The Poison Squad
From Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times bestselling author Deborah Blum, the dramatic true story of how food was made safe in the United States and the heroes, led by the inimitable Dr Harvey Washington Wiley, who fought for change By the end of nineteenth century, food was dangerous Lethal, even Milk might contain formaldehyde, most often used to embalm corpses Decaying meat was preserved with both salicylic acid, a pharmaceutical chemical, and borax, a compound first identified as a cleaning product This was not by accident food manufacturers had rushed to embrace the rise of industrial chemistry, and were knowingly selling harmful products Unchecked by government regulation, basic safety, or even labelling requirements, they put profit before the health of their customers By some estimates, in New York City alone, thousands of children were killed by embalmed milk every year Citizens activists, journalists, scientists, and women s groups began agitating for change But even as protective measures were enacted in Europe, American corporations blocked even modest regulations Then, in 1883, Dr Harvey Washington Wiley, a chemistry professor from Purdue University, was named chief chemist of the agriculture department, and the agency began methodically investigating food and drink fraud, even conducting shocking human tests on groups of young men who came to be known as, The Poison Squad Over the next thirty years, a titanic struggle took place, with the courageous and fascinating Dr Wiley campaigning indefatigably for food safety and consumer protection Together with a gallant cast, including the muckraking reporter Upton Sinclair, whose fiction revealed the horrific truth about the Chicago stockyards Fannie Farmer, then the most famous cookbook author in the country and Henry J Heinz, one of the few food producers who actively advocated for pure food, Dr Wiley changed history When the landmark 1906 Food and Drug Act was finally passed, it was known across the land, as Dr Wiley s Law Blum brings to life this timeless and hugely satisfying David and Goliath tale with righteous verve and style, driving home the moral imperative of confronting corporate greed and government corruption with a bracing clarity, which speaks resoundingly to the enormous social and political challenges we face today. Free Download [ The Poison Squad ] author [ Deborah Blum ] – kino-fada.fr Dude.The Industrial Revolution, for all its major leaps toward with invention and innovation, definitely fucked over some people.Like a lot of people.The biggest take away from this nonfiction book is that given the opportunity, big business will screw us over tenfold unless someone holds them accountable They put copper, lead, formaldehyde and so muchin our food Kids died from drinking milk That s so mind bo...Page turning and solicitous This incredible story widens the view of what we think we know about how our nation s food From flood shavings in the chowder, to exactly how much plaster makes sour milk looks just right again this book is for anyone who loves reading about history that you can t believe is true Where the Food Explorer took us on a wild ride, discovering where our food came from this wowzers of a history will make you sooooo glad we had Dr Wiley on our side ensuring we aren t Page turning and solicitous This incredible story widen...An intense historical narrative about the fight to regulate food in the US Deborah Blum s book will shock and intrigue you as she goes through the life of Harvey Washington Wiley s whose research and strength pushed legislation to protect the current and next generation of Americans from terrible ingredients food companies added to make their food last longer or produce faster You mouth will drop at her descriptions of formaldehyde being used in milk, green slime getting scrapped off canned me An intense historical narrative about the fight to regulate...Absolutely fascinating I guess I should feel glad that the American political system has always been full of craven, venal blowhards Frankly we re all lucky to be alive, given this history of the pure food and drug act.I do not think I love the balance in this I would have preferredon the political oron the science, but this felt unsatisfyingly short on both, somehow Still a very fascinating book.You know how some things seem like such an entrenched part of our society that we ve forgotten how they got there Deborah Blum reveals the story of one those facets of America food and drug law did you ever stop to think what unbleached flour means, or why labels are so proud of this fact Mystery solved thanks to this book Blum details Dr Harvey Washington Wiley s decades long quest 1880s 1906 for food and drug regulation, against always formidable business owner foes and their govern You know how some things seem like such an entrenched part of our society that we ve forgotten how they got there Deborah Blum reveals the story of one those facets of America food and drug law did you ever stop to think what unbleached flour means, or why labels are so proud of this fact Mystery solved thanks t...
- 21 September 2018 Deborah Blum
- Hardcover
- 352 pages
- 1594205140
- Deborah Blum
- The Poison Squad