By Henry Miller
Posted: Tuesday, September 1, 2009

ARTICLES
Publication Date: September 1, 2009

This piece by ACSH Trustee Henry Miller appears in its entirety in the September 1, 2009 issue (Vol. 29, No. 15) of Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News:

Consumers are increasingly being exposed to what chemistry Nobel laureate Irving Langmuir dubbed “pathological science,” the “science of things that aren’t so.” It is the specialty of self-styled public interest groups, whose agenda too often is not protection of public health or the environment, but intractable opposition to whatever research, product, or technology they happen to dislike...

A dubious NGO called the Environmental Working Group (EWG) claimed to have evidence that the farm-raised salmon eaten regularly by millions of Americans contained high levels of PCBs. This group of chemicals was identified in the press coverage as a toxin, probable human carcinogen, or a cause of cancer and nervous system damage. These reports were grossly misleading. At levels of environmental exposure, PCBs have not been shown to cause cancer or any other harm to humans.

The study, which was based on a sample of only 10 fish, was condemned by genuine experts at a variety of institutions, including the Harvard School of Public Health, the FDA, and the American Council on Science and Health.

Unfortunately, the criticisms came only after EWG’s report had generated national media coverage, and the contrary views of experts received little attention from the media...