A fascinating examination of the controversial work of Harvey Wiley,
the founder of the pure food movement and an early crusader against the
use of additives and preservatives in food.
Though trained as a medical doctor, chemist Harvey Wiley spent most of
his professional life advocating for "pure food"--food free of both
adulterants and preservatives. A strong proponent of the Pure Food and
Drug Act of 1906, still the basis of food safety legislation in the
United States, Wiley gained fame for what became known as the Poison
Squad experiments--a series of tests in which, to learn more about the
effects of various chemicals on the human body, Wiley's own employees at
the Department of Agriculture agreed to consume food mixed with
significant amounts of various additives, including borax, saltpeter,
copper sulfate, sulfuric acid, and formaldehyde. One hundred years
later, Wiley's influence lives on in many of our current popular ideas
about food: that the wrong food can kill you; that the right food can
extend your life; that additives are unnatural; and that unnatural food
is unhealthy food. Eating--the process of taking something external in
the world and putting it inside of you--has always been an intimate act,
but it was Harvey Wiley who first turned it into a matter of life or
death.
In The Chemistry of Fear, Jonathan Rees examines Wiley's many--and
varied--conflicts and clashes over food safety, including the
adulteration of honey and the addition of caffeine to Coca-Cola,
formaldehyde to milk, and alum to baking powder. Although Wiley is often
depicted as an unwavering champion of the consumer's interest, Rees
argues that his critics rightfully questioned some of his motivations,
as well as the conclusions that he drew from his most important
scientific work. And although Wiley's fame and popularity gave him
enormous influence, Rees reveals that his impact on what Americans eat
depends more upon fear than it does upon the quality of his research.
Exploring in detail the battles Wiley picked over the way various foods
and drinks were made and marketed, The Chemistry of Fear touches upon
every stage of his career as a pure food advocate. From his initial work
in Washington researching food adulteration, through the long interval
at the end of his life when he worked for Good Housekeeping, Wiley
often wrote about the people who prevented him from making the pure food
law as effective as he thought it should have been. This engaging book
will interest anyone who's curious about the pitfalls that eaters faced
at the turn of the twentieth century.
