Aspartame was discovered in 1965 by a chemist working for the pharmaceutical G. D. Searle & Company, James M. Schlatter. After a four year incubation period, it was announced to the world in 1969. It has remained controversial ever since this time. For over a decade, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) did not approve the use of this substance due to some studies that could be interpreted as demonstrating a link between aspartame consumption and cancer growth in laboratory rats. This would not be surprising, as according to one source, "The 1976 Groliers encyclopedia states cancer cannot live without phenylalanine. Phenylalanine makes up 50% of aspartame (source). More about the chemical make-up of aspartame will be discussed shortly, but to continue with the controversial history of aspartame, I will turn to the following passage from the TinWiki article on aspartame:
"The FDA convened a Public Board of Inquiry (PBOI) in 1980, consisting of independent advisers charged with examining the alleged relationship between aspartame and brain damage and cancer. The PBOI concluded that aspartame does not cause brain damage, however, it recommended against approving aspartame at that time, citing unanswered questions about cancer in laboratory rats found during safety testing.
"The Bressler Report (provided to and initiated by the FDA in 1977) compared all the available data against the manufacturer's FDA submission and found missing raw data, errors and discrepancies in available data, but the FDA chose to ignore Bressler's report. At that point in time, there was no requirement in place in FDA regulations to include brain research in the approval process, only cancer research.
"Donald Rumsfeld, who was at the time Searle's Chief Operating Officer, reapplied for FDA certification immediately after U.S. President Ronald Reagan took office. In 1981, the FDA approved aspartame for use in dry goods. In 1983, the FDA further approved aspartame for use in carbonated beverages (. . .) In 1996, the FDA removed all restrictions from aspartame allowing it to be used in all foods" (link).
At the mere name-drop of Donald Rumsfeld, there should be red flags immediately raised. Here is a powerful political insider who served as Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 (and again from 2001 to 2006), who went back into the private sector in 1977 to serve a powerful position in this corporate pharmaceutical company, Searle. In 1985, Searle was sold to Monsanto, the chemical and agricultural giant, and Rumsfeld reportedly earned $12 million from the deal. The name-dropping of Monsanto should raise even more red flags here, but at the present moment the point to be made is that there is evidence of revolving door relationships going on here, one of the plaguing symptoms of our corrupt, money-driven government. On that point, we continue with the TinWiki article into more evidence of revolving door relationships:
"Some critics of aspartame have expressed concerns about its approval by the FDA. The head of the FDA who had refused to approve the use of aspartame due to studies showing a link to cancer in rats, Jere E. Goyan, was removed from his post the first day of Ronald Reagan's presidency in 1981. Reagan appointed Arthur Hull Hayes as FDA commissioner in April of 1981 and aspartame was approved as a food additive by the FDA later that year, against the PBOI's recommendation. In 1983, Hayes quit the FDA and joined Searle's PR firm, Burson-Marstellar, as a senior medical adviser. [emphasis added]
Revolving door relationships such as this are clear conflicts of interest. Readers of this web page might already be aware of the prolific nature of revolving door relationships in our political system, especially concerning the pharmaceutical industry, banking industry, and military-industrial complex. For big pharma, I document many revolving door relationships in this article concerning the safety of vaccines (link). As a side note, you will not hear about this in the mainstream media, who are also guilty of revolving door relationships and secret, closed-door meetings with the powers that be (generally, money-power-greed back-scratching and ass kissing).
