Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal gets two enthusiastic thumbs up for this -
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal announced today that he has asked several companies -- packaging, beverage and food manufacturers -- to provide details about an apparent campaign to use fear tactics, political manipulation and misleading marketing to fight regulation of bisphenol A (BPA).
Blumenthal has long been an advocate against the dangerous endocrine disruptor bisphenol A in his state, and other CT legislators and public health advocates have also signed onto this effort. They are requesting information from the industry regarding the recent North American Metal Packaging Alliance public relations strategy meeting which I wrote about here.
Published reports indicate that, at a recent meeting, an industry representative described the "holy grail" spokesperson for BPA as a "pregnant young mother who would be willing to speak around the country about the benefits of BPA." Blumenthal said such tactics, if proven true, would be astonishing and appalling in light of mounting scientific evidence about the dangers of BPA, especially to children. [...]
"We are demanding details about industry giants plotting to use deceptive, and possibly illegal, tactics to blur the truth about BPA dangers. This misinformation campaign could menace public health by confusing consumers and convincing them to ignore mounting scientific evidence that BPA, even in minute doses, endangers children and pregnant women."
Just last week, new studies were released linking BPA exposure to heart disease in women and fertility defects. Attorney General Blumenthal now joins the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Reps. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Bart Stupak (D-MI) in seeking information on the industry's fear tactics.
We'll leave the last word for now to Sarah Uhl, Coordinator of the Coalition for a Safe & Healthy Connecticut -
"If the canning industry spent less time trying to dupe pregnant women and more time switching to alternatives, we would have more safe products on store shelves right now." |
