Dr. Joe pounds PETA: Chicken and small penises?

Posted on September 20, 2013 by admin

The always-brilliant Dr. Joe Schwarcz, the director of McGill’s Office for Science & Society and a chemist, has once again done what he does best: hunting down junk science (not much of a challenge) and excoriating it.

This time he takes aim at the animal rights zealots at PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), a radical animal rights group that is sometimes sardonically referred to as People Eating Tasty Animals.

PETA doesn’t want you to eat chicken (or anything else that was either an animal product, or even came from an animal, such as milk and eggs, for that matter), but the tactics used in their latest volley are simply laughable. As well as pitiful. They really have hit the junk science jackpot this time.

There is a family of chemicals called phthalates, which are used to soften plastics (the most important use being IV tubing). They are also used in a wide variety of other plastic products, so it is not surprising that all of us have minuscule amounts of these chemicals in our bodies……PETA takes junk science to a new level…… ToRead More…..

American Council on Science and Health, 2011: Week 17

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Editor's Note:  The presence of linked articles here are a way of showing what is going on, whether I agree or disagree with the positions presented or not.

I have highlighted what I think are "must read" articles with three asterisks. RK

***Still breathless: Asthma rates rising even as smoking and pollution decline Asthma rates in the U.S. have increased over the past ten years, according to the CDC.

***Does asthma crop up more on the farm? The results of a recent study of the epidemiology of asthma may come as a surprise to some of our readers.

***“Save the Frogs” campaign: Follow the money to an anti-pesticide ruse Two recent articles in The American Spectator and the Huffington Post, as well as a posting on JunkScience.com, have pulled back the veil of deception of the current "Save the Frogs" campaign; we'd like to praise Robert James Bidinotto, Jon Entine, and Steve Milloy, respectively, for these editorial contributions.

***Dr. Ross tells it like it is (and then some): people vs. pests — and “environmentalists” Remember all those environmental activist reports that cropped up around Earth Day, alleging that prenatal exposure to certain pesticides will decrease your child's IQ? Well, ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross was sufficiently disturbed by the hype that he quickly decided to compose an op-ed pointing out the overwhelming body of evidence attesting to the safety of these pesticides for agricultural use.

Flame-retarded media continue to fan fears of chemicals An article yesterday in USA Today - which has apparently decided to become the bête noir of chemicals - demonstrates that even so-called "science journalists" are ill-informed about the risks (or, rather, lack thereof) associated with flame retardants used in household products.

Danes propose restrictions on certain phthalates Denmark's Environmental Protection Agency is calling for the restriction of four phthalates under REACH (the European Union's precautionary chemical regulation protocol).

Phony pharmaceuticals profusely propagating In yesterday's Los Angeles Times, William Weir offers a thorough overview of the dangers of increasingly prevalent counterfeit drugs.

***Narcotic overdoses in infants a real problem Disturbing new research by Dr. William T. Basco, Jr., director of the division of general pediatrics at the Medical University of South Carolina, and colleagues finds that about 4 percent of kids up to the age of three were given an overdose of a narcotic-containing drug.

***More supplements bite the dust — this time for prostate cancerDespite hopes to the contrary, a new study demonstrates that neither Vitamin E, selenium, nor soy can prevent or even slow the development of prostate cancer.

Dr. Siegel hits two grand slams in doubleheader For the second time in as many days, we'd like to give a tip of the hat to ACSH advisor and Boston University School of Public Health Professor Dr. Michael Siegel for his essays on two different smoking-related policies.

NEJM lights up TPSAC’s menthol cigarette evaluation Two perspective pieces addressing the menthol cigarette problem appear in today's New England Journal of Medicine.

***Not always worth the wait: Prostatectomy for younger prostate cancer patients? today we learned that for younger men - those under the age of 65 - diagnosed with early prostate cancer, a prostatectomy may be better than watchful waiting (WW) when it comes to both prostate cancer-specific and all-cause (total) mortality.


