The Food And Drug Administration

Institutional Powers have always affected my life in many ways. The main institutional power that control both positive and negative consequences of my life would be the FDA the Food and Drug Administration. The first way they control my life is they regulate all human and veterinary drugs in our country. Second, the FDA is responsible for protecting the public health and products. Lastly, they supply and control the entire United States Food supply. I believe that this specific governmental institutional power is 100% the authority over my life. The FDA needs to care more about the general health of the public and take into consideration how they play a major factor in the health of our bodies, minds, and environment as well.

The Food and Drug Administration, also known as the FDA or USFDA, is responsible for protecting and advocating public health. They are the official government agency that ensures our drug supply is safe and effective. This is achieved through the regulation and supervision of food safety, dietary supplements, veterinary products, cosmetics, vaccines, biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, prescription and pharmaceutical drugs that can be purchased over- the- counter.

* Origin of Drug: Dutch word droog meaning dry for dried herbs and plants that were the 1st medicine.

Food and drug administration is a department of U.S health and human services. It’s responsibility is to test the safety and efficacy of new drugs entering the market as well as to make sure that these medicines are quickly accessible to people. The Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act has been passed in 1938 to ensure that foods other than meat, poultry and fish are clinically hygienic and safe to eat. This act also requires that the food should be labelled according to its content. (FDA.org) Drugs and tobacco are also regulated by FDA and in 1996, FDA strictly regulated the use of tobacco products like nicotine, cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, by children and adolescents because of the increase in diseases prevalence and tobacco addiction. Annually 40000 deaths are attributable to its use and most of them are of premature. Therefore the goal of FDA is to stop the tobacco addiction by minors and prevent the deaths and diseases due to nicotine addiction. (FDA vs Brown, n.d) This essay will cover the food and drug administration’s role in under and over regulating drugs and medicines and how it effects our economy, health care system and patients health and safety.

Every day, millions of Texans spend their money on the one thing they need to survive: food. Whether at a grocery store or a restaurant, food has never been more easily accessible in our history. With this increase in accessibility, the different options of foods to choose from have also increased. But although people now have the ability to choose between fat-free, low-carb, or gluten-free foods, they fail to make the most vital decision in deciding what will go in their bodies; the presence of Genetically Modified Organisms. Although Genetically Modified Organisms, or GMOs, haven’t been scientifically proven to be safe to consume, 70% of the food that Americans consume has had some form of altering by means of genetic engineering. The problem

We tend to believe that there is nothing healthier and better than a home-cooked meal. You are aware of the components being put it in, how it is being made, and the level of cleanliness during the preparation. As you are a part of family who never eats out, your mother goes regularly to the local supermarket. You have followed her around before, watching her handpick every fruit and vegetable, inspecting them from mold. Yet, what your mother might not know is that vegetables can be very deceiving since the FDA rejected the notion of labelling them to see if they were to contain any growth hormones or genetically-modified organisms (GMO). GMOs are a product of the method “where genes from the DNA of one species are extracted and artificially forced into the genes of an unrelated plant or animal.” (Seeds of Deception, 2014) This is one of the ways that the FDA has failed the consumer, because we are unable to identify the products that comprise genetic engineering or hormones. We wonder why cucumbers have become much bigger throughout the years. The reason is that the FDA deems that biological technology corporations should be in charge of ensuring whether it is safe. Items like corn, soy, and yellow squash are known to have GMOs. According to a study from Environmental Sciences Europe, GMOs have been connected to kidney

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) is currently one of the biggest controversial topics in the United States. Some people believe GMOs is an incredible discovery because it allows farmers to mass-produce while saving millions. Other Americans believe that GMOs are toxic chemicals and the leading cause for diseases. The disgusting side effects of GMOs hits home for me. Amanda Krysa, a family friend and vegan for fifteen years was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer at the young age of twenty-eight. Amanda’s doctors have speculated that the GMOs in the soy products caused her cancer. U.S.-grown soy products are injected with GMOs. This is done in an attempt to help produce mass quantities of soybeans as well as to help make the foods last longer. Ultimately, however GMOs are hurting us. Ironically, Amanda began a vegan diet in order to live a healthy and long life, yet it’s possible that the GMOs she ate in order to meet her protein needs

