Peanuts, The FDA And Congress

More than several people have died from a peanut butter related Salmonella outbreak and now Congress is actually starting to open their eyes to the problem. The owners of the Peanut Company of America are being investigated criminally and if there is any justice out there in the world, they'll be sent to prison for a long, long time. Recently they decided not to testify in front of Congress, citing the 5th amendment so they wouldn't self-incriminate themselves.

What happened at PCA though can be easily replicated across the country now, especially with reduced oversight at an underfunded and corrupt Food and Drug Administration that is ingrained with anti-government Bush appointees. Congresswoman Diana DeGette's H.R. 815 is a great start to combat outbreaks such as what happened with peanut butter but much, much more is necessary.

The problems at the FDA have been apparent for years now, yet not much has been done in the Bush era. If anything things have gotten worse. More and more of what goes into the FDA comes from the industries they are supposed to be watching. Once Obama gets done with the stimulus, a part of his health care reform must be to make the FDA a regulatory agency worthy of the American people's trust and respect once again. Ordering a review is a good start, but what we really need is concrete action.