Eat, Drink, and Be Wary: Frederick J. Schlink and the Legacy of Consumer Protection

In 1935, Frederick J. Schlink, a pioneering voice in the early consumer movement, published Eat, Drink, and Be Wary. The book was released by Consumers’ Research, Inc., the organization Schlink helped found, and it represented both a culmination of his critique of America’s food and product industries and an extension of the crusade for safer consumer goods. Coming just two years after the sensation of 100,000,000 Guinea Pigs (co-authored with Arthur Kallet in 1933), Schlink’s new book sought to reinforce his message: American consumers were being treated as test subjects in a vast, unregulated experiment.

Whereas 100,000,000 Guinea Pigs drew national attention to the dangers of untested drugs, cosmetics, and food additives, Eat, Drink, and Be Wary sharpened the focus on food itself. Schlink zeroed in on hidden adulterants—arsenic residues from pesticides, poisons in processed foods, and the hazards of industrial agriculture. At a time when milk was touted almost uncritically as a “perfect food,” Schlink challenged its necessity, questioning the aggressive marketing of milk and dairy as essential to health. By pointing out that not every body required milk, and that contaminated or improperly handled dairy could be a source of illness, he upended one of the sacred cows of American nutrition. The book also delved into broader themes of pesticide use, chemical residues in common staples, and the ways food manufacturers put profits above health.

The title itself—Eat, Drink, and Be Wary—was a witty inversion of the old saying “Eat, drink, and be merry.” It captured Schlink’s essential message: consumers must be vigilant, skeptical, and wary in a marketplace where government oversight was weak and industry influence was strong. He believed that only through scrutiny, awareness, and collective action could consumers protect themselves against the hazards lurking in their food supply.

Schlink the Reformer

Frederick J. Schlink was not a scientist in the laboratory sense but a reformer, organizer, and public educator. A graduate of Columbia University and an engineer by training, he became a central figure in consumer advocacy in the 1920s and 1930s. He co-founded Consumers’ Research, the first product-testing organization in the United States, which sought to empower ordinary citizens by providing independent, scientific evaluations of goods ranging from radios to food products.

Schlink’s approach to writing was sharp, uncompromising, and often polemical. In 100,000,000 Guinea Pigs, he and Kallet accused the food and drug industries of reckless disregard for human health. That book shocked the nation and sold hundreds of thousands of copies, becoming a bible for the growing consumer rights movement. With Eat, Drink, and Be Wary, Schlink returned to the same themes, but in a more pointed way, concentrating on diet, agriculture, and nutrition. His warnings about arsenic contamination, pesticides, and milk predated by decades the more famous critiques of industrial agriculture found later in Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (1962) or Frances Moore Lappé’s Diet for a Small Planet (1971).

Connection to Harvey W. Wiley

Schlink’s work cannot be understood apart from the legacy of Harvey W. Wiley, the famed chemist and physician often called the “Father of the Pure Food and Drugs Act.” Wiley’s relentless campaigns in the early 20th century against food adulteration—everything from formaldehyde-laced milk to borax-preserved meat—laid the groundwork for modern food safety laws. By the time Schlink was writing in the 1930s, Wiley had already been forced into retirement, pushed out of the U.S. Bureau of Chemistry (the forerunner of the FDA) for being too outspoken and too aggressive in his demands for consumer protection.

Schlink openly acknowledged Wiley’s influence, often citing him as the one official who had fought courageously against food corruption. In 100,000,000 Guinea Pigs, Schlink and Kallet wrote with “contempt for the officials of the Food and Drug Administration, with the exception of the courageous Dr. Harvey W. Wiley.” Eat, Drink, and Be Wary carried forward that mantle. Schlink effectively picked up the torch from Wiley, continuing to highlight how entrenched business interests and weak government oversight endangered public health. The book reminded readers that the battle Wiley began was far from won.

Influence and Legacy

Although Eat, Drink, and Be Wary did not achieve the same bestseller status as 100,000,000 Guinea Pigs, it reinforced the momentum of the consumer movement. Schlink’s words helped inspire a generation of reformers, consumer advocates, and nutrition skeptics who questioned industry orthodoxy. His writings influenced later health reformers, food safety activists, and even the broader natural food movement that emerged in the mid-20th century.

Schlink’s skepticism toward milk consumption foreshadowed debates that would resurface with authors like Adelle Davis in the 1950s and Robert Cohen in the late 20th century, both of whom questioned the centrality of dairy in the American diet. His concerns about pesticides and chemical residues anticipated Rachel Carson’s later environmental critique. His calls for vigilance and independence as a consumer echoed forward into the founding of groups like Consumers Union (publisher of Consumer Reports) and the larger consumer rights movement championed by figures such as Ralph Nader in the 1960s and 70s.

Conclusion

Eat, Drink, and Be Wary may not be as widely remembered today as Schlink’s 100,000,000 Guinea Pigs, but it stands as an important milestone in the history of food and consumer advocacy. Published in 1935, it crystallized the anxieties of an era when food adulteration, pesticides, and deceptive health claims were rampant. Schlink’s insistence that milk was not universally necessary, his warnings about arsenic and pesticide residues, and his broader critique of the food industry pushed readers to think critically about what they consumed.

At its heart, the book was not simply about diet but about empowerment—teaching consumers to be cautious, questioning, and proactive. In carrying forward the legacy of Harvey W. Wiley, Schlink placed himself in the lineage of reformers who fought for the health and safety of the public against powerful corporate interests. Eat, Drink, and Be Wary thus remains a vital artifact of consumer protection history: a reminder that vigilance at the dinner table is inseparable from vigilance in civic life.

‍