Insurance coverage for exercise could work out for diabetics A new study published in Tuesday's Journal of the American Medical Association lends credence to the idea of providing insurance coverage for exercise programs - at least for diabetes patients.

Take salt dogma with a grain or two Even though the American Heart Association is now advising that people ingest no more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium daily, you don't have to throw away that saltshaker just yet.

Food stamp ban on soda purchases is flat-out paternalism In March, ACSH challenged the validity of a proposal by New York City's Mayor Michael Bloomberg to prohibit the purchase of sugar-sweetened beverages with food stamps.

Activist Attack on Coke’s Use of BPA Fizzles ACSH staffers would like to take our hats off to Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent, who announced in an annual company meeting Wednesday in Atlanta that he does not believe there exists sufficient scientific evidence to stop using BPA in the epoxy linings of the company's iconic cans.

Junk food ads for kids may fall under same restrictions as X-rated content
Four governmental agencies - the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) - yesterday proposed voluntary guidelines for the food industry that would limit "junk food" advertisements aimed at children up to the age of 17.

Study yields more perspective on what kind of fruit you should resemble Let's talk fruit - in terms of body shape, that is. Researchers from the Mayo Clinic published a new study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology suggesting that being "pear-shaped" (carrying more fat in the hips, buttocks and thighs) is associated with a lower risk of adverse cardiovascular events compared to those who are apple-shaped (having excess fat around the midsection).

The Times column nukes its own anti-nuclear fallout Perhaps the folks who write for The New York Times should read each other's work! We'd like to note that a very informative article in today's The Times, "Drumbeat of Nuclear Fallout Doesn't Resound with Experts," resoundingly refutes yesterday's op-ed by Helen Caldicott.

In the sun or in a bed, excessive UV exposure produces (un)healthy tan  As summer draws near, a new survey from the American Academy of Dermatology reports that a striking number of young women tan despite the established health risks.

Fewer Mammograms, and no consensus yet on when to begin  The use of mammograms has decreased ever since the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) made a controversial recommendation in 2009 advising women in their 40s to wait until age 50 to get routine mammography screenings, and then only every two years.

Minn. “anti-cloning” bills called anti-business: We call them monkey business  All the common misconceptions about stem cell research have reared their ugly heads in an ongoing dispute in Minnesota that pits businesses against a so-called anti-cloning proposal that we thought had died an ignominious demise when we last skewered it.

Federally-funded embryonic stem cell research may proceed In a victory for embryonic stem cell (ESC) researchers, a U.S. appeals court has ruled that the Obama administration may continue to federally fund ESC studies using embryos that would otherwise be discarded.

Hormone Replacement Therapy not deserving of bad rap — as we said  An article in today's Los Angeles Times reports that women who begin to take hormone replacement therapy (HRT) at the onset of menopause (often called peri-menopause), around age 50 or so, and take it for five years or less, run fewer risks than benefits, including relief from hot flashes and pain during sex, as well as reduced bone fractures.

Plan B is underused: maybe ‘behind the counter’ is one reason  A new study indicates that although the number of women who have used the "morning-after pill" - officially named Plan B - has more than doubled, relatively few women are actually using this emergency contraceptive (EC).

Some good news to stomach A 2009 report highlights the need to include a rotavirus vaccine in national immunization programs of the underdeveloped world.

Unusual dilemma for Genentech: Competing against itself  The results from a multicenter trial funded by the National Eye Institute (part of the National Institutes of Health) demonstrate that after one year of follow-up, both Lucentis (ranibizumab) and Avastin (bevacizumab) had equivalent effects on maintaining or improving visual acuity in the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a common cause of irreversible blindness among the elderly.

If there is a health scare today, the American Council on Science and Health will most likely have the answer by tomorrow; and for members it will appear in your e-mail. No effort on your part, except to read the answer. All that the ACSH is interested in are the facts and they are prepared to follow them wherever they lead. Who can ask for more?  Please Donate Now!

