SIRC Media Watch Archive
Articles of Note – September 1999

According to the Federal Consumer Product Safety Commission parents should never sleep in the same bed with infants or toddlers under the age of 2, because sleeping together poses a significant risk of accidental smothering or strangling. In response, Abraham B. Bergman, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington, said "There is no way on this earth that a U.S. government official should make pronouncements about child-care practices based on a single study." New York Times

Parental fears that could kill our children. Figures released by the Department of Health show that 88 per cent of all children were vaccinated this summer but there has still been a severe drop in numbers over the past five years and we're a long way from the 95 per cent said to be necessary to ensure there will be no epidemics of dangerous childhood diseases at the start of the millennium. Express

India GE Seeds Poll. Green activists in Europe and the US have been urging their collegues to 'rig' a poll being conducted on the web site of The Times of India. Even this eco-imperialist tactic, however, seems to have failed. The majority still voted against a ban on genetically engineered seeds. Times of India

The worried well. Patients who over-research their ailments sometimes do more harm than good. Salon Magazine

British Science in Deep Decline.  Britain is turning into a third- rate country for scientific research because of years of under-investment and a public mistrust of the new gene technology, says one of the country's leading industrialists. BBC

Friendly Fire  Have stray bullets from the 'Frankenfood' affair killed off a force for Good? New Scientist

Health inequalities 'kill thousands'. Thousands of people are dying of heart disease because of health inequalities, according to a major statistical survey. BBC News

The biotechnology backlash brewing in Britain has culminated into one good reason for British biologist Roger Gosden relaunch his career on the other side of the Atlantic. Globe and Mail, Canada

It was once bad for you.  Like a character in Woody Allen's "Sleeper," I've awakened from a decade long sleep to discover that almost everything I was told may be bad for me is now healthy. Herbert London

Genetically Modified Confusion.  The hullaballoo in Europe about genetically engineered foods is starting to spill over into American markets -- not in consumer opinion but in strategic choices being made by American producers. Washington Post

Worrying about GM food threatens our mental health.  People are being psychologically damaged by fears over the safety of GM food. Express