What You Should Know and Probably Don't About the State of Toxicology in the U.S.

Imagine you live in a world where toxins are everywhere. You breathe them while you sleep, eat them, drink them, rub them all over your body. Every product you buy comes with toxins embedded in the plastics, metals, fabrics that leech into your environment and body. You mix multiple toxins together and consume them in every possible way over the course of your day. Infants are formed in a pool of toxic chemicals circulating in every mother's blood stream and nourished by toxic breast milk. From the moment of conception to the moment of death, cells are living and growing surrounded by numerous toxins that interrupt and hinder natural cellular functioning.

Well, that was scary...good thing we live in a country where the FDA and EPA test every chemical before they allow industries to mass-produce them and distribute them to millions of unknowing consumers. Ha, oh wait, they don't! Of the 85,000 chemicals used in industry these days, only 200 have ever been tested for safety. 

But, isn't that their job?! Aren't they supposed to be keeping us safe from harmful chemicals? This isn't China where regulations are lax! Why isn't anyone doing something? 

Currently in the United States, there are few laws requiring the government to intervene in industry and even fewer resources to undertake this giant task. Solid toxicological research that could impact legislature takes years of pilot studies, animal models, and longitudinal human studies. For ethical and financial reasons, it is an almost impossible feat that has been largely ignored by politicians and consumers. The task has fallen to small research teams in underfunded universities with high risks of low internal validity. Funding is difficult to come by and more times than not this funding is influenced by political and monetary motivations which add another layer of obscurity to this mess. 

How do we fix this problem, become informed consumers, and protect ourselves and our families from the dangers of toxins that are inside us and all around us? Time to wipe the Vaseline off the lenses, open our eyes, and get to the bottom of this mess...