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American Council on Science and Health, 2011: Week Three

By Rich Kozlovich

I was supposed to post this on Saturday, but I have been sick. This week's edition the ASCH's Daily Dispatch really goes all over the place, including one of my favorite topics....DDT. I think you will find the insights on these diverse issues worth exploring. As I have said in the past....this is one of the groups I consistently turn to for the answers. There may be times that you will disagree with them, but at least they have a very simple philosophy; data in search of conclusions versus so many of the groups you will see featured here who have a philosophy of conclusions in search of data,

Enjoy!

New study pregnant with anti-chemical quackery
An outlandish study from professors at the University of California, San Francisco, published today in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, reports that almost all pregnant women harbor at least one out of 163 different "potentially harmful" chemicals in their blood, urine or serum .

Can you see me now? Incidence of AMD declines
The incidence of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of vision loss in people over the age of 50 - a result of damage to the center of the retina – has decreased in the last 15 years.

Trials for new malaria vaccine instill hope
After reporting yesterday on the looming threat of the spread of a drug-resistant form of falciparum malaria, we now bring brighter news of two phase II trials indicating that a leading candidate malaria vaccine (RTS,S/AS01E ) provides protection against the parasitic disease for at least 15 months after inoculation.

Prescription drugs face acetaminophen restrictions
\Acetaminophen, the key ingredient used in over-the-counter (OTC) drugs like Tylenol and Nyquil, will be limited only 325 milligrams per dose in prescription painkillers such as Vicodin and Percocet, the FDA announced yesterday.

Another u-turn in the controversy over antibiotics for ear infections in children
To prescribe or not prescribe? That is the question that pediatricians have been grappling with over many years as they debate whether to use antibiotics to treat acute otitis media, or ear infections, in toddlers or whether to adhere to the "watch and wait" approach.

ACSH Presents: Scared to Death: How Chemophobia Threatens Public Health
In response to the growing level of chemophobia - the irrational fear of chemicals - among the American public, ACSH held a press conference today to announce the release of its newest position paper, Scared to Death: How Chemophobia Threatens Public Health.

NYT offers remedy for “toxic headlines”
An excellent dash of science-based reassurance was administered over the weekend by New York Times columnist Andrew Revkin in his Dot Earth & blog.

Rude awakening: Sleep aid Ambien leaves some older users groggy and clumsy
Talk about waking up on the wrong side of the bed - results of a new study suggest that the popular sleep aid Ambien, sold generically as zolpidem, can leave folks over 60 temporarily groggy and clumsy when awakened abruptly.

Another health tenet stricken: Fruits and veggies don’t decrease cancer incidence.
Consumers looking to take dietary steps towards cancer prevention might want to hold off on a daily V8 regimen. The British Journal of Cancer reports that increasing fruit and veggie consumption has little impact on cancer prevention, at least among well-nourished populations.

Green drugs down the toilet
The "Green" movement has set its sights on a new consumer market: green pharmaceuticals.

Chemophobia and Chicken McNuggets
The Montreal Gazette published an article by Joe Schwarcz, Ph.D., director of McGill University's Office for Science and Society, on the subject of McDonald's Chicken McNuggets.

Possible risks of combining calcium-channel blockers and antibiotics
Monday brought word, first reported in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, of possible risks for patients simultaneously taking calcium channel blockers and erythromycin (E-Mycin) or clarithromycin (Biaxin) - both macrolide antibiotics.

Congestive heart failure: Where you go matters a lot
The Annals of Internal Medicine has just reported on a large-scale study at more than 4,000 U.S. hospitals which showed that thirty-day survival rates for patients diagnosed with congestive heart failure were more than twenty percent better among those who went to hospitals more accustomed to providing care for the condition.

Genetic screening: Should the government stay out?
Yesterday's Science section of The New York Times included an intriguing article by columnist John Tierney on whether the government has a proper role in regulating commercial sales of DNA analysis tests to the general public.

Anti-depressants and hot flashes: Connection isn’t so war
Last week brought word of a study which claimed that the anti-depressant drug known by the trade name Lexapro (escitalopram) could reduce the incidence of hot flashes among menopausal women.

