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Poisoned for Profit: How Toxins Are Making Our Children Chronically Ill
In a landmark investigation that's been compared to Silent Spring, two veteran journalists definitively show how, why, and where industrial toxins are causing rates of birth defects, asthma, cancer, and other serious illnesses to soar in children. Philip and Alice Shabecoff reveal that the children of baby boomers-the first to be raised in a truly toxified world-are the first generation to be sicker and have shorter life expectancies than their parents. The culprits, they say, are the companies that profit from producing, using, and selling toxics.
In piercing case histories, the authors bring readers to places like Dickson, Tennessee, where babies were born with cleft lips and palates after landfill chemicals seeped into the water, and Port Neches, Texas, where so many graduates of a high school near synthetic rubber and chemical plants contracted cancer that the school was nicknamed "Leukemia High."
And they ask a razor-sharp question: Just why are we letting corporations commit these crimes against our children, sabotage investigations and regulations, hire scientists to skew data on toxic impacts, and fend off government controls with powerful lobbying groups?
It's time, they say, for families and the health and environmental communities to fight back, and their painstakingly researched book shows how people are taking action across the country-from pressuring politicians and investigating sickness clusters in their regions to ridding their own homes of countless toxic products like crib mattresses infused with dangerous flame retardants or teething rings steeped in harmful chemicals.
Powerful, unflinching, and eminently readable, Poisoned for Profit is a wake-up call that is bound to inspire talk and force change.
In piercing case histories, the authors bring readers to places like Dickson, Tennessee, where babies were born with cleft lips and palates after landfill chemicals seeped into the water, and Port Neches, Texas, where so many graduates of a high school near synthetic rubber and chemical plants contracted cancer that the school was nicknamed "Leukemia High."
And they ask a razor-sharp question: Just why are we letting corporations commit these crimes against our children, sabotage investigations and regulations, hire scientists to skew data on toxic impacts, and fend off government controls with powerful lobbying groups?
It's time, they say, for families and the health and environmental communities to fight back, and their painstakingly researched book shows how people are taking action across the country-from pressuring politicians and investigating sickness clusters in their regions to ridding their own homes of countless toxic products like crib mattresses infused with dangerous flame retardants or teething rings steeped in harmful chemicals.
Powerful, unflinching, and eminently readable, Poisoned for Profit is a wake-up call that is bound to inspire talk and force change.
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 1, 2008
We are all screwed.
February 2, 2010
Still not finished reading this, but had to return it to the library after 2 renewals.
I would recommend this book to anyone, but I URGE parents or those who may be thinking of becoming parents to read it. It provides a heaping amount of evidence that big corporations have been creating an epidemic of disease and illness in our country since the start of the industrial revolution. The baby boomers are probably the first generation to be affected by it, but they are probably not even aware of it. My generation is oblivious to it, but is probably most affected by it because it not only impacts our health but greatly impacts the health of our children. There is a link between the chemicals we are unwittingly inhaling and ingesting and the increasing rates of cancer, mental disorders, reproductive problems, and many other health issues that we are currently faced with.
Before reading this book, I already had major concerns about the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we consume outside of the home. After reading the first half of this book, I'm terrified about those things and I'm also majorly concerned about the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we consume inside our home. Not only am I concerned, but I'm disgusted and frankly pissed off that our government has allowed for American chemical companies to write their own rules and regulate themselves. This has gone on for decades, with little or no consideration for the health risks to each American, especially our innocent and defenseless children!!!
I urge everyone to at least read the "Evidence" and "Scene of the Crime" chapters of this book. You will be surprised to find out what your personal care products may contain. You will think twice, as you should, about each product you purchase. You will also come to despise the Pesticide companies, the Oil & Coal industry, Chemical companies, and the Pharmaceutical industry.
I hope I can check out this book again to finish it, and hopefully find suggestions for what I can do to protect myself and my family from this onslaught of chemicals invading our lives!
I would recommend this book to anyone, but I URGE parents or those who may be thinking of becoming parents to read it. It provides a heaping amount of evidence that big corporations have been creating an epidemic of disease and illness in our country since the start of the industrial revolution. The baby boomers are probably the first generation to be affected by it, but they are probably not even aware of it. My generation is oblivious to it, but is probably most affected by it because it not only impacts our health but greatly impacts the health of our children. There is a link between the chemicals we are unwittingly inhaling and ingesting and the increasing rates of cancer, mental disorders, reproductive problems, and many other health issues that we are currently faced with.
Before reading this book, I already had major concerns about the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we consume outside of the home. After reading the first half of this book, I'm terrified about those things and I'm also majorly concerned about the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we consume inside our home. Not only am I concerned, but I'm disgusted and frankly pissed off that our government has allowed for American chemical companies to write their own rules and regulate themselves. This has gone on for decades, with little or no consideration for the health risks to each American, especially our innocent and defenseless children!!!
I urge everyone to at least read the "Evidence" and "Scene of the Crime" chapters of this book. You will be surprised to find out what your personal care products may contain. You will think twice, as you should, about each product you purchase. You will also come to despise the Pesticide companies, the Oil & Coal industry, Chemical companies, and the Pharmaceutical industry.
I hope I can check out this book again to finish it, and hopefully find suggestions for what I can do to protect myself and my family from this onslaught of chemicals invading our lives!
