"When Food Labels Mislead, By Henry I. Miller and John J. Cohrssen. Organic farming has boomed in recent years, with total sales of organic products — food, bed linens, pillows and clothes — in the United States increasing 83 percent between 2007 and 2012. A primary driver of their success has been the USDA-regulated organic label, which implies to many consumers that these food products are somehow superior. But that is not what the label actually means. Nor is it true. Nor, arguably, is the … [Read more...]
Larvides Don’t Cause Microcephaly
February 22, 2016
"Zika and Monsanto: Did you Buy the Bogus Viral Story?" by Center for Accountability in Science. Understandably, lots of us are worried about the possible link between the Zika virus and a reported increase in cases of microcephaly, a birth defect in which a baby’s brain doesn’t fully develop in the womb. Now, a group of doctors in Argentina claims these birth defects aren’t actually caused by the mosquito-transmitted Zika virus. Instead, these doctors who call themselves “Physicians in … [Read more...]
Zika: Part of a Much Bigger Public Health Problem
February 22, 2016
"Zika Wake-Up Call," by Angela Logomasini. The spread of the mosquito-transmitted Zika virus should be yet another wake-up call for public officials around the world. As a relatively new threat, Zika has captured headlines in a world where many insect-transmitted diseases continue to wreak havoc on public health. Unfortunately, the ability to control all such vector-borne diseases is hindered by more than our limited scientific understanding. Disease control is limited by the lack of political … [Read more...]
EPA “Crisis” Science Racket
February 22, 2016
"How Natural Variations Became Environmental Crises: The Word Game," by Frank Schnell. In How Natural Variations Became Environmental Crises: The Numbers Racket, we looked at how officially “safe” levels of exposure gradually went from conservative, to ultra-conservative, to completely ridiculous. Even before the manipulation of numbers became commonplace, the manipulation of words was a major tool in promoting fear about science and keeping it alive. Simple words in common usage, like “risk”, … [Read more...]
Formaldehyde Cancer Claims Debunked
February 22, 2016
"Everything Causes Cancer – If You Listen to the NRDC," by Lila Abassi. I wish that when I was a student of anatomy I could have argued my way out of dissecting stinky cadavers – and I would have had a friend in Jennifer Sass, an alarmist who blogs for the Natural Resources Defense Council. She sounds off on a recent report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which discusses health concerns regarding formaldehyde. Ms. Sass has a real issue with Lumber Liquidators, a … [Read more...]
Science Overruled on Causes of Cancer
February 1, 2016
"S. Korean Court Overrules Scientific Evidence On Cancer Causation. What’s Next?" By Gil Ross. A recent decision by a South Korean Administrative Court found that the ovarian cancer which killed a Samsung plant worker at the age of 36 bore a “significant causal relationship” to her long-term exposure to certain chemicals involved in the process of making silicon chips. The deceased worker, Lee Eun-joo, began her career at the Samsung factory in 1993 at the age of 17 and died in 2012. She had … [Read more...]
Prop65: Trial Lawyers’ Get Rich Scheme
February 1, 2016
"California Issues Another Gift to Trial Lawyers and Blow to Small Businesses," by Center for Accountability in Science. We’ve talked extensively on our blog about the problems with California’s chemical warning law known as Proposition 65. It requires warning labels on everything from coffee to sunglasses without offering consumers any context about the actual risk of chemical exposure. Instead of helping Californians make healthier choices, the law has been used as a tool for bounty hunters … [Read more...]
Zika Virus and Pesticides
February 1, 2016
"Zika Virus Will Sure Get Us to Embrace Toxic Chemicals," by Hank Campbell.The recurring joke in science when the Ebola craze consumed American media was that all the wealthy elites in California, Oregon and Washington who denied vaccines due to concerns about autism, would make sure their families were first in line for a new vaccine. While rich coastal parents knew they could avoid risk for their special snowflakes, while still protecting them from whooping cough (pertussis) by counting on … [Read more...]
Antifreeze in Food?
