Dinner with Death

Before the FDA existed, manufacturers routinely added formaldehyde to milk to keep it from spoiling, copper sulfate to peas to make them greener, and borax to meat to hide the rot. Historian Henry Wallis tells the gripping story of Dr. Harvey Wiley and his "Poison Squad" in "Dinner with Death." In 1902, Wiley recruited young male volunteers for a horrific experiment: they would eat all their meals at his hygienic table, consuming increasing doses of common food preservatives, while chemists monitored their urine, feces, and declining health. Their motto was "Only the Brave dare eat the fare." Wallis details how this publicity stunt captured the nation's attention and exposed the unregulated chemical warfare being waged on the American digestive system. The book culminates in the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. It is a stomach-churning reminder that food safety regulations are written in the suffering of volunteers who literally poisoned themselves for the greater good.