I think I’m just beginning to realize how much and to what extent corporations control U.S. government policy.
The following points were taken from a July article about the FDA by Lisa Richwine of Reuters. The FDA decides upon and regulates prescription drugs, nutritional supplements, medical devices, animal feed, foods, and other products which can potentially harm humans (like cell phones).
- From a 2002 survey: “about 20% of FDA scientists said they were pressured to approve or recommend approval of a medicine despite reservations about risks or effectiveness”
- From a study released this month: 15% of FDA scientists said they had been “asked, for non-scientific reasons, to inappropriately exclude or alter technical information or my conclusions in an FDA scientific document.”
- Also from a study this month:17% of FDA scientists said they had been asked by FDA officials to “to provide incomplete, inaccurate or misleading information to the public”
- Amazingly, 40% said they feared retaliation if they voiced concerns about product safety in public
A related post on undue corporate influence: At Least Half of Americans are Mentally Sick