February 1, 2016
"Are You Anti-Antifreeze? Read This," by Josh Bloom. All antifreezes are not created equal. Actually, that should read “both antifreezes are not equal,” since there are only two that are commonly used (but that’s a terrible lead). Yet those two act alike, they sound alike, they even taste alike, but they could not be more different and in that difference is another way where environmental activists get so much wrong about chemicals. The difference is due to a single carbon atom, which makes one … [Read more...]
USDA Affirms Yet Again: Pesticide Residues “Pose No Safety Concern”
February 1, 2016
"Predictability Accompanies USDA Report Release," by SafeFruitsandVeggies.com. This month, USDA released the 2014 Pesticide Data Program results accompanied by the conclusion that residues “pose no safety concern.” This result was no surprise since year after year this program verifies the safety of organic and conventional fruits and veggies. But, this is also predictable: Media coverage of this “good news” story for consumers was almost non-existent with only produce trade publications and … [Read more...]
Toxic TSCA Reform?
December 21, 2015
"TSCA 'Reform': It’s Old (39 years), But It Works! Why revise? By Gil Ross. Wending its way toward seemingly-inevitable final passage, a darling of the chemophobic left, “TSCA Revision,” will do no good for Americans, further empower the hyper-regulatory EPA, and be hugely expensive. The good old Toxic Substances Control Act was working fine. After years and years of debate spurred by the enviro-left, the Toxic Substances Control Act (affectionately, TSCA) of 1976 is on the verge of “reform.” … [Read more...]
Dismiss Christmas Toy Alarmism
December 21, 2015
"Holiday Toy Safety: Common Sense Trumps Activist Advice," By Angela Logomasini. If you believe the U.S. Public Interest Group (USPIRG), the “Slinky Jr.” or “Fun Bubbles Jump Rope” that Santa might bring to your children should send shivers down your spine. These items are among the “toxic” toys listed in the group’s annual “Trouble in Toyland” report. But don’t fret, because the only thing that’s really troubling is USPIRG’s alarmism. Read more. … [Read more...]
Bee-Pocalypse Myth
December 21, 2015
"Popping the Bee-Pocalypse Myth," By Julie Gunlock. The Christmas season has always been an important time for Hollywood’s box-office numbers — 2015 being no exception, with Star Wars: The Force Awakens expected to shatter the record $208 million opening set by last summer’s Jurassic World. But with most of the money from ticket sales going back to the studios, movie theaters now make most of their profits from concessions sales — reviving the old joke that a movie theater owner is essentially … [Read more...]
Toxic Gifts from Santa?
December 17, 2015
"Protect Yourself from a Lawsuit with our Proposition 65 Christmas Gift Warning," By Center for Accountability in Science. Santa Claus is coming to town with a sleigh full of gifts. Unfortunately for Santa (and gift givers everywhere), a California law known as Proposition 65 requires any item containing one of the over 800 substances “known to the state of California to cause cancer” or reproductive issues to bear a warning label. Santa better watch out: If he happens to slip a new golf club … [Read more...]
Causes of Cancer Examined
December 17, 2015
"Cancer Causation Battle: Bad Environment, Not Bad Luck," December 17, 2015. A new study published in the journal, Nature, entitled “Substantial contribution of extrinsic risk factors to cancer development,” used quantitative measures from several different perspectives to come to the conclusion that the large majority of human cancers are caused by “environmental” factors (i.e. non-genetic), rather than intrinsic gene abnormalities or pure chance (i.e. inherited or spontaneous mutations). The … [Read more...]
A Plea: Stop Food Fearmongering
December 17, 2015
"Fear Has No Place in the Produce Department," By Safer Fruits and Veggies. Earlier this month, the Alliance for Food and Farming (AFF) had the opportunity to speak at the Consumer Media Luncheon which took place as part of the New York Produce Show organized each year by the publishers of Produce Business. Our topic dealt with the impact of fear-based marketing commonly used by activist groups to promote organically-grown foods over conventional. To be sure, we are in midst of a public health … [Read more...]
