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.