Yawn. It s that time of year again. Perhaps for the lack of anything better to do, Ken Cook and his Environmental Working Group (EWG) merry men (and women) are celebrating World Let s Promote Ignorance Day, thanks to their annual Dirty Dozen list.
pesticide residues
For years the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has been publishing its lists of vegetables and fruits that supposedly are contaminated with the largest amounts of pesticides.
To the Editor:
The warning issued by Consumers Union concerning the dangers of pesticide residues on American-grown produce confuses real risks with hypothetical ones (news article, Feb. 19). The report will inspire needless fear, despite the group's protestations to the contrary.
Americans do not consume enough fruits and vegetables now to receive the many well-known health benefits of the well-rounded diet recommended by all reputable experts in nutrltion. No child (or adult) has ever been harmed by eating any amount of fruits and vegetables produced using approved, regulated pesticides.
New York, NY January 30, 1998. In a new report on pesticide residues on America's fruits and vegetables, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has twisted data and misinterpreted basic scientific information in a way calculated to provoke fear among America's parents. This was the conclusion of the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH), a consortium of over 250 leading scientists and physicians.
A look at this latest EWG report makes clear why consumers should view that organization and its reports with skepticism. The EWG an environmental group, not a health group has put its scientifically unwarranted wish for a pesticide-free environment above the very real public-health goal of increasing America's consumption of fresh fruit.
New York, NY January 30, 1998. In a new report on pesticide residues on America's fruits and vegetables, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has twisted data and misinterpreted basic scientific information in a way calculated to provoke fear among America's parents. This was the conclusion of the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH), a consortium of over 250 leading scientists and physicians.
A look at this latest EWG report makes clear why consumers should view that organization and its reports with skepticism. The EWG an environmental group, not a health group has put its scientifically unwarranted wish for a pesticide-free environment above the very real public-health goal of increasing America's consumption of fresh fruit.
That is the concensus of leading physicians, toxicologists and epidemiologists who met in New York on Wednesday to discuss the issue of food safety and pesticide use. In an unusual action, a panel of scientists, joined by 65 of their colleagues, signed a full-page advertisement that appeared Wednesday in major national newspapers, denouncing the recent pesticide scare.