Replies

This is an emotional witch hunt.

My original degree is in nutrition, as in the chemistry of foods and feed. “Organic” does not mean a damn thing in scientific circles. It’s a feel-good marketing ruse. Molecules do not have souls, some more virtuous than others.

American food is many times safer than what our great-grandparents ate before refrigeration became widespread. Food preservation was less than perfect, and eating was full of risk. Fresh foods and meats fit to eat were not easily come by all year. A 100 years ago dairy cows lived in cow hell-towers in cities fixed in stanchions where they lived and made milk until they died, because fresh milk could not be transported far.

Spoilage and breakdown by-products were commonly ingested. Prior to federal regulation, even canned goods could not be trusted, since dyes were added to make food appear “fresh”.

“Chemicals” are not demonic molecules. “Chemicals” include all the molecules known. Not even all pesticides are dangerous to humans—to make that point, one scientist consumed DDT straight, undiluted, but that did not suit the campaign to demonize DDT, which led to its ban and the deaths of tens of millions of black, brown and yellow people in places far away from the people who hysterically wanted DDT banned. They continue to die, for lack of cheap DDT.

Clean water has not always been available. The ability to drink freely whatever comes out of your tap is a great and wonderful thing—no microbial disease threat, no sulfurous odor. In many cases, it’s cleaner than the water people buy in little plastic bottles.

If one is to be hysterical about exposure to “chemicals”, then one should give up the use of makeup and hair dye, the use of shampoo, the use of cleaning solutions, and use only the simplest of soaps, forget the use of air fresheners, and bring nothing into one’s home that might outgas volatiles over time—including foam cushions, anything painted or varnished, and give up any kind of fried food, since that tends to create free radicals.

The sanest route is to exercise some good sense. Pregnant women probably should not handle toxic waste—but they should be just as careful not to develop fevers which might lead to fetal deformities.