FDA: it’s more than just letters or is it?
F is for Food! D is for Drug! A is for Administration! Those three letters are a part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. They are the regulating force behind many of the items in your either in your kitchen cabinet or medicine cabinet. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and supervision from the eggs, to the granola bar, to your Olay and L’Oreal beauty products. Travel to FDA.gov and there motto sits. Protecting and Promoting Your Health. But what does the FDA really do? After having read the NYT bestseller Fast Food Nation I am a little worried about this agency that is responsible for regulating the food industry. Is the FDA just another outdated agency created in response to the muckraking book The Jungle by Upton Sinclair? Or does it actually fulfill its purpose and does protect us from the capitalistic food industry.
Note to self never ask the government for a straight answer. What do I mean? As you scroll through there site you become bombarded with information about recalls, newly approved drugs, and so forth. In regards to food “some of the agency's specific responsibilities include:”
- labeling
- safety of all food products (except meat and poultry)
- bottled water
In reality the FDA regulates only some foods and is the truth checker when it comes to labeling for the products that we buy. So who actually has power to regulate the Meat and Poultry industry? The answer according to Schlosser is no one really since these industries have so much power. The meat industry is a “powerful political force, both in the legislative and the regulatory arena, even though the way they wield that power is different from many industries on Capitol Hill.” And though they make very few donations they have learned how to pay the piper that matters most instead of throwing breadcrumbs for the political pigeons. They have become shockingly good at “weakening or preventing many new meat-safety initiatives in recent years.” But it does help when for the last fifty years many of the top members of the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) have been a former member of the Industry.
We can’t avoid eating. Science has proved that we can survive for a month without food. But it has become near impossible to escape the bureaucracy that surrounds our food. So what does the FDA actually do? It checks the facts, clear drugs, checks the labels, and makes sure that the American people don’t die from anything other than meat and poultry. But when most of us eat some form of meat it is quite troubling to know that there is no political force that can reign in this capitalistic power house. With the revelation of pink slime there is far more to worry about what qualifies as food in one of the world’s most powerful country.
Works Cited
FDA. "About FDA." What Does FDA Do? US FDA, 27 Mar. 2012. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. <http://www.fda.gov/aboutfda/transparency/basics/ucm194877.htm>.
Johnson, Steve. "The Politics of Meat." PBS. PBS. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/meat/politics/>.
"Vegetarianism In America." Vegetarian Times. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. <http://www.vegetariantimes.com/features/archive_of_editorial/667>.
