I thought this was a great quote by Anthro June 11, 2010 9:38 for discussion:
We (as a country) are in a sad state of affairs with a Supreme Court that, by one vote, is able to grant personhood to corporations and speech rights to snake oil salesmen.
Would it be useful to revisit the 1994 statute that started a lot of this? Is there a member of congress who might be interested in this? It’s safe to say the Harkin, Hatch, Paul and some others would fight it, but still.....there must be some who are more interested in science.
My children are long grown up, but I stopped in the baby food aisle the other day... and was shocked to the core at the array of idiotic products for babies and toddlers. I guess they want to get them hooked as soon as possible. Doesn’t the government’s responsibility to protect its citizens trump the right of corporations to profit from "consumers"? I guess it’s a rhetorical question
What is science? And what is free speech? Who decides? Who should decide? You? Me? The FDA? Under the Data Quality Act a corporation decides not the GAO or the FDA!
Marion Nestle makes the following points in her Food Politics blog:
I think it is time to give these First Amendment issues some serious thought. How about:
•FDA: Fire those lawyers and hire some who will protect the FDA’s ability to use science in its decisions.
•FTC: Take a look a the immunity claim on the Enfagrow Vanilla toddler formula, now that the Chocolate is off the market.
•Legal scholars: Surely there are ways to protect real First Amendment rights while restricting unsubstantiated health claims?
Marion, I agree completely!