On The Development Of The Progressive Movement US Food Safety Laws

This article mainly discusses the policy-making process of the1906“Pure Foodand Drugs Act” from the perspective of history. The act is of great significance in thehistory of the United States food and drug control. The legislative process is alsopretty bumpy. Progressive people from all walks of life made many long-term andhard efforts for it.This paper includes five parts:The first chapter mainly deals with the legislative background of1906“PureFood and Drugs Act”. Its legislative background spans most of the19th century andthe early20th century. In this period, with the rapid development of economy, thereare also many kinds of social problems. Particularly, Food and drug safety is facedwith great threats, such as Food adulteration, Abuse of chemical additives. Threekinds of food and drug safety problems threatened the people’s health in the UnitedStates. In pharmaceutical industry, Patent medicine, drug and alcohol do harm topeople’s health. Then, this paper analyzes the causes of those problems, such asscience and technology element, business management defect, lack of governmentsupervision and moral decay.The second chapter specially discusses how the State Governments controlledthe food and drug market, and the early legislation situation before1906“Pure Foodand Drugs Act”. This chapter exactly and fully analyzes supervision and managementof food and drug in the early states, and several typical State food legislation andmanagement. The disadvantages and limitations of the State Food and drugsupervision are more clearly exposed. Because the effect of the State regulation is notvery good, People realized that nationwide unified food and drug legal and marketregulations are necessary.The third chapter discusses social progress strength and the pure food and drugsreformers Struggled hard in order to pass a national food and drug regulation and topromote food safety legislation during the period of the progressive movement. Theseforces included the pioneers of the Reform–the movement of women reformers, theadvocacy from scientists represented by Wiley, the appeal from formal foodcompanies and the exposure and attack on food and drug shady problem from mediamuckrakers.The fourth chapter discusses the Food and Drugs Act’s pass in1906. After a long course, the Federal Food security legislation was finally passed in Congress in1906.In the process of legislation, President Roosevelt do a lot for the act. Experienceddebate and struggle, Congress eventually passed this important law in1906.The fifth chapter discusses the main content of1906pure food and drug law andits historical significance. The law covers the provisions of food and drug regulatorystandards, the provisions on the supervision and management and the provisions onoffenders. The Law marks the beginning of the federal government to regulate thefood market and it became the legal basis of the food and Drug Administration. Itplays an important role in the history of USA food and drug supervision. Finally, thispaper also slightly involves the loopholes in the law and difficulties in the process oflaw enforcement.