Big, Complex, Scary Words: The Rise of Chemophobia in America

The term "Chemophobia" has only been around for some 50 years (Chin, Flood, & Petrun, 2015). However, the fear of chemicals most likely runs back further than just a half century. Humans have been making synthetic chemicals for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Plastic, as an example, was invented in 1856, and it's use quickly spread across the industrial world (The Patent Office, 1876). And even before things like plastic were made, chemicals were being regulated in things like our food and medicine by organizations like the FDA, which had its beginnings in 1848 (Office of the Commissioner, n.d.).

But before we cover all of this history, and how it leads into the modern day, let's first cover some definitions. What exactly are chemicals? And what are the differences between "natural" and "synthetic" ones?

A "chemical," is defined as "a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties" (Hale, 2013). Simply put, that means that anything that is made up of atoms and cannot be separated by physical actions (like, for example, trying to run them through a strainer) is a chemical. Water is, in fact, a chemical. A diamond is a chemical. Table salt is a chemical. Everything we see around us a chemical in some form or another. Only things that are not made up of matter at all, such as light, are not chemicals.

By this definition, the only separating "natural" from "synthetic" chemicals is how they are procured. A natural chemical is a chemical obtained through completely natural means. Oranges naturally contain Vitamin C, known by its chemical name as "ascorbic acid." Humans did not create the Vitamin C found in oranges we eat. However, Vitamin C can also be chemically synthesized from glucose (another "natural" chemical). The only difference between this Vitamin C and the Vitamin C found in an orange is that this Vitamin C was created by humans through non-natural processes (Reeser, 2013).

Here is a good diagram to show this distinction (it also includes ethanol, "the alcohol that gets your drunk so that means it's objectively more natural and more safe than other types of alcohol")

That's it.

It's the same Vitamin C, it's still just as essential for all of us, and our bodies will use it in the exact same way as it would as if we had just eaten the orange.

So why do people still separate natural and synthetic? Why are people afraid to use the word "chemical?" How did this come about?

There are several main players in the game of spreading something like chemophobia, and it all begins with the individuals who believe it. These people come in all forms, from normal individuals who want to be "healthy" to parents who simply want the best for their children (Chin, Flood, & Petrun, 2015).

By extension, the other main players in this game are the people who want individuals to believe in chemophobia. These people are often indifferent on the subject they write about, but simply choose to indulge in spreading misinformation due to external motivations, mainly in the form of social or financial gain (Marsh, 2016). For instance, this article on BPA being present in paper reciepts was not written by a chemist, but by a doctor. Another article about how beauty products could be killing you was written, again, not by a chemist, but by a personal injury lawyer. These people have no interest in the chemistry behind their claims, only that they make money or gain popularity.

But that still doesn't answer the question of "why?"

Researchers have done many, many studies to try to answer this question, and it seems to be linked to one thing...

Education.

Studies done involving mothers of school aged-children found that the more scientific language and jargon was present in chemical information and explantions, the more likely they were to develop negative feelings towards it. (Chin, Flood, & Petrun, 2015). Other studies done on the public found that those who were "suspicious" of chemistry (out of five groups surveyed) reported that 73% agreed that natural chemicals were safer than man made chemicals, compared to an average of 41% in the other groups, and that 50% believed that ALL chemicals are harmful compared to a 20% average from the other groups (TNS BMRB & The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2015).

These same "suspicious" people also reported that they were more interested in chemistry that only impacted their lives, such as food processing or chemicals used in everyday living.

I myself have even found that chemophobia is mostly related to things that go into our bodies. After going to Subway to get a delicious meatball sandwich, it strikes me that their motto is "eat fresh," referring to a want for its consumers to believe they are being healthier by eating "fresh" and "natural" ingredients. I even found that the X2 green tea I had bought from that very same Subway was covered in designs and marketing that showed off just how "natural" it was.

The ingredients on the can are listed as follows:
"Filtered Water, Cane Sugar, Glucose, Clover Honey, Natural Lemon Flavor, Green Tea, Citric Acid, Ribose, Black Tea, Salt."

Seems natural to me. Must be healthy. There's nothing else in that can.

But we can't just use one example to show off how natural a completely "natural" product is.

Let's move to something even more natural than a canned drink. What about a banana? A fruit grown on a tree, picked, and shipped to a store near you. Can't get more natural than that. So let's see what Kennedy (2016) has to say and take a look at all of the ingredients inside of a naturally grown banana.

Oh...









But I digress.

Where we stand today on chemicals is like all other misunderstood scientific topics. From GMOs to climate change, it's directly related to how educated people are on the subject at hand. Most of the population responded that the word "chemical" only applied to things that were synthetic, or that were toxic or harmful to people and the environment. (TNS BMRB & The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2015). Alongside this, 40% of the population agreed that "natural" chemicals are safer than synthetic chemicals.

How I see things, this is far too much of the population. Words like natural and synthetic chemicals are pointless. Chemicals are chemicals. Any and all chemicals of a certain type respond the exact same way, whether or not they were made by humans or made by nature. This idea of a "natural" lifestyle is only damaging to the scientific community, and impedes potential progress made. The most important thing that people need to realize is that the dosage makes the poison. Anything in sufficient amounts is deadly. The fact that, for example, certain plastics are found on receipts isn't something to worry about, as you only come into contact with this receipt for mere seconds, and only the tips of your fingers ever touch it. The amount of plastic you take in is comparable to nothing.


References and Websites

Office of the Commissioner. (n.d.). The History of FDA's Fight for Consumer Protection and Public Health. Retrieved from https://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/History/default.htm

Chin, H., Flood, T., & Petrun, E. (2015). Is it “Chemophobia” or Fear of the Unknown? IFIC Foundation Study Gets to Heart of Moms’ Fears About Food. Food Insight, 1–3. Retrieved from https://login.proxy006.nclive.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=109796441&site=eds-live&scope=site

Marsh, S. (2016, September 28) The rise of 'chemophobia' and what to do about it. Retrieved from https://coach.nine.com.au/2016/09/28/15/28/the-rise-of-chemophobia

TNS BMRB, The Royal Society of Chemistry (2015) Public attitudes to chemistry. Retrieved from http://www.rsc.org/globalassets/04-campaigning-outreach/campaigning/public-attitudes-to-chemistry/public-attitudes-to-chemistry-research-report.pdf

Greger, M. (2018, Novermber 28) BPA on reciepts: Getting under your skin.. Retrieved from https://www.care2.com/greenliving/bpa-on-receipts-getting-under-your-skin.html

The Patent Office (1876, July) Patents for inventions. Abridgments of specifications, Page 80. London, England: The Commissioners of Patents for Inventions.
https://books.google.com/books?id=0nCoU-2tAx8C&pg=PA255#v=onepage&q&f=false

Kennedy, J. (2016, June 10) ‘Chemophobia’ is irrational, harmful – and hard to break. Retrieved from https://aeon.co/ideas/chemophobia-is-irrational-harmful-and-hard-to-break

Reeser, D. (2013, April 10) Natural vs synthetic chemicals is a gray matter. Retrieved from https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/natural-vs-synthetic-chemicals-is-a-gray-matter/

Hale, B. (2013) Necessary beings: An essay on ontology, modality, and the relations between them. Ney York, NY: Oxford University Press. Available from https://books.google.com/books?id=L7poAgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

Console, R. (n. y., March 5) The ugly truth about beauty products: What's in your cosmetics could be killing you. Retrieved from https://www.myinjuryattorney.com/law-blog/the-ugly-truth-about-beauty-products-whats-in-your-cosmetics-could-be-killing-you/