Is Green Tea an ‘Endocrine Disruptor’
December 17, 2015
"Green Tea an ‘Endocrine Disruptor’? If so, Everything Is," By Gil Ross. Fruit FlyNo matter now often we ask the “endocrine disruptor” contingent this question — Please tell us, what are the endocrines that are being disrupted, allegedly, by all those “toxic” chemicals you impugn? — we end up getting no satisfaction. Since the definition of an endocrine disruptor seems to expand or contract to suit the agenda of the “environmental” group seeking to target a chemical, and since I never … [Read more...]
Paper Reciepts and BPA
December 17, 2015
"Should You Say ‘No’ to Paper Receipts?, by Center for Accountability in Science. By now, most consumers are used to seeing plastic water bottles and food containers marketed as “BPA-free” even though major government agencies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) insist BPA poses no risk to consumers of any age. But BPA is used in more than just food packaging—it’s also used in many receipts printed on thermal paper. The use of BPA in receipts … [Read more...]
Chemicals in Consumer Products
December 17, 2015
"Are we contaminating our bodies with everyday products?," Center for Accountability in Science. Over the holiday weekend, a New York Times column by Nicholas Kristof argued chemicals used in everyday products are linked to a host of health problems, including cancer, obesity, diabetes, and infertility. And that’s not all—Kristof takes his warning even further, arguing that by not heeding the warnings of organizations such as the Endocrine Society and the International Federation of Gynecology … [Read more...]
Toxicity of Organic Pesticides
November 12, 2015
"The Risk-Monger’s Dirty Dozen – 12 Highly Toxic Pesticides Approved for Use in Organic Farming," by The Risk-Monger. It is commonly believed that organic farmers do not use pesticides and that organic food is therefore safer to consume than conventionally farmed fruit and vegetables. In a UK poll, 95% of the consumers bought organic food because they wanted to avoid consuming pesticides. This belief could not be further from the truth. The US organic industry has approved over 3000 toxic … [Read more...]
Processed Meat and Cancer Baloney
November 9, 2015
"Baloney About Processed Meat and Cancer," By Angela Logomasini. Scientists from around the world convened in Lyon, France--a city famed as the world's gastronomical capital--this October to declare that local delicacies, such as andouille sausage and pork salami, are now classified carcinogens, placing them in the same category as smoking. The absurdity of that conclusion highlights the growing futility of efforts to classify certain chemicals, foods, and activities as either "carcinogenic" … [Read more...]
IARC’s Cancer Classifications Ignored
November 9, 2015
"Meat, Coffee – Why Only Activists Pay Attention To IARC Claims," By Hank Campbell. If you were laughing at the notion that sausage is just as carcinogenic as cigarettes last week, you are not alone – the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) is scrambling to repair the damage to what’s left of the credibility of its International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) after its latest paper about processed meat. But that report is actually no worse than any of their others. While … [Read more...]
Radon Risks in Homes Way Overblown
November 6, 2015
"Don’t Fear Radon Concerns at Home; They’re Overblown," By Gil Ross. There is fear circulating about the risk of lung cancer due to inhaled radon gas, as a result of the widespread publicity given to studies that link lung cancer incidence to radon concentration using a “linear no-threshold” (LNT) model. This model — which many scientists say is baseless and should be scrapped — predicts an alarming excess of cancers, even at low radon levels. Little publicity, however, has been given to the … [Read more...]
Anti-Neonic “Science”
November 5, 2015
"Scientist for Hire: UK’s David Goulson produces Pre-determined Pesticide Research for Activist Funders?" By Jon Entine. Freedom of Information requests initiated first by USRTK have uncovered a plethora of documentation showing how anti-GMO groups coordinate their messaging, often working with pro-organic scientists who have shown a willingness to deliver studies supporting the industry that funds them while dissing biotechnology research. ... University of Sussex biology professor David … [Read more...]
Activist “Science” Behind Honeybee-Pesticide Debate
November 5, 2015
"Dave Goulson: Portrait of an Activist Scientist," By The Risk-Monger. Dave Goulson is an activist scientist campaigning against conventional farming and the use of products that help farmers protect their crops. An excellent communicator, he is interviewed regularly on environmentalist programmes posing as a concerned scientist fighting the lobbying machinery of big business. Presently a biologist at University of Sussex, I have just recently learnt that Goulson will be receiving research … [Read more...]