A cheap remedy, period: Tranexamic acid for excessive bleeding
The same drug used to reduce heavy menstrual cycles may reduce the risk of complications from hemorrhage associated with trauma, Reuters; reports.


Alcohol benefits skip a beat? Potential atrial fibrillation link
Moderate alcohol consumption may be a double-edged sword when it comes to heart health, according to; recent meta-analysis published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

ColoPrint: A new way to predict progression of colon cancer?
Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. Has developed a genetic test that may predict which stage II and III colon cancer patients are most likely to experience a recurrence following surgery.

Younger women should be screened for osteoporosis
Perhaps the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) had Gwyneth Paltrow in mind when it updated the guidelines for assessing osteoporosis to recommend screening younger women who present the same risk factors as 65 year-old white women.


Follow-up lymph node dissection may not be necessary for breast cancer patients with negative “sentinel node” biopsy
Sometimes the first time's a charm, at least when it comes to breast cancer biopsies.

NYT op-ed is a shot in the right direction
ACSH staffers were pleased to read an op-ed by Michael Willrich in today's The New York Times promoting the notion already long upheld by scientific communities that vaccines are a safe and extremely effective public health measure.

Don’t wean too early: Surgeon General recommends six months of breast-feeding
In a report issued Thursday, U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin reminded mothers about the importance of breast-feeding their children for the first six months while also outlining plans to expand and improve community programs that provide support and peer counseling for moms.

Rats are to humans as phthalates are to abnormal development: no relationship
Environmental Health News reports on a new study published in the journal Reproductive Toxicology alleging that exposure to the phthalate DINP (di-isononylphthalate) causes developmental abnormalities in rats.

Counting down to eliminate obesity, or not
Much like counting sheep won't get you to fall asleep any faster, counting calories at Taco Time won't get you to change your order from the Big Juan burrito combo meal to a bland garden salad any sooner either.

Anti-DDT campaign has no meat, unless you count baloney
The underlying science used by a coalition of global public health groups to promote the restriction and ultimate banning of DDT use for eradication of malaria is false, dangerous and misguided, a new study published in the journal Research and Reports in Tropical Medicine says.

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If there is a health scare today, the American Council on Science and Health will most likely have the answer by tomorrow; and for members it will appear in your e-mail. No effort on your part, except to read the answer. All that the ACSH is interested in are the facts and they are prepared to follow them wherever they lead. Who can ask for more?  Please Donate Now!

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American Council on Science and Health, 2011: Week Two

By Rich Kozlovich


This is week two in my effort to present enlightening information disseminated by the ACSH.  Information presented without a financial or philosophical ax to grind, other than to follow the facts wherever they lead. Dr Elizabeth Whelan (President and guiding light of the ACSH) was once charged with being a shill for her contributors by an environmental scare mongering group. Her response was that if they really believed that then they should write a check and see what happens. She never did get that check and the conversation ended.

As an FYI; each Friday I will post the information from the previous week and then link it in Green Notes on the next Friday, so that the Green Notes will always be a week behind.

Enjoy this week's contributions.

Calming Irritable Bowel Syndrome with an antibiotic
Affecting up to one in five Americans, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common gastrointestinal ailment that may cause abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea and constipation, particularly in women.

Experimental drug for triple-negative breast cancer may be a triple threat
Triple-negative breast cancer is typically difficult to treat because these cancer cells lack estrogen and progesterone receptors as well as large quantities of HER-2/neu protein, all of which are targets of existing drugs.

Chinese tobacco a veritable “fifth column” against anti-smoking efforts
Many people may find it surprising to learn that China's 300 million smokers consume a third of the world's cigarettes.

New indication for RA drug helps tackle disease
Based on phase III data from a recent study, the FDA has expanded the indication for Actemra, the rheumatoid arthritis (RA) drug tocilizumab.

Too much of a good thing? Fluoride water levels to be lowered
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the EPA have announced that they want the maximum allowable fluoride levels in municipal water supplies as recent data showed that more than one in three U.S. children have fluorosis, a condition caused by an excess of fluoride that can lead to tooth enamel mottling and discoloration.

