100,000,000 Guinea Pigs

	First edition
Author	Arthur Kallet and Frederick J. Schlink
Country	United States
Subject	Consumer movement
Published	1933 (Vanguard Press); 1935 (Grosset & Dunlap);

Last updated November 16, 2023

100,000,000 Guinea Pigs: Dangers in Everyday Foods, Drugs, and Cosmetics is a book written by Arthur Kallet and F. J. Schlink first released in 1933 by the Vanguard Press and manufactured in the United States of America. Its central argument propounds that the American population is being used as guinea pigs in a giant experiment undertaken by the American producers of food stuffs and patent medicines and the like. Kallet and Schlink premise the book as being "written in the interest of the consumer, who does not yet realize that he is being used as a guinea pig..."

Summary

The book's key proposition is that a significant portion of the products sold to the public—particularly pharmaceuticals and food products—are released with little regard for or knowledge of how these products adversely affect the consumer. Corporations, often knowingly, release products which either do not do what they purport to do, or have dangerous side effects or defects. Furthermore, many officials and government departments, namely, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, have fallen victim to regulatory capture.

The book goes on to state that the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 is not effective in arresting these trends, and real reform or consumer protection is obstructed by the powerful connections that offending corporations have with the government.^[1]

If the poison is such that it acts slowly and insidiously, perhaps over a long period of years (and several such will be considered in later chapters), then we poor consumers must be test animals all our lives; and when, in the end, the experiment kills us a year or ten years sooner than otherwise we would have died, no conclusions can be drawn and a hundred million others are available for further tests.^[2]

The authors develop ideas such as synergy effects, and the precautionary and substitution principles. They claim that many toxic substances, even in low concentrations, can act together to cause much more harmful effects than each substance would individually. Prolonged exposure to low amounts of toxic substances, even at very mild concentrations, can potentially have serious negative health impacts that consumers are not made aware of. These impacts are felt by all consumers because harmful substances are being ingested by consumers because of the use of dangerous pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals in food production. Preservatives are particularly criticized, and the increase in canned or packaged foods is cited as evidence of an increasing risk of such synergy effects because of the large amount of chemical byproducts these products include.

The book argues that many products would not be sold if properly labeled, and this failure to police product labeling has been a key failing of the Food and Drug Administration. Extensive reform and overhaul in government regulation and inspection of the food and drug industry is needed in order to adequately protect consumers from corporations and manufacturers who do not place the health of the consumer before profit. Examples cited include beauty products, which in the first quarter of the 20th century were found to contain arsenic, lead and even radium, the health effects of which were not understood or known to consumers at the time.^[3] The true label for a pineapple pie, they argue, would be closer to this:

Corn starch-filled, glucose-sweetened pie with made with sub-standard canned pineapple, artificial (citric acid) lemon flavor and artificial coal tar color.^[4]

The book takes particular aim at the pharmaceutical market in the United States during the period, citing extensive lists of drugs which are often the subject of very strong and widespread campaigns of media promotion as "wonder-drugs," yet which do not have any effect on the conditions they purport to cure, and often carry with them serious side effects that are not revealed to consumers. The authors claim that advertising for these drugs is deliberately misleading and uses a variety of dishonest techniques from false testimonials to fake experts. The authors also question the value of statements made by scientists who vouch for the safety of products, citing the example of a dean of the College of Pharmacy of Columbia University who had vouched for the safety of a drug that later proved fatal to many.^[5]

In the final analysis, the authors encourage consumers to be more active and questioning in their purchasing habits. Consumers should be vigilant in finding out more information about products and ingredients, and boycotting producers and their products that contain dangerous ingredients. They also call for stronger laws, tougher penalties for offending companies, and a much more concerted effort from authorities to implement consumer protection laws. The book concludes with the statement that "Above all, let your voice be heard loudly and often, in protest against indifference, ignorance, and avarice responsible for the uncontrolled adulteration and misrepresentation of foods, drugs, and cosmetics."^[6]

Reception

The book proved to be extremely popular and a national bestseller in the years immediately following its release, and at least 13 printings of the book were published in the first six months of publication. Public reaction to the book was very strong. Many people were shocked at the extent of food contamination and drug side-effects, and 100,000,000 Guinea Pigs, along with several other books of a similar nature, were published during a period when a new consumer movement emerged.^[7] It is often cited, along with American Chamber of Horrors by Ruth deForest Lamb, as being one of the key catalysts for increased government regulation over food and drugs in the United States which led to the passage in 1938 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.^[8]^[9]

The book was also the subject of strong opposition from several quarters—not just vested interests such as the drug companies, but also from the medical fraternity. The book was frequently criticized for being sensational propaganda, and many at the time questioned the credentials of the authors (both engineers) and the accuracy of the claims.^[10] Several professionals in the medical industry also pointed to the unscientific and spurious conclusions reached, with one commenting on "data fantastically exploited and erroneously interpreted," "extreme and unrealistic conclusion[s]" and "authors with technical qualifications more pronounced in the art of sensationalism than [in] the sciences of biology, chemistry, or public health."^[11]

Today, many of the authors' scientific conclusions are indeed thought to have been mistaken. For example, they claimed that bran (roughage) has many negative effects on the intestine,^[4] which contradicts today's view that bran in moderation is beneficial to the intestines.

