Should the Next President Break Up the FDA?

Some observers anticipate serious difficulty for the incoming president regarding the regulatory system that oversees food and drug safety in this country. "We have seen early warning signs of failure, but like the warnings before Hurricane Katrina, they have been ignored by the current administration. Recent drug recalls and food alerts are the early warning signals. These include beef recalled for mad cow and E. coli contamination, mystery salmonella outbreaks that took weeks before the source was identified, tainted shipments of heparin from raw materials that originated in China, recalls of the multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri because it was linked to cancer and the diabetes drug Avandia, and the Vioxx recalls and generics manufacturers that produced pills that were not equivalent to the brand-name medicines." One suggestion for improvement: break up the FDA. Read more.