Remarks delivered at the American Council on Science and Health's twenty-fifth anniversary celebration on the evening of December 4, 2003 in New York City.
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I have been honored to serve as President of the American Council on Science and Health for 25 years. I have been further honored to serve in this role under the direction of the most distinguished and accomplished physicians and scientists in America ones who are committed, as I am, to separating out science fact from science hype committed to standing up to be heard when Americans, alarmed by some self-appointed consumer groups, are running around squishing public health ants, while the public health elephants run wild. In its 25-year mission to bring sound science to center stage, ACSH has succeeded due to the efforts of our stellar Board of Directors, Advisors and a competent, hardworking, dedicated staff. Tonight, to all of them and to those who provided ACSH financial support over the years I say thank you.
And to you, who cared enough about ACSH to come here tonight to support our cause, I extend my sincere gratitude.
In the past couple of weeks, friends and colleagues have asked me four questions about ACSH's first quarter-century.
1. what has been ACSH's greatest accomplishment?
2. what was ACSH's most embarrassing moment?
3. what has been the greatest source of frustration?
4. what do you see as ACSH's greatest priority in years ahead?
Let's get the most embarrassing moment out of the way first. In advance of the hundreds of radio and television appearances I have made over the years to discuss sound science and books like Panic in the Pantry (remember that title) and Preventing Cancer, I have routinely asked that only my brief resume not my full one be sent ahead of time. I edit my resume so as not to confuse people because, you see, in my earlier years I wrote many books on the topics of sex and reproduction and family life. One time, however, when I was touting my book Toxic Terror on a show, it became clear that my office had sent out the full resume in error.
The show's host thus said, We have Dr. Elizabeth Whelan with us; she is author of a text book on reproductive physiology, and the books Sex and Sensibility and Making Sense out of Sex and A Baby Maybe and is also author of that widely read book and there was a typo in the next line that widely read book Panic in the "Panty."
Second, as to a top accomplishment, of many I could mention, I'll choose this: ACSH has made great strides in dispelling the myth that if a chemical at high dose causes cancer in animals, it causes cancer in man even at trace exposures a myth that all too often has led to useful, safe chemicals being banned, as we say "at the drop of a rat." Look at all the carcinogens you are eating tonight! If our environmental adversaries had their way, and they insisted that any food with a trace of any animal carcinogen be banned, we would have nothing to eat tonight. Talk about an instant solution to our nation's obesity problem.
Third, as to frustration, apart from an ongoing struggle to attract enough financial support to pursue our mission, I would identify this: difficulty in communicating to the public and the media (and ACSH's critics) exactly what motivates us to report to work each day to counter health hype, misinformation, unsupported health claims as well as to counter attempts to spike legitimate coverage of the #1 preventable cause of death cigarette smoking.
Our critics are dead wrong. ACSH defends the rights of the American consumer to continue to have access to the most enviable food supply in the world, to enjoy the highest standard of living with the most innovative and productive pharmaceutical industry in history. Unfounded attacks based on junk science on the products that make our lives longer, healthier, easier, and more enjoyable is intolerable to us. These unfounded attacks and their associated campaigns of fear hurt the American consumer. We seek to protect the consumer from the deleterious effects of junk science, and that is what motivates us in every project we undertake.
Fourth, and finally: What does the future bring? Americans now stand on the threshold of a major scientific revolution one driven by the science of biotechnology. Anyone of a certain age who has taken a peek into the future and future is now can only wish we were thirty years younger to have the chance to experience it all. Vaccines that prevent cancer. Therapies that stop cancer and Alzheimer's in their tracks. Agricultural techniques that dramatically expand the food supply with even healthier, tastier foods. Fear and hyperbole about risk are the enemies of this progress. ACSH, as it begins its next 25 years, stands committed to doing everything in its power to countering those who would seek to halt or slow down this revolution and its spectrum of consumer benefits. Science will prevail and the American consumer will be the beneficiary.