However, it still remains an influential book on the topic of consumer affairs. Nearly forty years later, in 1972, John G. Fuller published his expose of the food, drug and cosmetic industries, honoring Kallet and Schlink by entitling his book 200,000,000 Guinea Pigs: New Dangers in Everyday Foods, Drugs and Cosmetics. In the Introduction, Fuller wrote, "Today, nearly forty years later, the situation is worse, not better. ... Time bombs are ticking away in several dark corners. ... It is 1933 all over again—multiplied by logarithms. The difference is only a matter of form."

Related Research Articles

The United States Food and Drug Administration is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food safety, tobacco products, caffeine products, dietary supplements, prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceutical drugs (medications), vaccines, biopharmaceuticals, blood transfusions, medical devices, electromagnetic radiation emitting devices (ERED), cosmetics, animal foods & feed and veterinary products.

The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, also known as Dr. Wiley's Law, was the first of a series of significant consumer protection laws which was enacted by Congress in the 20th century and led to the creation of the Food and Drug Administration. Its main purpose was to ban foreign and interstate traffic in adulterated or mislabeled food and drug products, and it directed the U.S. Bureau of Chemistry to inspect products and refer offenders to prosecutors. It required that active ingredients be placed on the label of a drug's packaging and that drugs could not fall below purity levels established by the United States Pharmacopeia or the National Formulary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Over-the-counter drug</span> Medication available without a prescription

Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are medicines sold directly to a consumer without a requirement for a prescription from a healthcare professional, as opposed to prescription drugs, which may be supplied only to consumers possessing a valid prescription. In many countries, OTC drugs are selected by a regulatory agency to ensure that they contain ingredients that are safe and effective when used without a physician's care. OTC drugs are usually regulated according to their active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) rather than final products. By regulating APIs instead of specific drug formulations, governments allow manufacturers the freedom to formulate ingredients, or combinations of ingredients, into proprietary mixtures.

The organic movement broadly refers to the organizations and individuals involved worldwide in the promotion of organic food and other organic products. It started during the first half of the 20th century, when modern large-scale agricultural practices began to appear.

Consumers' Research is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established in 1929 by Stuart Chase and F. J. Schlink after the success of their book Your Money's Worth: a study in the waste of the Consumer's Dollar galvanized interest in testing products on behalf of consumers. It published a monthly magazine called Consumers' Research Bulletin. Leading staff from this organization, thwarted in their efforts to establish a collective bargaining unit of a labor union, protested and left to form Consumers Union in 1936. The magazine published by Consumers Union, initially Consumers Union Reports and now called Consumer Reports, gained popularity and market share over the Bulletin and largely supplanted its relevance.

Arthur Kallet was an American consumer advocate.

The United States Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act is a set of laws passed by the United States Congress in 1938 giving authority to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to oversee the safety of food, drugs, medical devices, and cosmetics. The FDA's principal representative with members of congress during its drafting was Charles W. Crawford. A principal author of this law was Royal S. Copeland, a three-term U.S. senator from New York. In 1968, the Electronic Product Radiation Control provisions were added to the FD&C. Also in that year the FDA formed the Drug Efficacy Study Implementation (DESI) to incorporate into FD&C regulations the recommendations from a National Academy of Sciences investigation of effectiveness of previously marketed drugs. The act has been amended many times, most recently to add requirements about bioterrorism preparations.

The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) is a United States federal law that set up the basic U.S. system of pesticide regulation to protect applicators, consumers, and the environment. It is administered and regulated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the appropriate environmental agencies of the respective states. FIFRA has undergone several important amendments since its inception. A significant revision in 1972 by the Federal Environmental Pesticide Control Act (FEPCA) and several others have expanded EPA's present authority to oversee the sales and use of pesticides with emphasis on the preservation of human health and protection of the environment by "(1) strengthening the registration process by shifting the burden of proof to the chemical manufacturer, (2) enforcing compliance against banned and unregistered products, and (3) promulgating the regulatory framework missing from the original law".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Propylparaben</span> Chemical compound

Propylparaben, the n-propyl ester of p-hydroxybenzoic acid, occurs as a natural substance found in many plants and some insects, although it is manufactured synthetically for use in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and foods. It is a member of the class of parabens. It is a preservative typically found in many water-based cosmetics, such as creams, lotions, shampoos, and bath products. As a food additive, it has the E number, which is E216.

