About the American Council on Science and Health
The American Council on Science and Health is a pro-science consumer advocacy organization based in New York City. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and if you want to make a tax-deductible donation you can do so here.
Our Mission
The Council was founded in 1978 by a group of scientists with a singular focus: to publicly support evidence-based science and medicine. Then, as now, too much of what passes as “news” is little more than hype based on exaggerated findings. Activist groups have targeted GMOs, vaccines, conventional agriculture, nuclear power, natural gas, and “chemicals,” while peddling health scares and fad diets. Worse, they have attacked the credibility of academic and private sector scientists, undermining the integrity of the scientific enterprise, by claiming unless they are funded by the government their work is illegitimate.
You may be here because you have decided it's time to fight back. We agree. The Council’s primary aim is to inform the public and policymakers of good science while debunking the junk. We serve as trusted guides in a media landscape that too often provides confusing and contradictory information.
Our History
The Council has a long and successful track record. We have long warned the public of the dangers of smoking, and we were the driving force behind seatbelt laws that save children. Famously, when NRDC manufactured the “alar on apples” scare, we showed it to be exaggerated hype. Our warnings about “chemophobia” were portrayed in the ground-breaking documentary Big Fears, Little Risks, narrated by Walter Cronkite. And our science publications have informed key policymakers for decades. When media physician Dr. Oz continued to foist off "miracle" foods and supplements on the public, Council friends and members spearheaded the letter to Columbia University demanding he be removed from their faculty, which got nationwide attention.
Our Team
We employ a full-time staff who are Ph.D.s and M.D.s. Supporting our work is a nucleus of 300 physicians, scientists, and policy experts on our Board of Scientific Advisors, and they review the Council’s reports and participate in Council seminars, media communications, and other educational activities.
Our Work
The Council accomplishes its goals by producing a wide range of publications, including peer-reviewed reports on health and environmental topics: we write news articles on this site, which are also sent out in a daily Dispatch newsletter, and we frequently write for the BBC, Economist, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal; we appear regularly on television and radio; we advise policymakers in legislative and regulatory hearings; and we engage in public debates. Additionally, The Council hosts press conferences and provides an in-house internship program for students in the health sciences.
What People Say About Us
“ACSH knows the difference between a health scare and a health threat.”
– The Wall Street Journal
“By increasing our understanding of complex issues, you help Americans make sound decisions about their well-being and influence public policy.”
– George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States
“Putting health risks in proper perspective – and educating journalists, legislators, and others about them – is what the American Council on Science and Health is all about”
– Steve Forbes
“As a medical doctor, I know that scientific claims have to be backed up by evidence -- but that unscientific claims are made by many activist groups who want regulations or government spending that advances their own agenda. Luckily, there is one group that specializes in separating the science and the nonsense. That's the American Council on Science and Health.”
– Dr. Tom Price, U.S. House of Representatives
“ACSH fights the worry. With the help of ACSH, we don’t have to worry about political threats to our health”
– P.J. O’Rourke
“When scares cross my desk, I often turn to the American Council on Science and Health."
– John Stossel
“ACSH brings to the table good common sense about food and health.”
– Julia Child
Why donate to ACSH?
We cannot accomplish our critical work without your financial support. If you believe that evidence-based science and medicine, sensible health advice, technological progress, and consumer freedom need protection from the nonstop assault of unscientific activist groups, then please consider donating to us.
Your tax-deductible gift would go to work instantly in promoting a pro-science, pro-technology, and pro-free market approach to some of the most important issues facing our society. Together, we can make our world a better place.
Click here to donate by credit card.
