Jonathan Tolman

In the following viewpoint, Jonathan Tolman reports on a study that found that synthetic chemicals do not bear sole responsibility for causing cancer or disrupting the human endocrine system. Many naturally occurring chemicals are present in the human diet and are carcinogenic or act as hormone mimicking chemicals, he maintains. Cancer is more often the result of lifestyle choices rather than chemicals in the diet, he argues. Tolman, an environmental policy analyst at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, is the author of a CEI study, “Nature’s Hormone Factory: Endocrine Disrupters in the Natural Environment.”

As you read, consider the following questions:

1.What conclusion did Bruce Ames reach concerning the cancer threat posed by food, as cited by Tolman?
2. In what ways are synthetic and naturally occurring chemicals...