February 8, 2011
Have you wondered why there seems to be an epidemic of serious childhood illnesses, like cancer, asthma and birth defects, in America? It has a lot to do with the huge increase, over the past 50 years, of toxic chemicals dumped into the environment. This book gives the details.
There are a number of towns all over the country, ranging from Dickson, Tennessee, to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, to Toms River, New Jersey, suffering much higher than normal numbers of severe childhood illnesses. Each town just happens to also contain a large industrial plant that handles lots of toxic chemicals. Are the illnesses all "isolated instances" or "just one of those things?"
The authors say that the CEOs of the major chemical companies are not evil people who deliberately want to poison innocent children, but profit is most important. It is very hard to prove, absolutely, that a particular case of asthma or cancer, for instance, was caused by chemicals from a particular industrial plant, though the circumstantial evidence is pretty strong. The chemical companies use that uncertainty to delay the paying of any fines or cleanup costs.
Scientists-for-pay are willing to say what the chemical companies want them to say. The evidence is not conclusive and more study (read: delay) is needed. Washington is no help. Through lobbyists and campaign contributions, it has been made clear to members of Congress that bills to add new regulations are to be watered down or defeated. Only a few of the thousands of chemicals in the environment have been tested at all. Those tests have been very short-term, and have looked at adult exposure to chemicals. The level of toxicity for children and fetuses is much lower.
What can a parent do? If you plan on having children in the future, adopt a healthy lifestyle. Get proper amounts of vitamins and minerals, starting today (men and women). If you already have children, let them play outside and open the windows in your house for at least a few minutes a day (to let out any built-up toxins). Stay away from pesticides and dry cleaning, buy organic food as much as possible, buy furniture and flooring made from solid wood instead of particleboard, which is treated with formaldehyde. There are also plenty of websites to visit with safer alternatives to everyday items.
This book easily reaches the level of Wow. It is very easy to read, and is quite an eye-opener for all parents and parents-to-be. This is highly recommended.
There are a number of towns all over the country, ranging from Dickson, Tennessee, to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, to Toms River, New Jersey, suffering much higher than normal numbers of severe childhood illnesses. Each town just happens to also contain a large industrial plant that handles lots of toxic chemicals. Are the illnesses all "isolated instances" or "just one of those things?"
The authors say that the CEOs of the major chemical companies are not evil people who deliberately want to poison innocent children, but profit is most important. It is very hard to prove, absolutely, that a particular case of asthma or cancer, for instance, was caused by chemicals from a particular industrial plant, though the circumstantial evidence is pretty strong. The chemical companies use that uncertainty to delay the paying of any fines or cleanup costs.
Scientists-for-pay are willing to say what the chemical companies want them to say. The evidence is not conclusive and more study (read: delay) is needed. Washington is no help. Through lobbyists and campaign contributions, it has been made clear to members of Congress that bills to add new regulations are to be watered down or defeated. Only a few of the thousands of chemicals in the environment have been tested at all. Those tests have been very short-term, and have looked at adult exposure to chemicals. The level of toxicity for children and fetuses is much lower.
What can a parent do? If you plan on having children in the future, adopt a healthy lifestyle. Get proper amounts of vitamins and minerals, starting today (men and women). If you already have children, let them play outside and open the windows in your house for at least a few minutes a day (to let out any built-up toxins). Stay away from pesticides and dry cleaning, buy organic food as much as possible, buy furniture and flooring made from solid wood instead of particleboard, which is treated with formaldehyde. There are also plenty of websites to visit with safer alternatives to everyday items.
This book easily reaches the level of Wow. It is very easy to read, and is quite an eye-opener for all parents and parents-to-be. This is highly recommended.
November 11, 2008
This is a very good look at how health is effected by industry, government and our own ignorance. The problem I had with the book in total is that it does not breakdown poisons by category. The authors mention both chemicals and heavy metals but lump them together in on subject of environment. Otherwise, the book is very informative and enlightening.
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February 27, 2009Hmmm....Looks like something that's only going to make me MORE paranoid...
Well, I didn't get half way through it before it was due back at the library. I could have renewed, but... I didn't. It was well-written. But it was kind of making me feel somewhat hopeless. And like, no matter what one does, our environment is still harmful.
Well, I didn't get half way through it before it was due back at the library. I could have renewed, but... I didn't. It was well-written. But it was kind of making me feel somewhat hopeless. And like, no matter what one does, our environment is still harmful.
November 17, 2010
The more I know the more psycho and paranoid I become about my life and family and the toxins that around us and harming our bodies. Educate yourself! This is a good read with lots of data and research!
February 24, 2013
An amazing book about an ongoing outrage leading to tragedy after tragedy. Everyone who cares about children should read this book and take action to protect those children, our planet and our future.
Currently Reading
May 4, 2009Wow.
May 14, 2009
People have to be aware! I wish everyone would read this book.
March 14, 2011
A must read!!!
April 21, 2011
This book is an eye-opening expose of the growing amounts of toxins that we, especially our children, are being exposed to in daily life.
August 2, 2011
this is a quality piece of scaremongering that I enjoyed reading, and I would recommend it to anyone--from those who are already scared an appropriate amount to those who are not yet scared at all.
May 29, 2018
Because I don't have enough worry about
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews