My colleague Jesse Vivian wrote an interesting article, FDA Inspection of Foreign Drug Companies.
The article recounts the appalling failures of the FDA to protect the purity of foods and drugs we consume. I do differ with my friend, Dr. Vivian, when he states in his commentary:
What's going on here? Political pundits might take the low road to explain the situation. Dr. Woodcock works for Dr. von Eschenbach, who is a personal friend of President George W. Bush. President Bush reportedly does not like the idea of burdening members of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) with additional costs and, of course, PhRMA opposes the legislation. That may be the skeptic's viewpoint. But there are two sides to every story. – Jesse Vivian
My Response to Vivian’s Commentary
The sole purpose of the FDA is to protect the public from unsafe food and drugs. That is why the agency was created. Remember Upton Sinclair’s book, The Jungle? The book told of the unsanitary conditions in the meat packing industry at the turn of the century. The public outcry led to the passage of acts to protect American consumers from reckless industry practices that poisoned our food and drugs. Who would think that today, toys for our children come from China with lead paint and heparin is purposely contaminated for profit? I am supposed to find this acceptable because big business profits?
Where, when and how did the FDA fail its mission? It can be traced to the Ronald Reagan administration and a now discredited philosophy that government is “the problem, not the solution” and big business not only can be trusted to police itself but can do everything better than the “public sector”.
We have lived long enough to see this naïve notion completely discredited by companies routinely poisoning consumers, cheating government and individuals by conspiring to overcharge for prescription drugs, exploiting home buyers with outrageous mortgages, usurious interest rates on credit cards and charging outrageous prices for gasoline.
The true “low road” is to fail to put the blame on those responsible. I hear cynics say both political parties are “the same”. I say that the Republican Party invented and implemented the concept of putting former industry lobbyists in charge of the very government agencies that are supposed to regulate the industries for your protection.
In short, President Bush handpicked foxes to guard all of our chicken coops. Now that most of the chickens are mysteriously missing, save for feathers on the ground, we are asked to believe the fat foxes had nothing to do with the missing chickens.
