuana on the other hand, have very few side effects which, when being compared to LSD, is much safer for habitual use. 

            Leary never saw psychedelic drugs become an accepted societal habit; however he did witness a change in America.  The 1960’s was a different era than anything the USA has seen.  It opened many Americans eyes and allowed many of them to experience drugs in a way that will never be done again.  Marijuana is doing the same for the 21^st century.  The nation is becoming more accepting of mind altering substances, first with Alcohol coming back after prohibition, and now, possibly, with the legalization of marijuana.  

http://www.foxnews.com/story/2004/05/04/govt-habitual-pot-use-is-up-among-us-adults/
http://norml.org/marijuana