A myth of chemical free products

Nowadays the term "chemical-free" is used by many manufacturers to attract customers. They want customers to believe that their product is totally natural and hence chemical-free which in turn implies that it is safe to use. First, if anything that includes natural ingredients doesn't mean it is chemical-free. Second, having chemicals in any product doesn't make it by default harmful. Finally, it is impossible to have any chemical-free consumable or nonconsumable material. Nature contains many chemicals and many complex chemical reactions happen in nature continuously, many of these reactions (photosynthesis) and chemicals (amino acids) are very essential for our survival. The tagline, chemical-free has become a selling point for many processed food items, beauty products, and many other consumable items. This way of advertisement seems to be working because many people do feel that all chemicals are by default harmful and because of this the phrase chemical-free works like magic on their psyche. People buy and use these products without even checking the validity of the claims made by manufacturers. Actually, any processed food, cosmetic, or any product that is packaged and sold in stores undergoes some processing. All processing techniques involve the use of some chemical either to increase the shelf life of the product (preservatives), improve texture, flavor, appearance, etc. Some chemicals are added to enhance the nutritional value of products (like vitamins in fruit juice and milk, iodine in salt, etc.). People forget that even water (H2O) is a chemical. So, it is impossible to find any chemical-free product. Calling any product chemical-free is an absolute lie and is an attempt to purposely misguide customers, it is a way to create and make use of chemophobia to sell products.

But then why this phrase is used in so many advertisements? Why it works so effectively? Why do people get attracted to so-called chemical-free products? Maybe the main reason behind this is the overuse of some chemicals in day-to-day life which cause some harmful side effects on humans and some unfortunate pharmaceutical and chemical disasters like Bisphenol-A and Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984), side effects associated with some medicines, and the use of chemical weapons. Maybe all these things have created a chemophobia, a fear of all chemicals in people's minds. But the truth is there are good (harmless) chemicals and bad (harmful) chemicals. The effect of bad chemicals gets highlighted more often in the news which helps to create chemophobia in people's minds. Poor knowledge about science and its application makes this situation more complex. Due to the emergence of the processed food industry nowadays people are consuming unprecedented amounts of processed food. We consume most of the crops that are genetically modified. Everything we consume or use contains some chemical, which has created fear of overexposure to some harmful chemicals in people's minds. This is rational and there is a very good reason behind this fear. Things like cosmetics, genetically modified crops, and processed food are launched without extensive testing on humans. Many products for human consumption don't have to go through rigorous and extensive clinical trials like pharmaceutical drugs. Most products (even though consumed by a large section of the population) don't require FDA approval. Sometimes harmful chemicals end up in these products because of oversight or pure greed to ignore potential hazards associated with them. This puts many people at risk by exposing them to cocktails of many chemicals whose actual effects are unknown. However, chemophobia is not the solution to this problem. Proper testing, monitoring, and awareness about chemicals are the solutions.

Actually, not all chemicals are harmful, in the same way as not all bugs are dangerous. We have many friendly bacteria inside our body which help us to digest food and remain healthy. Similarly, there are many chemicals that are essential for our life and we need to consume them (like water, vitamins, proteins, etc.). The basic building block of our body is an amino acid which again is a chemical. At the same time, not all chemicals are good for our health. There are many chemicals that are harmful or even poisonous, and we need to stay away from them. Some chemicals are very harmful to our environment also, we need to monitor their consumption and disposal. Heavy commercialization of consumer products and tough competition have resulted in the use of many cheap (but not necessarily safe) chemicals in many businesses and this is what makes some products harmful to our health and environment. Poor monitoring and lack of effective regulations make the situation worse. Excessive use of anything is bad, if anyone is eating a lot of processed food it is going to affect their health today or tomorrow, similarly, too much sugar or oil is bad. Once we understand this simple rule then I think it will be easy for everyone to strike a balance in their life. We are surrounded by chemicals and we are made from chemicals, so technically it's not even possible to live in a chemical-free environment but we can try to create a safe and healthy environment by eliminating or regulating use of harmful chemicals.

Rather than trying to misguide people by claiming chemical-free products companies should try to educate their customers about their products. They should try to give as much information as possible about the contents of their product. The effects of many commonly used chemicals on humans should be studied and published regularly for everyone to read. There is no harm in labeling GMO products, let people decide what they want to buy. This will help people to decide if that product is suitable for them or not, this will work in the same way as doctors decide if certain medicine is suitable for a particular patient or not. Consumers should have access to all facts related to the product and then base their decision on those facts rather than believing some myths or misguiding advertisements. It's impossible to live in a chemical-free world but with proper chemical balance, we can make our planet a safe and beautiful place for all.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Links:
1. BPA Among Toxic Chemicals Driving Up Health Care Costs, Experts Say
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster

3. How did Vioxx debacle happen?