The Poison Squad: One Chemist's Single-Minded Crusade for Food Safety at the Turn of the Twentieth Century

As Blum attests throughout the text, Dr. Wiley’s influence on food safety in the United States cannot be underestimated. The Poison Squad is as much a biography of Harvey Washington Wiley as it is a scientific history, because without his influence this facet of American history would not be the same. Dr. Wiley’s tenacity and willingness to compromise neither his moral devotion to the protection of the public, nor his dedication to scientific precision, earned him the admiration and allegiance of those he respected most. Dr. Wiley also had exceptional and unyielding authenticity; his views and values were not subject to change or influence. Although this quality attracted admiration, it also made him a target of his enemies. Had he been open to concessions, compromise, pressure, or bribery, he would likely have found himself offered glamourous opportunities for power or influence based in nepotism or reciprocal favors. His insistence on preserving his beliefs and maintaining his integrity alienated him from those who could not appreciate his dedication to his values.

Dr. Wiley was uniquely suited to conducting the experiments he designed. As both an accomplished chemist and trained physician, he had the ability to evaluate the data on his human subjects in a way someone with experience in chemistry alone did not.