Thank you for being here tonight. Now, please enjoy your chemicals
Before we begin our award presentations, I would like to point out that I am not the only person who has been with the American Council on Science and Health for twenty-five years. There is one other person someone who has worked diligently and faithfully and has not been acknowledged to the extent she should be. She needs to be acknowledged tonight. She needs to be acknowledged tonight. Will ACSH Associate Director Cheryl Martin please come to the podium?
Cheryl, on behalf of the ACSH Board of Directors, I say thank you for twenty-five years of remarkable service.
[Hereafter, in alphabetical order, are the evening's award-recipient descriptions.]
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In the minds of most Americans, nature conjures up images of walks through the woods, of harmony, of a safe haven. Man-made chemicals, on the other hand, bring to mind images of a quite different sort. Bruce Ames' discovery that natural chemicals are just as likely to be carcinogenic as their man-made counterparts has upended this assumption.
Dr. Ames, a professor of Graduate School at the University of California at Berkeley, a senior scientist at Children's Hospital & Research Center at Oakland, and a generous philanthropist, is perhaps best known as the inventor of the Ames Test a simple, indirect assay for mutagens potential carcinogens that is widely used in research institutes, industry, and regulatory agencies around the world to screen for potentially hazardous environmental chemicals.
His 400+ publications have put him amongst the most-cited scientists in America. As one of the nation's leading cancer experts, Dr. Ames' work has re-shaped the public health debate, dispelling many myths about trace chemicals in the environment as a cause of cancer. He has spoken out time and again against initiatives in California that would have banned many pesticides and resulted in higher costs to consumers both in actual dollars and in adverse health consequences arising from increased produce prices.
For his outstanding contributions to science, ACSH presents its 25th anniversary award for distinguished service to Dr. Bruce Ames.
Robert Bartley
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I first met Bob Bartley approximately twenty-three years ago and never forget the first question he asked me: "Why don't scientists speak up? Why do they just sit in silence when science is distorted and risks are exaggerated?"
By posing that question, Bob reinforced ACSH's mission since getting scientists involved in public dialogues was exactly what ACSH was all about. Later during that first meeting, I mentioned to Bob my frustration over the fact that popular magazines regularly edited out spiked references to the spectacular negative health consequences of smoking. He looked skeptical but said that if I could find specific, documented examples, he would give me as much of the editorial page as I needed. Within eighteen months, I nailed down two such examples and he met his part of the bargain, and the commentary "When Time and Newsweek Filtered Cigarette Copy" was published.
In his thirty-year tenure as editor of the WSJ editorial page, Robert Bartley was a champion of sound science. With cutting edge commentaries on subjects as diverse as asbestos, silicone breast implants, and most recently SARS, he consistently championed facts over fears. In recognition of his decades of science-based commentaries, we are pleased to present Robert Bartley with ACSH's Outstanding Contributions in Journalism Award.
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While historians seem disproportionately infatuated with documenting brutal dictators who ruthlessly murder millions, a great deal less attention is paid to truly noble men men like Norman Borlaug. Dr. Borlaug is credited with saving a billion people from starvation. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970.
At a time when neo-Malthusians predicted bloody revolutions triggered by food shortages, Dr. Borlaug's development of high-yielding, disease-resistant dwarf wheat strains sparked instead what's come to be called the Green Revolution, transforming wheat production in Mexico, Asia, and Latin America. The effect has been nothing short of phenomenal. Today, Dr. Borlaug continues his work to stave off starvation in the Third World, especially in some of the hardest-hit regions of sub-Saharan Africa.
His accomplishments haven't gone entirely unnoticed by the public even comedians and political commentators like Showtime's infamous duo Penn and Teller. Penn and Teller have paid homage to a man they see as having changed the world. In a recent episode of their series on Showtime, Penn and Teller, in complete seriousness, named Norman Borlaug the greatest person in history. NBC's popular television drama series The West Wing recently included a segment with President Bartlet, played by Martin Sheen, discussing miracle-makers in the world, Norman Borlaug being one of them, and detailing the six-fold increase in wheat production that occurred in India as a result of Borlaug's intervention.
