Industry bought Congressional votes to pass S. 510 food safety bill
Despite an incredible outpouring of public opposition to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) "Food Safety Modernization Act", or S. 510, the Senate voted 73 to 25 to pass the bill anyway. And data presented by Maplight.org, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization, shows that big industry groups and large food producers spent millions of dollars buying off Congressmen to garner support for it.
According to the site, Senators that ended up supporting the bill received nearly $10 million in political contributions from interest groups that also supported the bill. This amount was more than four times as much as groups opposed to the bill spent on overall contributions.
Some of the supporters of S. 510 that made these significant monetary contributions in order to buy support for the bill include Kraft Foods North America, the American Beverage Association, General Mills, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, and the Snack Food Association.
According to the site, Senators that ended up supporting the bill received nearly $10 million in political contributions from interest groups that also supported the bill. This amount was more than four times as much as groups opposed to the bill spent on overall contributions.
Some of the supporters of S. 510 that made these significant monetary contributions in order to buy support for the bill include Kraft Foods North America, the American Beverage Association, General Mills, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, and the Snack Food Association.
"I" will never forget a friend saying to me a few years ago of how much better this country would be if this department was put under the DEA...made a lot of sense to me...(smile)