Lotion is a low-viscosity topical preparation intended for application to the skin. By contrast, creams and gels have higher viscosity, typically due to lower water content. Lotions are applied to external skin with bare hands, a brush, a clean cloth, or cotton wool.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ingredients of cosmetics</span> Ingredients used in makeup

Cosmetics ingredients come from a variety of sources but, unlike the ingredients of food, are often not considered by most consumers. Cosmetics often use vibrant colors that are derived from a wide variety of sources, ranging from crushed insects to rust.

Frederick J. Schlink was an American consumer rights activist. He co-wrote the book 100,000,000 Guinea Pigs with Arthur Kallet, and co-founded the watchdog group Consumers' Research.

Cosmetic testing on animals is a type of animal testing used to test the safety and hypoallergenic properties of cosmetic products for use by humans.

The regulation of food and dietary supplements by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is a process governed by various statutes enacted by the United States Congress and interpreted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA"). Pursuant to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and accompanying legislation, the FDA has authority to oversee the quality of substances sold as food in the United States, and to monitor claims made in the labeling about both the composition and the health benefits of foods.

The history of early food regulation in the United States started with the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act, when the United States federal government began to intervene in the food and drug businesses. When that bill proved ineffective, the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt revised it into the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1937. This has set the stage for further government intervention in the food, drug and agricultural markets.

The consumer movement is an effort to promote consumer protection through an organized social movement, which is in many places led by consumer organizations. It advocates for the rights of consumers, especially when those rights are actively breached by the actions of corporations, governments, and other organizations which provide products and services to consumers. Consumer movements also commonly advocate for increased health and safety standards, honest information about products in advertising, and consumer representation in political bodies.

The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 ("DSHEA"), is a 1994 statute of United States Federal legislation which defines and regulates dietary supplements. Under the act, supplements are regulated by the FDA for Good Manufacturing Practices under 21 CFR Part 111. The act was intended to exempt the dietary and herbal supplement industry from most FDA drug regulations, allowing them to be sold and marketed without scientific backing of their health and medical claims.

Mary Catherine Phillips (1903–1981) was an American consumer advocate, author, and member of the Board of Directors of Consumers' Research in Bowerstown, New Jersey. She tested consumer beauty products, promoted safety for cosmetics, and wrote Skin Deep. The Truth About Beauty Aids – Safe and Harmful.

Ruth deForest Lamb was the first Chief Educational Officer at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the author of American chamber of horrors: the truth about food and drugs (1936). She organized consumer support for the passage of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938, particularly targeting congressional wives and women's groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beatrice Trum Hunter</span> American Natural foods campaigner and writer

Beatrice Josephine Trum Hunter was an American natural foods campaigner and writer.

References

↑ Kallet & Schlink 1933, Chapter 1.
↑ Kallet & Schlink 1933, p. 13.
↑ Kallet & Schlink 1933, Chapter 5.
1 2 Kallet & Schlink 1933, Chapter 2.
↑ Kallet & Schlink 1933, Chapter 4–9.
↑ Kallet & Schlink 1933, Chapter 13.
↑ Jackson 1968, pp. 248–257.
↑ "The Story Of The Laws Behind The Labels Part II: 1938--The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act". Centre for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. 2006. Archived from the original on December 16, 2007. Retrieved April 24, 2007.
↑ Mannion, M. (2002). ""Frankenstein Foods"". The Journal of the Mindshift Institute. 4. Retrieved April 24, 2007.
↑ Kyrk, Hazel (1933). "Review of 100,000,000 Guinea Pigs-Dangers in Everyday Foods, Drugs, and Cosmetics". The Journal of Business of the University of Chicago. 6 (4): 352–354. doi:10.1086/232345. ISSN 0740-9168. JSTOR 2349407 . Retrieved February 24, 2021.
↑ Tobey, James A. (May 1933). "100,000,000 Guinea Pigs: Dangers in Everyday Foods, Drugs, and Cosmetics". American Journal of Public Health and the Nation's Health. 23 (5): 530–531. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.23.5.530 . ISSN 0002-9572.

Bibliography

Kallet, Arthur; Schlink, Frederick John (1933). 100,000,000 Guinea Pigs; Dangers in Everyday Foods, Drugs, and Cosmetics. Vanguard Press.