Public Health Heavily Influenced by Corporations Selling Forever Chemicals, Fossil Fuels & Ultra-Processed Food

Through the sale of fossil fuels, ultra-processed foods, and products containing ‘forever chemicals’ – so-called because they don’t break down in the environment – multinational corporations have a significant influence on public health. Science is increasingly demonstrating how exposure to these products is linked to millions of deaths worldwide every year. In an effort to conceal some of the most damning evidence, manufacturers have deliberately suppressed research that could otherwise have reduced their profits.

There is particular concern over the proliferation of ‘forever chemicals’ in the food supply. In recent years, significant increases in residues of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been found on fruits and vegetables sold in the European Union, for example. A large, complex group of synthetic chemicals that have been used in various consumer products since around the 1950s, the uses of PFAS include keeping food from sticking to packaging or cookware, making clothes and carpets resistant to stains, and creating firefighting foam. Research has associated these chemicals with renal cell carcinoma of the kidney among women, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma among men. There is also evidence linking them to thyroid cancer.

To read how PFAS have been detected in almost half of tap water samples in the United States, see this news story on our website.