FDA--Food & Drug! The Problem Is So Blatantly Obvious..Isn't It?

Alright folks, this is going to be my daily rant. Well not really a rant, more like me attempting to understand how such a thing as the Food and Drug Administration came into being, and how to this day, people don't make the connection between our Food and the Drugs they attempt to give us.

First, a brief history of the FDA:

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or USFDA) is a Government agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is responsible for regulating and supervising the safety of foods, tobacco products, dietary supplements, Medication drugs, vaccines, Biopharmaceutical, blood transfusion, medical devices, Electromagnetic radiation emitting devices, veterinary products, and cosmetics. The FDA also enforces section 361 of the Public Health Service Act and the associated regulations, including sanitation requirements on interstate travel as well as specific rules for control of disease on products ranging from pet turtles to semen donations for assisted reproductive medicine techniques.

In June 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt signed into law the Food and Drug Act, also known as the "Wiley Act" after its chief advocate.[20] The Act prohibited, under penalty of seizure of goods, the interstate transport of food which had been "adulterated", with that term referring to the addition of fillers of reduced "quality or strength", coloring to conceal "damage or inferiority," formulation with additives "injurious to health," or the use of "filthy, decomposed, or putrid" substances. The act applied similar penalties to the interstate marketing of "adulterated" drugs, in which the "standard of strength, quality, or purity" of the active ingredient was not either stated clearly on the label or listed in the United States Pharmacopoeia or the National Formulary. The act also banned "misbranding" of food and drugs.[21] The responsibility for examining food and drugs for such "adulteration" or "misbranding" was given to Wiley's USDA Bureau of Chemistry.[20]

So that's where it all began, over a hundred years ago. And it was so simple back then. We just didn't wanna be lied to and made sure that the things we were being given were clearly labelled. Simple enough right?

Then we gave the agency regulatory powers. Meaning they could make decisions as to what was "safe" and what wasn't, depending on how much proven research was put before them.

Today the FDA along with the FTC control and have monopolized the Food and Drug markets.

The people who work for these agencies line their pockets with money from Big Pharma and continually lower the standard for testing before getting wide market approval. Let's look at Swine Flu for example.

They didn't or could not wait as they put it, so they forgo testing pretty much altogether.

And now they want to open the door to Codex Alimentarus (Am I spelling that right?) which would pretty much make anything that doesn't come from Big Pharma illegal. Actually we already have that law.

Did you know that under US law nothing but a Drug can: Cure, Prevent or Treat an illness or disease?

That's an actual law, look it up. That's ludicrous to the extreme.

This effectively means that anybody who practices holistic medicine or herbal medicine in the United States can be shut down and charged with practising medicine without a licence. And it's happened.

So my question to ATS is.

What is the problem? How can people not understand this simple, seemingly harmless alliance between the Food and Drugs of our nation is KILLING US slowly but surely?

Thoughts?

~Keeper

I think that for whatever reason, people are "educated" to believe that there is no power in wisdom. Whether it be natural cures or old time religion.
Maybe the reason is just their (TPTB) means to an end. We are to be weak, stupid sheep. The end.
Looking forward to more "rants"!

FDA has lots of problems with corruption and $ involvement in decision making. However this:

Did you know that under US law nothing but a Drug can: Cure, Prevent or Treat an illness or disease?

is perfectly logical. Even with those kind of laws crooks (small ones, not Big Pharma level ) make descent living. So at least drug companies have to make some tests to show their claims are valid. Holistic/natural/homeopathic/snake oils does not have to prove a thing. This is where Big Pharma got them. And justifiably so - they were too cheap on running tests on their products by them-self, so pharmacy companies are now using it for their advantage.
Tell me, how do you know that vitamin C or Echinacea you just bought really have what is written on the label? And if it is one of those rare companies that do test their batches ,how do you know if vitamin C or Echinacea work except nothing more then rumors? I do not even go into each plant having different concentration of ingredients according to season and place of growth and you will never ever see what plants actually had on the box....

So this field is not regulated because alternative medicine industry (and yes - it is just as "industry stuff" as pharma guys and they also are in this for profit) choose to not be held responsible for their own products due to costs. Well - it now backfires and it is not at FDA of pharmaceutical companies fault.

reply to post by Dogdish


Thanks for the reply.

I just finished reading a book entitled: The Natural Cures They Don't Want You To Know About.

And it really opened my eyes to a lot of things.

~Keeper

reply to post by ZeroKnowledge


Ahh, but my friend it's not about the testing.

This is the reason they passed that law.

You can't get a patent on a natural cure, which means you can't charge through the roof and make a profit.

This is why we are discouraged from using Natural remedies.

Think about it, when Pfizer makes a drug like Prozac, they patent it, no other company can make that specific drug, which peans Pfizer can charge 400$ a bottle and claim in works wonder, when it reality a natural cure costs next to nothing and has less side effects.

~Keeper

reply to post by tothetenthpower


A) There can be patent on natural cure - takes a good research, little creativity and investment. If you mentioned Prozac - check St. John's-wort/Remotiv.
B) Nobody can force person A to not use plants he/she/it grows in garden or picks in forest near by. But if person A starts selling it - he/she/it is responsible for the product. And stuff been natural does not equal stuff been safe. Digitalis as an example.
C) So if there is a whole industry involved in alternative medicine, to be treated with same respect as pharmaceutical industry has in scientific/medical community they have to regulate them-self and show their products work.
D) Of course pharma companies would like to push competitors from the market. It is just any other business,sadly. But competitors are just as guilty because they did not try to take responsibility for what they sell.