Corruption in the FDA

What is the FDA?  I pulled this statement of intent directly from the FDA's website:

Intent

1-102.10 Food Safety, Illness Prevention, and Honest Presentation.

The purpose of this Code is to safeguard public health and provide consumer food that is safe,unadulterated, and honestly presented.

(http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/RetailFoodProtection/FoodCode/FoodCode2009/ucm186464.htm)

hahahahahahahahahaha!!!!.... Oh.  Sorry.  I thought the FDA was telling a joke.  Almost every single item in your run of the mill grocery store is ABSOLUTELY NOT HONESTLY PRESENTED!  Most of the "food" products that are available for you to buy at these stores are VERY adulterated.  They contain harmful additives, have been genetically modified (GMO), or/and come from unsanitary factory farms and they do not legally have to tell you any of that on the label.  But more on that another day.  Below is just one example of how the statement "FDA approved" should give you absolutely no reassurance that what you are eating is good or safe for you.

So first: How the FDA board members are chosen:

The federal statute stipulates that of the 14 members named to the board, four members should come from industry, three from academia, two from consumer or patient advocacy organizations, and one from the health provider community. The remaining four spots are open to anyone with relevant expertise. 

Second: Our health and safety is not everyone's goal... money is.  Shocking huh?! (not really)

The birth control pills Yaz and Yasmin contain a drug called drospirenone, which the FDA advisory committee endorsed last December.  At least 4 board members that approved this drug have ties to the manufacturing and profits of this drug.  The head of the FDA knew about these ties and still considered them "unbiased" board members.  Turns out this drug has been killing women since its debut in 2006.  Interestingly, while the FDA allowed the four members with financial ties to vote on the drug, it barred another member and former researcher, Sidney M. Wolfe, from voting on the grounds that he had “an intellectual conflict of interest”. Based on several years of data, Wolfe had advised his readers six years earlier not to take Yaz. Because of this “conflict”, he was barred from voting.

So..... In other words, it is ok for members of the FDA to get paid by a drug or food manufacturer while they vote "in our best interest" but it is not ok when someone has done research and in no way benefits from a paticular food or drug being passed or not. 

resources:

http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/100/5/296.full.pdf

http://www.fda.gov/

http://thetruthisnow.com/headlines/scandal-at-the-fda-board-members-with-drug-maker-ties-voted-to-approve-drug-thats-killing-women/