Trial and error

When you think about it, it’s no wonder the FDA doesn’t have time to focus on what’s important – they’re wasting too much time on unnecessary tasks like destroying the nutritional value of raw almonds.

That’s why I wasn’t surprised when I read the latest report highlighting their incompetence. According to a report released by the Department of Health and Human Services, the FDA has ignored the safety of people who let themselves be treated like guinea pigs. And with only 200 inspectors responsible for keeping an eye on more than 350,000 testing sites, what would you expect? Each inspector would have to visit about three sites PER DAY to be able to get through them all in a year.

Among the findings in the report:

The FDA was unsure of the number of clinical trials underway
They audited fewer than 1% of testing sites
FDA inspectors rarely, if ever, visited trials site during the trial
68% of the time, drug officials downgraded the serious problems that were found
There was no adequate follow-up with sites where corrective actions were necessary
Between 2000 and 2005, the FDA found serious problems at trial sites 348 times – yet in that time period, only two sites had their data disqualified

But there’s a bright side to every story, and I’m sure you’ll take comfort in the fact that the FDA isn’t this lax with all trial participants, especially if those participants happen be REAL guinea pigs.

The report found that animal research centers have much tighter regulations to follow than is required in human research. Arthur L. Caplan, the chairman of the department of medical ethics at the University of Pennsylvania said, “In many ways, rats and mice get greater protection as research subjects in the United States than do humans.”

Maybe the FDA is afraid of the bad publicity PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is so good at generating. Just about every other major government organization seems to cave to PETA’s pressures – why would the FDA be any different?

There’s not much PETA won’t do to indoctrinate the world with their crazy ideas.

Playboy bunny touts birth control

I don’t care what kind of spin you try to put on it – there’s nothing sexy about veganism, vegetarianism, or animal birth control. But that hasn’t stopped PETA from trying to sex up its message. I suppose all those years of Bob Barker’s “have your pet spayed or neutered” signoff wasn’t having the effect they were hoping for.

I happened to stop by PETA’s website the other day and was pleasantly surprisedI mean shocked and dismayedto see pictures of model and burlesque star Dita Von Teese plastered across the home page. She’s the face of PETA’s ABC (animal birth control) Campaign. In her public service announcement, Dita tells people to “bone up” on their ABCs.

If it’s PETA’s intention to attract the attention of the entire male population in order to get their point across, they’re doing a fine job. They’re even offering a Dita Von Teese prize package that includes (among other things) an autographed copy of the Playboy magazine that Dita graced the cover of back in 2002. Don’t fall for it, though. It’s just a ploy to get your personal information so they can shove their propaganda down your throat.

By using sex to sell their message, PETA has stooped to an all-time low – right down there with Big Pharma’s pompom toting pill pushers they call sales reps.

Still, I think I’ll visit their site from time to time just to see what PETA is up to. After all, someone needs to keep an eye on the enemy