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A review by chuskeyreads
The Poison Eaters: Fighting Danger and Fraud in Our Food and Drugs by Gail Jarrow
4.0
Repulsive but compelling. The history of the USDA is a subject that I normally wouldn't voluntarily read about, but the author's narrative style is very engaging.
I knew a little about drinks and elixirs full of morphine, cocaine, and other amphetamines, but I didn't realize how many people died from these "cure-alls."
I thought the chemicals and garbage in today's food was bad - I had no idea what people actually eating through the mid-1900s (rat feces, insect parts, borax, formaldehyde, and other really gross stuff!). This book was truly enlightening.
I knew a little about drinks and elixirs full of morphine, cocaine, and other amphetamines, but I didn't realize how many people died from these "cure-alls."
I thought the chemicals and garbage in today's food was bad - I had no idea what people actually eating through the mid-1900s (rat feces, insect parts, borax, formaldehyde, and other really gross stuff!). This book was truly enlightening.