Government “discovers” that chemicals cause cancer and advises we eat organic
Since President Nixon declared war on cancer in 1971 we have had a presidential panel with the duty to report to sitting presidents on progress in this war. In the past all the reports focused on new research findings, drug development or new surgical procedures.
In May of this year a President Bush-appointed panel rocked to boat and chose for the first time to report on the role that environmental chemicals play in causing cancer.
In a letter to President Obama, the panel discussed the evidence that chemicals in the environment cause many cancers, and went on to state: “The Panel urges you most strongly to use the power of your office to remove the carcinogens and other toxins from our food, water, and air that needlessly increase health care costs, cripple our Nation’s productivity, and devastate American lives.”
Among its recommendations, the panel stated that eating organic “is vitally important” for children who “are far more susceptible to damage from environmental carcinogens and endocrine-disrupting compounds than adults”. Pretty strong words if you ask me. Now I wonder if other government agencies, like the FDA, will continue to belittle the benefits of organic food or claim that chemicals are harmless…