Basic HTML Version
'\CS.
Condensed Chemical Dictionary (p.
326).
Said one scieotist, Dr. Samuel S.
Epstein of T3oston's Children's Cancer
Rescarch Foundation:
"1
can see no
conccivable lx:nefit to match the risks
of cyclamates."
The percentage of people who me–
tabolize cyclohexylamine, and who
thcrefore might be susceptible in sorne
degree,
is
not definitely known, but esti–
mates vary from
LO
to 70 perccnt.
The crucial importance of the cyda–
mate controversy, however, is not neces–
sarily just how dangerous cyclamates are
to human health. That is an important
factor, of course. But the truly
significant qucstion is - how safe are
the other 3,000 food additives which
are put into our food daily?
Our Chemical- laden Food
Our modero supermarket foods, pre–
pared and packaged or canned for mass
distribution and consumption, are heav–
ily laden with additive chemicals- col–
oring agents, antispoi lants, flavoring
agents (of
2,112
flavor additives,
1,610
are syntbetic), thickening, lirming and
maturing agents, processing aids, acid–
alkaline controls, ripeners or anti–
metabolic agents, moisteners, antibiotics
and nutritional supplements.
Two tbirds of the 8,000 items offered
the housewife as she pushes her grocery
cart through supermarket aisles have
.FOOD Al
e
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been developed since World War II, in–
cluding freeze-dried, dehydrated,
vacuum-packed products. Food prepara–
tion has largely moved from the borne
to the factory in our modero age. This
adJs to the convenience of the house–
wife.
It
makes her job much casier.
But has it contributed to nationaJ
health?
lo
1964,
former President Lyndon B.
Johnson warned in a message to Con–
gress: "Thousands of common house–
hold items are avai lable to consumcrs
which contain potentially harmful sub–
stances. Hundreds of new uses for such
products as food additives, food color–
ings, and
pe~cicides
are found each year,
adding new potential hazards."
The result is the stark fact that sorne
60
years after the passage of the first
pure food laws in the United States,
Americans are eating and drinking more
synthetics at a faster rate than ever be–
fare in history!
Is there any danger from ingesting so
many synthetics into the body contin–
ually?
Qualified biochemists point out that
an experimental animal is tested with
one chemical at a time. Humans, how–
ever, ingest dozens of d1emicals daily.
Duríng the course of a lifetime, no one
can say what overall effect these chcm–
icals will have on the body: which are
poisonous, which become poisonous or
carcinogenic (cancer producing) by
interacting with othcrs, which are c¡uick–
ly dissipated by the body ancl which are
cumuJative. Therefore, many daim that
no cheroical should be added to our food
until it has been adcquately, thoroughly,
and exhaustively tcsted and proveo to be
safe!
Uofortunately, this has not been the
road modern nations have travelled in
the past, and there are no signs that any
dramatic, real changes are in store for
the near future.
Purpose of Additives
The point is, shouldn't all chemical
additives first be thoroughly checked,
and extensively tested before being
addcd promiscuously to our diets? Why
take any unneccssary chances? Why
assume somethiog is "safe" just because
it has been used for years?
"Today more than 3,000 chemicals
are nsed in the production and dis–
tribution of commercially prepared
food. At least
1,288
are purposely
added as pcesecvatives, buffers, emul–
sifiers, ncutralizing agents, seques–
trants, stabilizers, anti-caking agents,
flavoring agents, and coloring agents,
while from 25 to 30 consist of nutri–
tional supplements, such as potassium
iodide and vitamins" (
011r
Synthetic
Envi.,.omnmt,
Lewis Herbcr, p.
120).
Additivcs are generally used for solv–
ing complex problems of storing,
cleaning, handling, relioing, cooking,