I did a google.com search on dioxin and went to the first web site it pulled
up (*usually* the most relevant). It was full of pseudo-science and said a
number of things that didn't jive with what Dr. Steingraber has said (which
makes me question the web site, not Dr. S.).
For example:
-------------------------------------
How are we exposed to dioxin?
The major sources of dioxin are in our diet. Since dioxin is fat-soluble, it
bioaccumulates up the food chain and it is mainly (97.5%) found in meat and
dairy products (beef, dairy products, milk, chicken, pork, fish and eggs in
that order... see chart below). In fish alone, these toxins bioaccumulate up
the food chain so that dioxin levels in fish are 100,000 times that of the
surrounding environment.
In EPA's dioxin report, they refer to dioxin as hydrophobic. This means that
dioxin, when it settles on water bodies, will avoid the water and find a
fish to go in to. The same goes for other wildlife. Dioxin will find animals
to go in to, working its way to the top of the food chain.
Men have no ways to get rid of dioxin other than letting it break down
according to its chemical half-lives. Women, on the other hand, have two
ways which it can exit their bodies:
It crosses the placenta... into the growing infant;
It is present in the fatty breast milk, which is also a route of exposure
which doses the infant, making breast-feeding for non-vegetarian mothers
quite hazardous.
--------------------------------------
Since cows are very low on the food chain, why are beef, dairy products, and
'milk' considered the 3 top sources of dioxins for humans? I can see how it
might work with fish, where a top carnivorous fish may be six or eight steps
up the food chain from the plants. But cows are just one step up from
plants. Also, notice the conclusion about breastfeeding, that it is "quite
hazardous for non-vegetarian mothers". So -- the alternative is to give the
baby formula made from cows' milk? But cows' milk is one of the top sources
of dioxin? This makes no sense.
This website also lists the negative consequences of dioxins without any
evidence that they are related whatsoever. It's like blaming school
violence on lack of prayer.
Are there *good* websites with accurate information about dioxin?
Kathy Dettwyler
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