Four decades have passed since the Green Revolution and Dr. Borlaug is still acclaimed for saving more lives than anyone else in history. Tonight, ACSH honors Dr. Borlaug's remarkable contributions to science and his continued battle against world hunger and the doomsayers who contend it's a lost cause.
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Dr. Donald A. Henderson, known to many as D.A., spearheaded the fight to eradicate smallpox from the world. When he was chosen to head up the World Health Organization's Global Smallpox Eradication Campaign in 1966, smallpox was endemic in Brazil, Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and Indonesia. In 1980, the speckled monster's reign, dating back more than thirty centuries, had finally ended and success was declared. Several million potential victims' lives were spared. Dr. Henderson's victory is one of the twentieth century's greatest medical achievements. Now, in the twenty-first century, the battle has resurfaced with a new enemy. The threat posed by global bioterrorism has D.A. once again on the front lines. D.A. founded and directed the Johns Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense Studies to address the threats of bioterrorism, served as associate director in the President's Office of Science and Technology Policy and as a senior advisor to the Department of Health and Human Services on civilian biodefense matters. In October 2001, Tommy Thompson, Secretary of HHS, named Dr. Henderson chair of the national advisory council on public health preparedness.
We would like to acknowledge our gratitude to D.A. for lending ACSH his expertise and guidance with ACSH's recent bioterrorism and anthrax publications. Tonight, we honor D.A.'s extraordinary contributions to medicine and science.
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C. Everett Koop, known to friends as Chick, an accomplished pediatric surgeon, served as U.S. Surgeon General from 1981 to 1989. He took leadership roles in confronting difficult and contentious issues including cigarette smoking and AIDS always guided by science, never by ideology. During his tenure as Surgeon General, Dr. Koop raised the profile of spectrum of public health issues and, of course, in doing so he generated controversy.
I recall a story Chick's wife, Betty, told me a number of years ago. Early one morning when he was leaving the house, Betty called out "Where are you going?" Chick responded, "I'm going to give a speech about the role of condoms in AIDS prevention." Betty considered this and called out as he drove away, "It's a good thing your mother is dead!"
Chick Koop, one of the founders of modern pediatric surgery, became an international sensation when he successfully separated two female Siamese twins in 1957. During his tenure as Surgeon General, Chick helped Americans to understand AIDS its causes, transmission, consequences, and prevention measures materially changing medical and public conceptions of the disease. Chick's anti-smoking crusade will long be remembered as being among the greatest triumphs of public health.
For decades of service to medicine and public health, ACSH presents its 25th anniversary award for distinguished service to America's family doctor, Dr. C. Everett Koop.
Dr. Mark McClellan
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Sworn in as Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration just over a year ago, Dr. Mark McClellan today faces many critical issues, on top of the many challenges posed by a traditionally highly bureaucratic, risk-averse agency.
In his first year, Dr. McClellan's passion about streamlining the drug approval process is evident. He has removed some of the regulatory hurdles preventing drugs from reaching the market sooner and getting into the hands of cancer patients and others who need them.
Dr. McClellan's newly formed alliance with the National Cancer Institute, an important first step towards future partnerships with other NIH institutes, has brought oncologists actual clinicians who work with cancer patients into the decision-making processes and has helped to expedite the route to approval.
His firm stand against the alluring but ephemeral benefits of importing less expensive drugs has protected the American public from the potential threat posed by counterfeit or unapproved drugs.
Tonight, ACSH acknowledges Dr. McClellan's accomplishments in his first year by presenting him with ACSH's Outstanding Contributions in Medicine and Public Health award.
[Editor's note: While ACSH celebrated real scientific achievement, even the scaremongers over at the Center for Science in the Public Interest weighed in with a comment on the evening. Their contribution: issuing a statement denouncing ACSH as tools of industry and urging Dr. McClellan to dissociate himself from us and reject the award. If CSPI still exists in 2028 by which time science will have made even more amazing advances without their help they may not be invited to our fiftieth anniversary dinner.]
Dr. Elizabeth Whelan is president and founder of the American Council on Science and Health.