Page 56 - Special Issue: Healthy Baby
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All Thumbs Book Reviews













                              The Fluoride Deception                     science, and eventually to change public opinion
                              by Christopher Bryson                      despite gruesome evidence of fluoride’s toxicity.
                              Seven Stories Press                           Before the days of environmental awareness,
                                                                         factories simply spewed their pollutants directly
                                  One  of  the  attractions  of  exploring  the  into the surrounding air, water and soil. The
                              Weston A. Price nutritional principles is the  industries essential to World War II created vast
                              happy frenzy of touting butter’s benefits to  amounts of toxic, fluoridated byproducts. The
                              friends and family. There is a real joy in sharing  Manhattan Project itself provided medical in-
                              kefir cultures, sauerkraut tricks and new soup  vestigators with mounting evidence of fluoride’s
                              recipes. Introducing loved ones to the idea that  toxicity. Though patriotic farmers wouldn’t sue
                              they (and their trusted doctors) have been duped  for damages during the war, afterwards farmers
                              by industry is a decidedly less agreeable aspect  tried to get some compensation for such problems
                              of our expanding awareness.                as “something is burning up the peach crops
                                  Fluoride’s long history in America is con-  around here, poultry died after an all-night thun-
                   Bryson  fusing and emotional. Most people won’t even  derstorm, fields are sometimes strewn with dead

                 presents     question fluoride’s role as a dental health aid.  cattle, and workers who ate the produce vomited
                    many      Enter Bryson’s exposé, The Fluoride Deception,  all night and into the next day.” Some cows be-
                              which reads like a mystery novel, and unflinch-
                                                                         came so crippled by the wartime pollution that
            examples of  ingly marches us through a scientific examination  they “grazed by crawling on their bellies.”
          the shattered       of fluoride’s known and suspected toxicity over     Workers in wartime industries were not
                lives and     the past 80 years. The story is exciting, appall-  protected from “gross violations of safety” so

                              ing, and at times simply incredible. It would  that most were exposed to dangerous levels of
               shattered  be comforting to write off such a longstanding  fluoride compounds. In fact, by the end of 1944,
               careers of     industry and government cover-up as a fanciful  two DuPont employees had died from fluoride
                    those     conspiracy. Yet, fully a third of the book is devot-  overdoses. The workers all knew these plants
                              ed to meticulously noted references to published,  were causing severe health problems like fibrotic
                scientists  suppressed, and recently declassified documents.  lungs and chemical burns, but it was all kept quiet
          who dared to            With so many wonderful new book titles  officially. Industry was terrified that the workers

                    speak     clamoring for our attention the question arises:  would find out how dangerous their jobs really
                                                                         were.
                              why should I read a book so potentially depress-

                honestly  ing—or infuriating—depending upon my consti-      Close to my home—where dentists are
               about the      tution? The answer quite simply: knowledge is  pushing hard for mandatory water fluoridation
         demonstrated         power. If it weren’t, industry wouldn’t have spent  this year—one farming family sued Reynolds
                              billions of dollars over the years shaping public  Metals in Portland, Oregon, in the 1950s for the

              hazards of  opinion to convince us that fluoride is beneficial  devastating health problems they experienced on
                ingesting     and even perhaps “essential.” Bryson thoroughly  their Troutdale ranch. Paul Martin’s cattle were

              fluoride in     documents the successful tactics of industry to  dying; they had badly mottled teeth, a clear sign
                              withhold safety information from workers, to  of fluoride poisoning. His young daughter be-
               any form.      protect itself from litigation, to skew government  came sore from walking and her ankles clicked.

         54                                         Wise Traditions
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