Stokely brought Gatorade® to market in 1969. The doctors had formulated it with a small amount of the artificial sweetener, sodium cyclamate. Soon after Gatorade® reached the grocers' shelves, the U.S. government's Food and Drug Administration(FDA) announced cyclamates, when fed to mice in truly large doses, caused bladder cancer.

The FDA insisted Stokely recall Gatorade® immediately. They argued the public was threatened by the presence of sodium cyclamates in any food product and its presence was unacceptable.

Stokely noted cyclamates caused cancer in mice only at very high doses, much higher than could be ingested in Gatorade®. They said cancer in mice was not predictive of cancer in humans. And they said another artificial sweetener, saccharin also had shown a risk for cancer at high doses and the FDA was not banning saccharin. Stokely recognized removal of cyclamates would seriously damage the introduction of Gatorade®. But Stokely recognized they might not win in any argument with the FDA and had to make some plan if they were unable to continue with cyclamates.

Exercise:

i. Prepare for class by:

• Report the specific data that was used by FDA to ban cyclamates.
  

  Source	Data

• Choose the position of either  FDA , and Stokely. As FDA, write a paragraph justifying the banning of cyclamates even though the risk of cancer in humans is extremely low. As Stokely, write reasons for keeping cyclamates in Gatorade®. Include what to do if cyclamates are banned from Gatorade® by the FDA.

ii. In class form groups composed of individuals favoring both positions and try to find agreement as to how to proceed.