President’s Cancer Panel confirmed that exposure to toxic chemicals is an important but under-recognized risk factor for cancer

When I was back in the USA early in February, I noted that big food and agricultural firms are funding a campaign to claim that corn sugars and synthetics are equal to all other sugars–i.e. are no more addictive or bad for you than cane sugar, for example. I think anything that comes from these agribusiness groups needs to be questioned. The science they use is not sound. Here is a letter from Mom’s Rising that says the same thing.–KAS

Dear Kevin,

Cancer may seem like a huge monster that we can’t do anything about. This year, we have a way to get that monster out from the under bed.

In its annual report to the President last year, the President’s Cancer Panel confirmed that exposure to toxic chemicals is an important but under-recognized risk factor for cancer. The Panel urged President Obama to “most strongly use the power of your office” to eliminate exposure to cancer-causing chemicals.[1] But one year later, nothing has changed.

We can change the foods we eat, the products we buy, but it’s not enough. Even if you’re fortunate enough to be able to make those lifestyle changes, chemicals are so ubiquitous that you and your children will still encounter them at your schools, workplaces, at their friends homes: the list goes on. That’s why we can’t just fix our lifestyles; we must fix our system.

The chemical regulation system in the U.S. is out of control, dangerous, and deadly. With a whopping 300 contaminants detected in the umbilical cord blood of newborns, our environment is causing babies to be born pre-polluted. [2]

It’s time for President Obama to take strong action to eliminate cancer-causing chemicals in our daily lives. With one click, you can sign on to our petition for President Obama that reads:

Please make it a top priority for your Administration to create a cancer prevention plan that stops the unnecessary use of cancer-causing chemicals in products used in America every day.

Sign on today!

http://action.momsrising.org/go/724?akid=2564.90096.nmMGQb&t=4

The Obama Administration must support an overhaul of the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA) the 35-year-old ineffective environmental regulations that allow chemicals to be added to products we use without first testing whether they are safe to human health.

Our broken system leaves us exposed to countless toxic chemicals every day, and this constant exposure is increasing our cancer risk. 41 percent of Americans will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes, while 21 percent of Americans will die from it. Cancer is the leading cause of death from disease in children younger than 15. [3]

Chemical reform is a chance to reclaim Environmental Health as a human right. It’s time to greatly reduce the personal, and national, tragedy that is cancer. Lets stand up and say this is for my family, for my children, for the world they will inherit, for the lives they will lead.

Sign on to our petition today:

http://action.momsrising.org/go/724?akid=2564.90096.nmMGQb&t=6

And please pass this link along to all of your friends and family. Together we can work to defeat cancer.

—Claire, Sarah, Kristin and the whole MomsRising.org team

P.S. Tell us why you want toxins out of your family’s life. The personal experiences and thoughts of real moms and dads across this country make a big impact on legislators and can help change the way our country handles toxins. Share your experience today.

P.P.S Thank you to our partners the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families Coalition, for all they do for a cancer free world.

[1] Safer States, “Cancer and the Environment: The President’s Cancer Panel”: http://action.momsrising.org/go/725?akid=2564.90096.nmMGQb&t=11

[2] Nicholas D. Kristof, “New Alarm Bells About Chemicals and Cancer”: http://action.momsrising.org/go/726?akid=2564.90096.nmMGQb&t=13

[3] National Cancer Institute, “President’s Cancer Panel”: http://action.momsrising.org/go/727?akid=2564.90096.nmMGQb&t=15