Free Republic

Those of us, of a certain age, remember the post-World War II promise of Science. Splitting the atom would bring us virtually unlimited cheap electrical power; antibiotics and vaccine technology (a la Salk/Sabin) would eliminate the scourge of infectious disease; and elucidation of the structure of DNA would lead to a cancer cure. But 60-odd years later, we have radioactive waste; terrifying antibiotic resistant pathogens; and despite spending hundreds of billions of dollars on cancer research and mapping the human genome, are no closer to that elusive cure. As to DNA, its greatest contribution has been to forensic science, which...

The false idea that our bodies have become ‘toxic waste dumps’ is not just wrong but counterproductive.Chemophobia is not a new phenomenon in our culture. Since the 1960s, much of the public has been afraid of exposure to chemicals. This is not surprising considering environmental disaster stories about toxic waste dumps or the history of chemicals such as vinyl chloride, aniline dyes, thalidomide, dioxin, and PCBs.Exposure to toxic, or possibly toxic, chemicals has been drastically reduced over the past several decades through regulations and new ways of handling chemicals by industry. And yet the chemophobia epidemic has gained new momentum...

Denmark has become so paranoid over chemicals in their food that they are literally taking key nutrients from the mouths of children. A couple of weeks ago, the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration actually blocked Kellogg's from selling its breakfast cereals because they are fortified with vitamins and minerals. We simply can't make up stuff this kooky. Denmark has become infatuated with the organic philosophy of chemophobia. In the late 1990s, the government even briefly considered converting the entire country to organic farming over fears of the dangers of pesticides. While the authorities wisely backed off their organic-only scheme-after studies...