Circumcision provides partial HPV protection
Recent findings suggest that male circumcision may offer some protection for the female partners of HPV-infected men.

Newer anti-psychotics may be over-prescribed
Newer antipsychotic drugs currently approved to treat schizophrenia are being increasingly prescribed for off-label indications, according to a study published in Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety.

A vegetarian food pyramid?
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) is calling for a vegetarian alternative to the food pyramid, claiming that adherence to the current food pyramid is not adequately combating obesity and diabetes, and is thus illegal.

Menthol isn’t harmful — smoking is
In our nation's capital today, hearings are taking place on whether the FDA should ban menthol flavoring in cigarettes. In an especially timely editorial on the subject in The Daily Caller, ACSH Medical Director Dr. Gilbert Ross notes that "no toxicity is specifically attributed to menthol." It's not the smoking of menthol cigarettes, he says, that is the problem, but the smoking of cigarettes per se.

Not so depressing: Prozac for stroke patients?
Yesterday brought news, first reported in the medical journal Lancet Neurology, that patients suffering a stroke recovered better when they were prescribed fluoxetine, the anti-depressant medication more commonly known by its trade name Prozac, than if they were prescribed a placebo.

Antibodies from H1N1 survivors may be useful
The Journal of Experimental Medicine has just published a study with a striking and unexpected finding: antibodies from the blood of recovered victims of the 2009 epidemic of H1N1 flu virus ("swine" flu) protect against many other forms of the flu, including nearly all H1N1 strains from the past and Avian flu.

Letters on smokeless tobacco and fluorosis
ACSH takes great pride in the distinction won by our remarkable roster of friends and advisors. Their knowledge and insight informs our work. Today we take delight in offering the perspectives of two men who contacted us about recent subjects of our Dispatch.

Pregnant women lie about smoking while smoking parents put children at risk for high blood pressure
Pregnant women who smoke are ashamed to admit it.

BPA, phthalates falsely incriminated in junk science studies
In a confusing study from the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, researchers compared 71 women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a hormonal disorder affecting up to ten percent of women of reproductive age, to 100 healthy women of the same age and weight and found that women with PCOS had higher levels of bisphenol A (BPA) in their blood.

Trust Us: if you’re over 60, get your shingles vaccine
Shingles is an often painful and blistering skin rash caused by the varicella-zoster virus - the same virus responsible for chickenpox - and is most common in people over 50.

New study pregnant with anti-chemical quackery
An outlandish study from professors at the University of California, San Francisco, published today in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, reports that almost pregnant women harbor at least one out of 163 different "potentially harmful" chemicals in their blood, urine or serum.

Can you see me now? Incidence of AMD declines
The incidence of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of vision loss in people over the age of 50 - a result of damage to the center of the retina – has decreased in the last 15 years.

Trials for new malaria vaccine instill hope
After reporting yesterday on the looming threat of the spread of a drug-resistant form of falciparum malaria, we now bring brighter news of two phase II trials indicating that a leading candidate malaria vaccine (RTS,S/AS01E) provides protection against the parasitic disease for at least 15 months after inoculation.

Prescription drugs face acetaminophen restrictions
Acetaminophen, the key ingredient used in over-the-counter (OTC) drugs like Tylenol and Nyquil, will be limited to only 325 milligrams per dose in prescription painkillers such as Vicodin and Percocet, the FDA announced yesterday.

Another u-turn in the controversy over antibiotics for ear infections in children
To prescribe or not prescribe? That is the question that pediatricians have been grappling with over many years as they debate whether to use antibiotics to treat acute otitis media, or ear infections, in toddlers or whether to adhere to the "watch and wait" approach.

______________________________________________________________
If there is a health scare today, the American Council on Science and Health will most likely have the answer by tomorrow; and for members it will appear in your e-mail. No effort on your part, except to read the answer. All that the ACSH is interested in are the facts and they are prepared to follow them wherever they lead. Who can ask for more?  Please Donate Now!


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