Many Americans harbor a grossly distorted and exaggerated view of most
of the risks surrounding food. Fergus Clydesdale, head of the
department of food science and nutrition at the University of
Massachusetts-Amherst, says bluntly that if the dangers from
bacterially contaminated chicken were as great as some people believe,
“the streets would be littered with people lying here and there.”
Though the public increasingly demands no-risk food, there is no such
thing. Bruce Ames, chairman of the biochemistry department at the
University of California, Berkeley, points out that up to 10% of a
plant’s weight is made up of natural pesticides. He says, “Since
plants do not have jaws or teeth to protect themselves, they employ
chemical warfare.” And many naturally produced
chemicals, though occurring in tiny amounts, prove in laboratory tests
to be strong carcinogens — substance which can cause cancer. Mushrooms
might be banned if they were judged by the same standards that apply to
food additives. Declares Christina Stark, a nutritionist at Cornell
University, “We’ve got far worse natural chemicals in the food supply
than anything man-made.”
Yet the issues are not that simple. While Americans have no reason to
be terrified to sit down at the dinner table, they have every reason to
demand significant improvements in food and water safety. They
unconsciously and unwillingly take in too much of too many dangerous
chemicals. If food already contains natural carcinogens, it does not
make much sense to add dozens of new man-made ones. Though most people
will withstand the small amount of contaminants generally found in food
and water, at least a few individuals will probably get cancer one day
because of what they eat and drink.
