“防腐牛肉丑闻”事件的震荡
历史纵向发展往往具有一定的稳定性和连续性。日后历史的形态和走向一定程度上受制于前一阶段历史之演变,后者以前者为基础,而前者则在不同的层面为后者提供铺垫和准备要件。相较而言,历史横向发展充满着跨越时空界限的联系性,一桩历史事件从其发生直至最终结束都非孤立,甚至可以说,它其实也是某一更大历史场景中的“案例”或曰“单元”。透过它所呈现的表层“涟漪”,研究者或可见诸隐藏于其背后之历史深意及其深远影响。此处所要探讨的“防腐牛肉丑闻”事件就基本符合这一特性,一定程度上可将其视作观照19世纪末美国社会的一面镜子。
“防腐牛肉丑闻”事件的发生除了有天气因素等客观原因外,芝加哥肉类加工企业在从引进原料到最终成品出厂这一整个环节中,对于严格执行卫生检验标准的缺失也应对该起事件负一定责任。政府派驻的检验人员在实际操作过程中不仅敷衍了事,未能针对肉制食品生产中存在的一些卫生问题作出快速反应,而且也缺乏有效惩戒机制和相应处罚措施。这些都表明当时的美国政府在社会管理方面的严重缺位,政府自身已然成为社会前进的绊脚石。
“防腐牛肉丑闻”事件影响深远,它促成美国军方对原有军需食品供应体制的改革,被认为是美国军需食品检验史上具有“里程碑”意义的事件。[91]
美国立国时间虽然不长,但华盛顿(George Washington)于独立革命时便高度重视军需食品卫生这一事关军队战斗力的重要问题,他要求后勤部门保证为其部队所提供的军需食品务必符合卫生标准。[92]至于罐装食品在美国军队中的使用则始自南北战争,当时还并非士兵的标准配给。直至1878年才开始正式作为美军行军口粮之一。到了1898年的美西战争,罐装食品已被广泛使用,成为美军士兵的基本口粮供应,尤其是在长距离投送兵力和野外作战时,罐装食品的优势体现得非常明显。[93]
美西战争期间实际上就已经有人开始批评这种经过防腐处理后的罐装牛肉。一位来自芝加哥的士兵母亲向时任总统麦金莱写信反映:“我们将最好的兵员送至部队,但那些强盗企业却给他们提供最差的饮食。”[94]战争结束后,有关士兵生活环境和日常饮食的新闻也被大量曝光于媒体和公众视野,“咖啡犹如碱液,牛肉罐头腐败变质而无法食用”[95],就连“防腐牛肉丑闻”一词也都来自媒体报道。
为了尽量避免“防腐牛肉丑闻”事件所产生的负面影响会殃及总统大选,麦金莱任命了以格伦维尔·道奇(Grenville M.Dodge)将军为首的委员会负责调查此事。同时,维利也介入其中,对“防腐牛肉”进行实验室化验,科学证明了肉质中确实含有硼酸等化学防腐剂。维利实验结果的公布在民众中引起轩然大波,引起普通美国民众内心深处的震惊和愤怒,而这股民意基础也成为推动食品药品纯净运动的助燃剂。
本章所述或在任何一个国家的转型期间都能碰到。通常来说,科学技术本身并无善恶之分,而新兴科技手段的发明及其运用也确曾在历史的关键节点上引领人类未来的前进方向,这已得到历史证明而无需赘述,问题的关键在于如何最大限度地防止新技术运用后可能给人类所带来的潜在危害。南北战争后激起大多数民众义愤的掺假食品药品即是当时无序使用各类防腐剂和添加剂后的恶果,其冲击面甚至已经波及军需食品的供应。当一个社会出现此类脱序行为,而转型期的新道德价值观又有待重整之时,很难去仅仅依靠个人(不论是生产者还是消费者)自身的道德自觉和自律意识。因此,政府及其主要领导人在这个时候就需要展现他们的领导能力、行事魄力和对历史大势的判断,勇于承担政府所应负的责任,积极有为、顺势而行,推动社会改革,保护民众的合法权益,使民众感受到社会的公平和正义底线并未丧失。
然而,令人非常遗憾的是,当掺假食品药品横行于美国19世纪下半叶,对人们的生命财产安全和社会经济秩序的良好运转已经造成重大危害之时,孱弱的美国政府此时却因袭传统观念而未能及时采取有效行动,这不仅加剧了食品药品掺假状况的恶化,也驱使包括社会大众、监管机构官僚、媒体和妇女改革团体先政府一步挺身而出,运用多重社会资源,唤醒社会大众对于食品药品掺假问题的关注,呼吁尽速颁布联邦层面的食品药品监管法律。
【注释】
[1]F.Leslie Hart,A History of the Adulteration of Food before 1906,Food Drug Cosmetic Law Journal,1952(1),p.5.
