Here’s a thought “natural” is not all good and we really couldn’t live our lives as we do without “synthetic” chemicals. It’s a theme that is rarely acknowledged by the mainstream media, but a UK organisation known as “Sense about Science” is hoping to persuade British journalists, at least, of the truth of the matter. Earlier this year SaS published a neat little booklet, aimed primarily at writers and editors on so-called lifestyle magazines, that highlights the top misconceptions about chemicals. You can now download the booklet pdf here.
In it, the organisation corrects six notions, affirming that you cannot lead a “chemical-free” life, synthetic chemicals are not inherently dangerous, synthetic chemicals are not the main cause of cancer and disease, exposure to chemicals is not a ticking time-bomb, it is not always beneficial to avoid synthetic chemicals, and we are not subjects of an unregulated, uncontrolled experiment.
Visit the SaS site, or download their booklet for the full skinny.
I spoke to the organisation’s Chris Tyler this week and he explains how combating chemophobia involves constantly repeating the message that the lifestyle media has been so keen to disparage. It seems, however, that the organisation and their booklet is having some success. “We seem to be making some headway with the lifestyle sector,” Tyler told me, “comments like ‘but we all
know that detox socks don’t really work’ and ‘of course not all synthetic chemicals are bad’ are appearing more often, in the magazines.” So, maybe the tide is turning, perhaps the message really is getting through…
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