For some comic relief applied with a dose of common sense, we recommend Deborah Blum s recent blog entry over at the Public Library of Science online. In Chemical-Free Crazies, Blum makes much of the absurdity inherent in advertising claims like chemical-free minerals and chemical-free chickens.
For some comic relief applied with a dose of common sense, we recommend Deborah Blum s recent blog entry over at the Public Library of Science online. In Chemical-Free Crazies, Blum makes much of the absurdity inherent in advertising claims like chemical-free minerals and chemical-free chickens. While admitting that she may drive her own family to distraction with her tic-like correction of such claims, she explains,
Unfortunately, our careless promotion of chemical-free contributes to public misunderstanding of the chemical-everything nature of our world. It plays to overwrought fears, making chemical synonymous with evil. And by doing so, it cheats people of a real appreciation of the wonderfully complex, beautiful and fundamental chemical design by which our universe exists.
