As a toxicologist, I love writing about toxic substances, so I thought I would look for one associated with Thanksgiving. I failed. Many of our traditional Thanksgiving foods are not only non-toxic, but they are also healthy for you!
cranberries
A small study of the Thanksgiving cranberry raises the issue of when science in the public interest transitions from informing to advocacy and then to marketing.
Nearly 60 years ago, the first great chemical carcinogen scare put a damper on many folks' Thanksgiving celebrations. A chemical used in cultivating cranberries in the northwest was found to cause cancer at high doses in rodents, and the Federal health agency advised consumers to avoid cranberries. Utter nonsense, then and now.