The Poison Squad: One Chemist's Single-Minded Crusade for Food Safety at the Turn of the Twentieth Century by Deborah Blum | Conversation Starters
Back in the late 1800’s, food manufacturers were free to chemically manipulate their products because there were no government regulations to check their actions. Labeling and security requirements were non-existent. Thousands of children died by drinking "embalmed milk" in New York City every year. While Europe made efforts to protect their food from being poisoned, Americans had to fight harder to make their government do something about it. At the forefront of this fight was Dr. Harvey Wiley, a Purdue University chemistry professor who ensured that food safety bills were approved and that government intervenes to promote the welfare of its citizens.
The Poison Squad is written by Deborah Blum, a New York Times bestseller and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Monkey Wars.
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