Food And Drug Administration, FDA Quotes
When nutritionists like Dr. Ludwig advocated for whole grain food in the diet, and American consumers started eating more of it, food processors and manufacturers started using the term for a wide range of food that involved grains, many of which were unhealthy. The FDA regulations were too lax and soon the term "whole grain" was being used for very healthy and very unleathy food--a little whole grain and a huige amount of sugar for example was margeted as "whole grain" but was very unhealthy. Often whole gran in small amounts were combined with the traditional milled flour and called "whole grain".
What is fascinating about this quotation is that each year in the United States millions of Americans get sick from contaminated food. Well over 100,000 need to be hospitalized, and over 3000 Americans die from food borne illness. Yet this Congressman from an agricultural state can make such an absurd statement. The US is better than most counties in terms of food safety, and is much improved over the last decades. However, it is certainly not COMPLETELY safe. Ideologically, he was trying to ward off calls for increased Federal Regulation of the Food System which he believed could not be as successful at making the system more safe as if the food industry engaged in self regulation. But it is common in modern politics to completely depart from the truth if the truth might create public and political pressure for legislation that the Congressman was ideologically opposed to. The end of reducing Federal Regulation for him justified a blatant untruth which misled the public who believed him. Worse, Americans have less trust in anything their legislators say as more and more are exposed making statements like this.
When nutritionists advocated for whole grain food in the diet, and American consumers started eating more of it, food processors and manufacturers started using the term for a wide range of food that involved grains, many of which were unhealthy. The FDA regulations were too lax and soon the term "whole grain" was being used for very healthy and very unleathy food--a little whole grain and a huige amount of sugar for example was margeted as "whole grain" but was very unhealthy. Often whole gran in small amounts were combined with the traditional milled flour and called "whole grain".
Despite huge lobbying and political pressure, Dr. Kelsey would not sign off on the drug initially because she found information on her own about Thalidomide that the company, Merrell, must have known about and didn't reveal to her and her staff or in their applications. She was aware that the drug had been approved by England, Canada, and many nations of Europe, but she saw little data in the Merrell submissions and responses and that made her suspicious, and caused her to demand more. During the time the company was to submit more data, the reports of the deformed newborns were starting to come in from the countries that had approved the drug. When she gathered that information, she rejected the application and prevented thousands or perhaps tens of thousands of children to be born with missing limbs because their mothers had been treated with Thalidomide. In 1962 she was awarded the highest civilian medal by President John F. Kennedy.
