[A-List] Popular front potential

[Anne Williamson]

Michael,

I think you are too modest in the potential allies to take this on......it's
horrible, many voices would
cry out if the information were distributed.  Big "if" on this side of the
pond.  BTW, the epidemic
of obesity in the US is linked to the enormous amount of hormones being
pumped into animals via
their feed, another "unmentionable."  Tyson is one of the worst offenders,
and since chicken is the
cheapest meat, obesity is markedly increasing among the poor.  And in young
women!  A trip to a
mall in a state like Arkansas is a real eye-opener.

Anne

----- Original Message -----
From: Keaney Michael <Michael.Keaney at mbs.fi>
To: A-List (E-mail) <a-list at lists.econ.utah.edu>
Sent: Monday, March 18, 2002 10:01 AM
Subject: [A-List] Popular front potential


Pollution and drug use, but what about genetically modified foodstuffs and
antibiotics in meat, pesticides in fruit and vegetables, etc. As reports
like this become more common there will be ample opportunity for a red-green
alliance to indict the status quo.


Huge rise in babies born with defects
Experts fear pollution and drug use may be causing abnormalities
By Jeremy Laurance Health Editor
The Independent, 18 March 2002

The number of babies born with certain types of abnormalities has increased
by up to 50 per cent in five years, research by a medical charity has found.

The Birth Defects Foundation (BDF) calculates that 45,000 babies are born
each year with defects ranging from spina bifida - an abnormality of the
spine - to prominent birthmarks or minor malformations of the hands or feet.

The total is six times higher than the Government's own figures for neonatal
abnormalities and amounts to one in 16 of all births. However, the Office of
National Statistics admits its own figures do not reflect the scale of the
problem.

No clear explanation for the phenomenon has emerged but the use of
recreational drugs by young mothers and an increase in oestrogen-like
substances in the diet are possible factors.

While some types of abnormalities are declining, the charity's figures
reveal a sharp rise in three specific defects - cleft lip or palate,
gastroschisis (abnormality of the abdominal wall) and hypospadias
(abnormality of the genitals).

The BDF will launch a campaign today to alert mothers to a five-point plan
to increase the chances of having a healthy baby by taking account of their
family medical history, taking folic acid supplements, reducing alcohol,
stopping smoking and eating a balanced diet.

Sheila Brown, chief executive of the BDF, said: "The first question asked by
any new mother is: 'Is my baby OK?' If the answer is no it is a dreadful
shock. A defect does not just affect the baby - it is for life."

Professor Michael Patton, BDF medical director and head of medical genetics
at St George's Hospital, Tooting, said the figure of one in 16 babies born
with a defect was "frequently used in genetic circles". Research for the BDF
showed the incidence of cleft lip or palate, requiring several operations to
repair, had risen from 5.9 cases per 10,000 births in 1995 to 9.2 cases in
1999.

Hypospadias, a condition affecting boys in which the opening of the penis is
situated on the underside of the shaft, had risen from 7.5 to 8.5 cases. In
severe cases, the opening is situated so far back there is doubt about the
gender of the child.

Professor Patton said: "Some substances in the diet, such as soya, contain
phyto- oestrogens which it has been suggested could have a feminising effect
on males."

The feminising effect of environmental pollutants was further highlighted
yesterday in the Independent on Sunday, which reported on how fish in
British rivers are developing female characteristics.

Gastroschisis, a weakness in the abdominal wall that leaves the baby with
its intestines protruding at birth, had risen from 1.3 to 1.9 cases. The
condition has been rising in both the US and the UK and is five times more
common in teenage mothers than other age groups.

Professor Patton said: "One idea has been that perhaps it is the use of
recreational drugs by teenage mothers that is behind this rise.

"I believe that the majority of malformations are not caused by the
environment but are dependent on genetic factors. Where we see fluctuations
there may be an environmental factor."

He said the "great success story" had been with spina bifida. By noting the
trends and relating them to diet, the link with folic acid had been
discovered, which was now given to all pregnant women. The incidence of the
condition has been reduced by 60 per cent.

Figures collected by the Office for National Statistics show there were
7,284 children born in 2000 notified to the National Congenital Anomaly
System. Planning for schools, hospitals and other services was based on
official figures but these "seriously underestimated the true position," the
BDF said.

The system was set up in the wake of the thalidomide scandal in the 1960s to
serve as an early-warning system for environmental causes of birth defects.
Thalidomide, an anti-nausea drug for pregnant women, was prescribed to
thousands of mothers-to-be before it was identified as a cause of limb
defects.

Ms Brown, of the BDF, said the Office for National Statistics relied on
voluntary reporting by doctors and midwives of defects recognised at birth.

Many defects were not reported and others did not become apparent until the
child was older. "Doctors are dealing every day with these conditions, yet
the way they are counting them is irrevocably flawed," she said.

A spokesman for the statistics office said: "It has long been recognised
that there is under-reporting. Efforts are being made to improve the
system."

Full article at:
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health/story.jsp?story=275758

Michael Keaney
Mercuria Business School
Martinlaaksontie 36
01620 Vantaa
Finland

michael.keaney at mbs.fi