May 1, 2002
Truth Attack On A Plate
The Center for Science in the Public Interest -- the group that wants "taxes on snack foods and soft drinks," dubbed fettuccini Alfredo a "heart attack on a plate," and trashed Chinese food and many other popular dishes, is crowing over a Swedish report that claims harmful carcinogens occur in foods ranging from bread to potato chips. With furrowed brow, CSPI's Michael Jacobson declares the "discovery" to be "extremely worrisome," saying carbohydrate-rich snacks could "significantly increase the risk of cancer in humans." He concludes: "Consumers have yet another compelling reason to slash their consumption of French fries and potato chips."
But as we reported earlier this week, the study is being overblown, and the conclusion that "everything gives you cancer" is hysterical and very wrong. Even the study's authors agree, The Washington Post reports: "So you're going to tell me not to eat bread or French fries? No way. In fact, lead researcher Lief Busk, along with Swedish, British and World Health Organization officials, urged consumers not to make any dietary changes based on this preliminary report. 'It's not more dangerous to eat these foods today than it was a year before,' Busk said. 'There is no reason to be alarmed or to drastically change your eating habits.'" [To read the findings yourself, click here.]
The Post's Craig Stoltz and Sally Squires conclude: "Are you about to tell me not to take preliminary scientific information out of context -- and remind me that it's far more important to eat a wide variety of foods and not think any of them is magically beneficial or inherently malevolent? Why, yes."
