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A review by jobustitch
The Poison Squad: One Chemist's Single-Minded Crusade for Food Safety at the Turn of the Twentieth Century by Deborah Blum
5.0
Listened to audiobook.
I may be more interested in this book than your average American because I do work with agriculture regulations, but I loved this snapshot of the Dr. Wiley and the eventual creation of the FDA.
It is both comforting and frustrating to see that the more things change, the more they stay the same. I believe there will always be an inherent friction between the public's and the government's tolerance for risk. With anything, there is no way to promise that risk and harm can be completely eliminated from any system, and this includes the American food supply. However, by funding research and using science to make thoughtful and effective regulations (i.e. with enforcement fully funded), we can mitigate great amounts of risk and make the food supply safe for the public.
It is also interesting to see how "owning" your work in the government can really blind a person to the ever changing circumstances and inevitably hamstring their own work and mission. I'd like to shake some of my colleagues sometimes and say, "You don't own this. This is not YOUR program. It is the program you manage for the taxpayers". As soon as you add your own ego to your work, you can no longer be the objective manager/worker you were hired to be. If you want ego, go into private industry. If you are in public service, check your ego at the door. Dr. Wiley lost that objectivity later in his career and life and it made him less effective in his job.
I may be more interested in this book than your average American because I do work with agriculture regulations, but I loved this snapshot of the Dr. Wiley and the eventual creation of the FDA.
It is both comforting and frustrating to see that the more things change, the more they stay the same. I believe there will always be an inherent friction between the public's and the government's tolerance for risk. With anything, there is no way to promise that risk and harm can be completely eliminated from any system, and this includes the American food supply. However, by funding research and using science to make thoughtful and effective regulations (i.e. with enforcement fully funded), we can mitigate great amounts of risk and make the food supply safe for the public.
It is also interesting to see how "owning" your work in the government can really blind a person to the ever changing circumstances and inevitably hamstring their own work and mission. I'd like to shake some of my colleagues sometimes and say, "You don't own this. This is not YOUR program. It is the program you manage for the taxpayers". As soon as you add your own ego to your work, you can no longer be the objective manager/worker you were hired to be. If you want ego, go into private industry. If you are in public service, check your ego at the door. Dr. Wiley lost that objectivity later in his career and life and it made him less effective in his job.