United States spending on healthcare amounted to $2.9 trillion in 2013. This cost breaks down to $9,255 per person

Many other accomplishments were made during this time. As many believed trusts used "threats, intimidation, bribery, fraud and pillage" (James Weaver) to control industries, unions and the government were able to pass Acts and create organizations to keep monopolies at bay. Progressive reform movements allowed trusts and monopolies to be disbanded and kept more from forming. Also, in the political and economic changes of this time, laws were created to produce safety standards in the food business. The Pure Food and Drug Act states that it is unlawful to sell or produce "any article of food or drug which is adulterated or misbranded, within the meaning of this Act." This was a tremendous change from the awful conditions in meat factories described

The Pure Food and Drug Act was first implemented in 1905 by President Theodore Roosevelt but it was not officially a law until 1906 and its main purpose was to make sure all food and drug labels were labeled accurately (Hart & Ksir, 2013, p. 53). This act was created in order to fix the American food and drug industry because “At the turn of the 20th century, America’s food supply was enshrouded in unsafe and disgusting practices. Diseases were rampant as American slaughter and packing houses were not regulated nor checked for sanitation purpose” (“Pure Food and Drug Act” 2015).

In the past few years, society has been made more aware of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Because of this, GMOs are being replaced in diets with more natural and organic options. GMOs have been researched and found to cause adverse effects on human health because of the gene splicing, or genetic alterations that are done to create them through genetic engineering. Before this issue became an issue, many people were eating processed and even healthy foods without understanding what chemicals and toxins they were actually putting into their bodies. GMOs are infused into food without awareness because one never really understands what all those unpronounceable words, label GMOs, really are. Due to recent research, it has been found that genetically modified organisms are harmful and can lead to increased risks of disease and cancer.

As much as food is a cultural obsession nowadays in America, food, safety, and public health is something that has not always been a priority within the development as a nation. The Food and Drug Administration, which ensures that the food and drugs we ingest are “safe, wholesome, and sanitary” was only created in 1906 (FDA, 2014) as a byproduct of Upton Sinclair’s book (which was released the same year) “The Jungle”, which had exposed the meat packing industry for misconduct and unhygienic conditions for both workers and the meat being packaged and purchased by consumers. Since then, advances in technology—specifically DNA—has allowed for the development of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). GMOs are living organisms that have had

Clinical trials evaluating the use of Yttrium-90 (Y-90) transarterial radioembolization for hepatic tumors date back to the 1960s. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of TheraSphere® (BTG, Ontario, Canada) particles for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) via humanitarian device exemption (HDE) in 1999 and SIR-Spheres® (SIRTex Technology Pty, Lane Cove, Australia) particles for colorectal cancer metastases in 2002. Since then….[talk more about recent vents in the field]. Transarterial radioembolization has been reported to improve overall survival to 15.4-17.2 months (1). The burgeoning use of Y-90 radioembolization in the treatment of liver tumors requires interventional radiologists to make clear documentation in procedure reports in order to obtain authorization and maximize reimbursement.

There has been a long debate concerning the safety of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), whether it imposes a risk not only to our environment, but also to our bodies when ingested over a long period of time. GMO corporations have debated against these topics and have desperately tried to convince consumers that their products are safe when in reality they do more harm than good. In a recent study by Dr. Oraby published through the Turkish Journal of Biology, found that albino rats on a genetically modified based diet showed significant damage to the liver, kidneys and reproductive system and showed abnormalities in just 90 days (267).

Despite the fact that many of us consume GMOs’ every day, knowingly or otherwise, there has been no human study of the effects of eating these genetically modified foods. Many consumers and genetics experts alike are concerned regarding this lack of study. Many scientists including noted chemist Joseph Mercola have stated repeatedly that there have been “no long-term feeding studies performed in the US and Canada to demonstrate the claims that engineered corn and soya are safe”. They point to the fact that “All we have are scientific studies out of Europe and Russia, showing that rats fed engineered food die prematurely” (Mercola 12). In these studies, mice fed strains of genetically modified corn showed a substantial increase in kidney failure and significant changes in blood chemistry over three generations. These studies also proved that sustained consumption of modified corn and soy by these animals “led to an abnormally high rate of birth defects among newborns for multiple generations”