208 Chapter 9
residueof pesticidesin theirfood.Thesamecannotbe saidof the toxinscontainedin
‘natural’ food—as any numberof...rawmilkpoisoningsin the UnitedStatescontinually
demonstrate.” Spectercursesthis popularbeliefthat“Civilizationcausescancer,” as this
beliefincreasinglymotivateshundredsof thousandsof peoplein the Westto judgecivil-
izationas beingsomethingfor whichtheyoughtto feel guilty.^52
CancerHysteriaWrongin BothNaziGermanyand ModernUSA
In 1993the teamof GeorgeMasonUniversitycommunicationsprofessorSamuelRob-
ert LichterandformerSmithCollegepoliticalscientistStanleyRothmanperformedtwo
surveys,one of environmentalactivistsand the otherof a randomsampleof 260 members
of the AmericanAssociationof CancerResearchers(AACR),specialistsin the scientific
studyof cancer,knownas oncology.Sixty-threepercentof respondentsin the AACR
surveywereacademicians,46 percenttaughtin medicalschools,17 percentwereof other
academicdisciplines,13 percentworkedin governmentagencies,1 percentweremedical
doctorsin privatepractice,3 percentwerehospitalemployees,4 percentwereemployed
in industrialmedicallabs,andbut 7 percentwerein privateindustry.Seventy-three
percentneverconsultedfor privateindustry;of thosewhodid,but 8 percentdid so on
morethanthreeoccasions.Ninety-twopercentwereinvolvedin researchon cancercaus-
ationor preventionat the time,and55 percenthadpublished40 or moreprofessional
journalarticles.Overwhelmingly,the AACRsamplewaswell-qualifiedto assessthe risk
of developingcancerin exposureto varioussubstances.
Bothgroupssurveyedpronouncedthemselvespoliticallyleft-wingand supportiveof
governmentregulation.Of the AACRsample,48 percentconsideredthemselveswelfare-
state“liberals”; only17 percentcalledthemselvesconservative,28 percentdescribed
themselvesas moderate,and8 percentwereundecidedon politicalideology.Sixty-two
percentclaimedto leantowardthe DemocraticParty,18 percenttowardRepublicans, 13
percentwereindependent,and 7 percentsaidit did not knowits ownaffiliation.
Despitethe AACRsample’s governistbiases,the group’s cancerexpertsflatlycontra-
dictedthe populargovernistclaimsaboutsyntheticchemicalsproducinga cancerepi-
demic.LichterandRothmancomparedthe AACR’s opinionsaboutthe issueto thoseof
mediareports.In the mediasurvey,RothmanandLichterwentover 1206 newsitems
from 1972 to 1992,includingstoriesfromABC,CBS,and NBCeveningnewscasts,stories
on the frontpageof any sectionof theNewYorkTimes,WashingtonPost, and theWallStreet
Journal, plusstoriesinTime,Newsweek, andU.S.News& WorldReport.
Whereas85 percentof the mediasourcespronouncedthatthe U.S.faceda cancer
epidemic,69 percentof the AACRsampledisagreed.Though66 percentof the media
samplebelievedthatcancer-causingagentsare unsafeat any dosage,the sameratioof
AACRmembersdeniedthe veracityof suchan assumption.Whenaskedwhetherthey
Table9.1. CancerScientistswhomRothmanand LichterSurveyedin 1993
Ideology OfficialPartyAffiliation PartyLeaning
Welfare-StateLiberal48 percent Democrat46 percent Democrat62 percent
Moderate28 percent Republican11 percent Republican18 percent
Conservative17 percent Independent37 percent Independent13 percent
Don’t Know8 percent Don’t Know6 percent Don’t Know7 percent
Total100 percent Total100 percent Total100 percentSource:S. Rothmanand S. R. Lichter1996,233.