Regulatory Capture

I read a comic that lead me to this wiki article on examples of regulatory capture in the US.  It's a good article to read if you're looking to lose all hope.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulatory_capture#American_examples

Monsanto's growth hormone, rBGH, which has been linked to cancer in cows and humans, has been banned in numerous countries, but is unlabeled and legal in the United States. Margaret Miller, a former chemical laboratory supervisor at Monsanto, wrote a scientific report that was to be submitted to the FDA to obtain approval of the drug. Shortly before the report was submitted, Miller quit Monsanto to take a job at the FDA, where her first job was to approve the report she had just written while employed at Monsanto.