The FDA : Corporate America's Public Relations Department

[Guardian]

*QUICK QUIZ:

*Question: How is it that every industrialized nation in the world has banned Monsanto's rBGH as unsafe, but it's legal (and unlabeled) in the United States?

Answer: In order for the FDA to determine if Monsanto's growth hormones were safe or not, Monsanto was required to submit a scientific report on that topic. Margaret Miller, one of Monsanto's researchers put the report together.

Shortly before the report submission, Miller left Monsanto and was hired by the FDA. Her first job for the FDA was to determine whether or not to approve the report she wrote for Monsanto. In short, Monsanto approved its own report. Assisting Miller was another former Monsanto researcher, Susan Sechen.

Deciding whether or not rBGH-derived milk should be labeled fell under the jurisdiction of another FDA official, Michael Taylor, who previously worked as a lawyer for Monsanto.

*(quoted from Annieappleseedproject.org)

Who does the FDA really work for? You or corporate America?

The problem with these heads of corporation and their lawyers making regulation and policy is that the health and well-being of the consumer takes a backseat to protecting patents, power, and profits. It no longer is a safeguard for consumers. The system of checks and balances between corporations and consumers ceases to exist. The very people who are to perform research to determine whether these products are safe or not are employed by the companies that create those products! How can you have an objective study if all the people doing the research stand to gain from positive results from that study?

What's next? Don't tell me... the United States Supreme Court will overturn a ruling that kept corporate campaign donations to a minimum!?!? Hmmm....I wonder if Monsanto would benefit from this ruling. Is anyone not disturbed by the fact that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was once a lawyer for Monsanto? Am I the only one who has concerns about the government's corporate connections?

I'm not writing this to bash corporations, business, and capitalism. But when the government hires the corporations to write the research to determine health and safety issues...why do we even need the FDA ? The corporations write their own results... why would a company make a report that could hurt its own sales and profits? The FDA is an arm of these big corporations used to "sell" their products to the public. ALERT: Buyer BEWARE!!!