THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume XIII, Issue # 80, March 30, 2011
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
THE BIG BPA LIE: THE BPA FILE, PART THREE
By Alan Caruba
SPREADING MISINFORMATION ABOUT BISPHENOL-A: A MASSIVE & CONCERTED PROPAGANDA EFFORT TO DEFAME
BPA & GET IT BANNED -- HOW PUBLIC OPINION IS INFLUENCED & SHAPED BY ENVIRONMENTALISTS EMPLOYING DUBIOUS
"SCIENTIFIC STUDIES" -- DEBUNKING SOCALLED "SCIENCE-BASED" FEAR CAMPAIGNS CONDUCTED BY FENTON
COMMUNICATIONS, THE ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE COUNCIL, THE ENVIRONMENTAL WORKING GROUP, & OTHER
SEGMENTS OF THE ENVIRONMENTALIST MOVEMENT
FULL STORY:
When I began this series about bisphenol-A (BPA) I instituted a Google Alert for Internet posts that mentioned it. From
January through March, 2011, it generated a report each day filled with notifications of newspaper, magazine, and
Internet posts, all denouncing BPA for having a hazardous chemical that threatened the health of everyone from infants
to adults.
More than one thousand posts were reported. Virtually all spread false information.
Such things do not happen by accident. They are the result of a concerted effort to defame BPA and they are indicative
of a massive public relations effort. Serendipitously, on March 2, 2011, National Review published an article by
Jon Entine, “Don’t Rush to Ban Chemicals,” that revealed how public opinion is manipulated by the use of dubious
“scientific studies” and the way most people, unschooled in science, do not realize that “one part per billion” of any
substance poses no risk at all.
Entine cited a survey that found that “Canadians, on average, have about one part per billion of BPA in their urine, while
Americans have twice that amount,” noting that this “is not just meaningless, let alone news by any definition, but is
part of the massive public relations campaign to get BPA banned”
“Labeling a chemical ‘toxic’ or a ‘contaminant’ is meaningless,” said Entine.
“Toxicity is a question of degree; exposure is different
from effect. Apples, bananas, broccoli, cabbage, citrus
fruits, mushrooms, turnips, and many more foods
contain occurring chemicals that are toxic — they
cause cancer at large lifelong doses in laboratory
rodents. Tofu is more estrogenic than BPA.”
Anyone who wants to learn the truth about BPA is advised to visit Junkscience.com, the website of Steve Milloy
who has gained a solid reputation for debunking socalled “science-based” fear campaigns. His data on BPA reveals that
“there is no scientific evidence that BPA:
Has ever harmed anyone, despite 50 years of use;
Acts as an endocrine disruptor; and
Has any health effects at low doses;
Furthermore, the data debunks some of the most off-cited and false claims about BPA.
BPA is not carcinogenic or mutagenic;
BPA does not adversely affect reproduction or development at any realistic dose;
BPA is efficiently “metabolized” and rapidly excreted after oral exposure
So where does the worldwide anti-BPA public relations campaign originate?
The answer to that has to be by inference, but many trace it to Fenton Communications, whose founder, David Fenton,
has Leftwing associations and affiliations dating all the way back to the domestic terror group, the Weathermen, for
whom he was a photographer.
From reading a lengthy profile on DiscoverTheNetworks.org, one learns that, in 1982, Fenton established Fenton
Communications, specializing in advancing the agendas of “Leftwing groups.”
“One of Fenton’s most widely publicized achievements
was his 1989 attack against the producers of Alar, a
preservative (used on apples) that he erroneously
characterized as carcinogenic.”
The cost to American apple growers and distributors was catastrophic. It was deceptive.
The anti-BPA scare campaign is patterned on the anti-Alar campaign and a further link is found in the fact that two of
Fenton’s longtime clients, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Environmental Working Group are leaders
in the anti-BPA campaign. Moreover, BornFree, a company that specializes in products that do not contain BPA, is
also a Fenton client.
In the book, The Fear Profiteers, Fenton Communications was identified as having “played a key role in a
growing number of health scare campaigns.” At the time the book was published, Fenton was linked to scares about
Alar and apples, swordfish, [and] leaky breast implants, and a front group (a favorite PR ploy) Health Care Without
Harm that put forth lies about the alleged, but unproven, danger of phthalates -- chemicals used to make plastic flexible
products for IV bags, nipples, and children’s toys.
Suffice to say Fenton Communications is opposed to anything that has to do with plastic, no matter how useful and
safe the product may be. BPA has been in use for over fifty years to line the insides of metal and plastic food
containers, protecting against spoilage. More than 6,000 studies have been made over the years and none have
demonstrated any hazard.
The Fear Profiteers said:
“If you have been scared about food or pesticides in the
last ten years, chances are Fenton Communications
played a key role in provoking that fear. The fears just
don’t ever stop. But they all have one thing in common
— a lack of evidence and abundance of deceit.”
The anti-BPA propaganda that has been put in motion is multiplied by the countless journalists who simply repeat the
lies, accounting for some of the most meretricious misinformation on a daily basis. This in turn is multiplied by the
seemingly endless blogs and alleged “health” websites that repeat and repeat it, primarily targeting expectant and new
mothers. Another favorite target are men who are told BPA affects their sex drive.
The problem for everyone, everywhere in the world, occurs when governments or entities such as the European Union
ban the use of BPA, despite overwhelming evidence of its safe use. That puts everyone at risk for the food-related
illnesses that occur when containers no longer have the protection that BPA provides.
Editor’s Note: You can read "The BPA File – Part One" HERE
and "The BPA File – Part Two" HERE.
-----------------------------------------
© Alan Caruba, 2011
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Science, Ethics, & Human Health:
Human Health & Public Policy
Agriculture, the Economy, & Human Health & Welfare:
Policy Issues Relating to Food Production & Consumption
Political Environmentalism Versus Human Progress & Prosperity:
Policy Issues Relating to Energy, Environment,
& Natural Resources
Alan Caruba writes a daily post at http://factsnotfantasy.blogspot.com. An author, commentator and business and science writer,
he is the Founder of the National Anxiety Center, a clearinghouse for information about media-driven "scare campaigns" designed
to influence public opinion and public policy.
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
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Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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