LS 91 - “What’s Gotten into Us?” with McKay Jenkins

After a cancer scare, where researchers questioned him about his exposure to chemicals from common household items such as weed killers, glue, detergents, plastic meat wrap, etc, McKay Jenkins started doing his own research on the toxins that are getting into our bodies and environment. Jason Hartman and McKay Jenkins discuss what McKay found that led him to write his book, What’s Gotten into Us? Staying Healthy in a Toxic World. Before his surgery for a benign tumor in his abdomen, McKay came across many people with various types of cancers and started wondering just how many chemicals we’re exposed to every day. The number was staggering. The toxins are all over. Leached into our environment and ingested through our air, food, water, and numerous household items and lawn care products. Even samples of our water show pharmaceuticals; mattresses contain neurotoxins that break down over time; children’s clothing contains flame retardants; many pots and pans are coated with Teflon. And that's just a start. Body burden studies that are designed to reflect the amount of toxins in a person’s body reveal high levels of hormone-disrupting chemicals in blood samples. McKay talks about the lack of regulations written in the interest of large corporations rather than protecting consumers. Corporatocracy want consumers to shop without thinking; putting chemicals that are ILLEGAL in Europe into cosmetics here in the USA. Warning labels aren't required on cosmetics, yet the same degreaser found in the hardware store carries a warning lable. In addition to his book, What’s Gotten into Us, McKay is the author of several other books. He is also the editor of The Peter Matthiessen Reader (Vintage, 2000), an anthology of the American nature writer’s finest and most enduring nonfiction work. McKay holds degrees from Amherst, Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism, and Princeton, where he received a PhD in English. He has also written for Outside, Orion, The New Republic, and many other publications. Website: www.mckayjenkins.com