The Hundred-Year Lie

Book excerpt: In a devastating exposé in the tradition of Silent Spring and Fast Food Nation, investigative journalist Randall Fitzgerald warns how thousands of man-made chemicals in our food, water, medicine, and environment are making humans the most polluted species on the planet. A century ago, when Congress enacted the Pure Food and Drug Act, Americans were promised “better living through chemistry.” Fitzgerald provides overwhelming evidence to shatter this myth, and many others perpetrated by the chemical, pharmaceutical, and processed foods industries. Consider this: · The average American carries a "body burden" of 700 synthetic chemicals; · Chemicals in tap water can cause reproductive abnormalities and hermaphroditic birth; · One study of lactating women found perchlorate (a toxic component of rocket fuel) in practically every mother's breast milk. In the face of this national health crisis, Fitzgerald presents informed and practical suggestions for what we can do to turn the tide and live healthier lives.