Ronald McDonald might want to seek legal counsel from Joe Camel in light of efforts by Bill Lockyer, attorney general of California, to label chips and fries with the warning, \This product contains a chemical known to the state of California to cause cancer."" In a debate more heated than vats of boiling oil, the food industry and U.S. Food and Drug Administration have taken action to prevent the cautionary label from appearing, and have thereby endangered consumer health.
The debate hinges on the presence of the chemical acrylamide, proven to cause cancer and birth defects in laboratory animals, in both fries and potato chips. The food industry accurately maintains that animal tests do not directly translate to humans, but this fact overlooks the ethical restrictions of performing experiments on humans. The mere possibility that the term ""cancer sticks"" could extend to fries spotlights the duty of the food industry to detach loyalty from the almighty dollar and concentrate on consumer health.
However, since current laws only regulate chemicals introduced in food, the food industry wants acrylamide, which forms only when starchy foods undergo heating, to remain unrestricted. This loophole enables the food industry to shirk responsibility for regulating and labeling a carcinogen the Environmental Protection Agency has regulated for 13 years.
But the food industry will gladly place consumers on the frontline to defend their baseline product. According to the research firm NPD Group, french fries rank No. 1 among the most consumed foods in restaurants. Considering that the consumption per capita of cigarettes dropped over 50 percent following the surgeon general's condemnation in 1964, a similar warning for fries and chips could spell doom for some food companies.
Still, fries claim a supersized portion of the food industry and the likelihood that Americans will completely kick the habit remains scant. Most consumers realize that fries and potato chips laden with trans fats, sodium and simple carbohydrates do not compose the basis of a healthy diet, but they consume them nonetheless. The cautionary label has the potential to facilitate a reevaluation of healthy food choices, but does not preclude future consumption.
In partial compliance to Lockyer's demand to either regulate or label products with acrylamide, some food companies such as Frito-Lay have invested in research to discover ways to reduce acrylamide levels. As a partner with an association of a dozen food companies searching for a solution, Professor Michael Pariza of the university's Food Microbiology and Toxicology Department cautions, ""Anybody who thinks that companies can turn on a dime and fix this thing is wrong.""
Despite the presence of acrylamide, the urgency of discouraging over consumption of fries, chips and other nutritionally deficient foods has never been so pertinent. Two-thirds of North American deaths share a common link to nutritional habits. The fiscal implications of treating health problems related to poor nutrition could verily bankrupt our nation. In order to improve health, consumers should bite the hand that feeds them and reclaim the liberty of unfettered nutritional information.
The legal proceedings surrounding acrylamide remain isolated in California, but the chemical exists and endangers all humans-and all Wisconsin Badgers-unilaterally. The food industry has already issued forth a battalion of advocacy groups to refute medical evidence and ensure consumer loyalty. But the truth behind cigarettes put Joe Camel in the big house and should incite Ronald McDonald to quit hiding behind his golden arches or face a similar fate.
opinion@dailycardinal.com.