[2]George M.Burditt,The History of Food Law,Food and Drug Law Journal,1995,Special 50th Anniversary Issue,p.197.
[3]Sukkoo Kim,Expansion of Markets and Geographic Distribution of Economic Activites:The Trends in U.S.Regional Manufacturing Structurem,1860-1987,The Quarterly Journal of Economics,1995(4),p.885.
[4]卡罗尔·帕金、克里斯托弗·米勒等:《美国史》(中册),葛鹏飞、张金兰译,东方出版中心2013年版,第191页。
[5]Sukkoo Kim,Economic Integration and Convergence:U.S.Regions,1840-1987,The Journal of Economic History,1998(3),p.662.
[6]李剑鸣:《大转折的年代——美国进步主义运动研究》,天津教育出版社1992年版,第12页。
[7]Jeremy Atack and Peter Passell,A New Economic View of American History from Colonial Times to 1940,W.W.Norton&Company,1994,p.457.
[8]Clayton Coppin and Jack High,The Politics of Purity:Harvey W.Wiley and the Origins of Federal Food Policy,The University of Michigan Press,1999,p.32.
[9]“Adulteration”词条,不列颠百科全书1911年经典版,2012年5月18日(http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Adulteration)。需要注意的是,“掺假”一词在本书中是对当时美国食品药品混乱状况的一个总括性描述,它并不仅仅是指以次充好,也包括食品生产中的各种污染、药品生产中的假药和有毒有害药物等问题。
[10]Marc T.Law,The Transaction Cost Origins of Food and Drug Regulation,ISNIE,2012.5.22(http://www.isnie.org/isnie01/-papers01/law.pdf),p.12.
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[12]F.Leslie Hart,A History of the Adulteration of Food before 1906,Food Drug Cosmetic Law Journal,1952(1),p.17.
[13]James Harvey Young,Pure Food:Securing the Federal Food and Drugs Act of 1906,Princeton University Press,1989,pp.31-32.
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[16]New York Times,1853.1.22.
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[27]Paul Starr,The Social Transformation of American Medicine,Basic Books,Inc.,Publishers,1982,p.37.
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[48]Sukkoo Kim,Expansion of Markets and the Geographic Distribution of Economic Activities:Trends in US Regional Manufacturing Structure,1860-1987,The Quarterly Journal of Economics,1995(4),pp.881-882.
[49]George A.Akerlof,The Market for“Lemons”:Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism,The Quarterly Journal of Economics,1970(3),p.490.在美国俚语中,“柠檬”有次品之意。
[50]Melvin J.Hinlch and Richard Staelin,Consumer Protection Legislation and the U.S.Food Industry,Pergamon Press,1980,p.2.
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[56]张友伦主编:《美国的独立和初步繁荣》,人民出版社2002年版,第182页。
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[65]该《报告》被视为美国第一部公共卫生报告,从结构来看,整篇报告分为五部分,厚达321页。调查委员会虽由三人共同组成,但《报告》的执笔工作却由夏塔克一人独立完成。《报告》开篇是一则简短导言,夏塔克借此说明了调查目的以及公共卫生品质好坏将会对个人和整个社会所产生的影响,着重指出了具备专业医学知识的医生对预防疾病和改善公共卫生的重要性。在其后的章节中,夏塔克概述了欧洲自古希腊以来公共卫生的发展和演变状况,特别是近代英、法、德三国公共卫生事业所取得的成就和仍然存在的不足,也回顾了美国在此之前制定和颁布的公共卫生政策或法令,并就如何改善马萨诸塞州的公共卫生提出了系统建议和措施。参见Walter F.Willcox,Lemuel Shattuck,Statist Founder of the American Statistical Association,The American Statistician,1947(1),p.13.
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[87]Francis Walker,The“Beef Trust”and the United States Government,The Economic Journal,1906(64),p.494.这六大“牛肉托拉斯”分别是阿穆尔、斯威夫特和莫里斯(Philip Morris)各自创建的肉类加工企业以及全国装运公司、史瓦尔兹齐德和舒尔茨贝格公司、卡达希装运公司。
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