It’s come round before and, thanks to a decision in a California court this past week, it’s all coming round again: the debate over whether Coffee causes Cancer. We found the Cali decision odd, since the world’s health authorities have exonerated Coffee as a carcinogen and pronounced it ‘heart healthy’…
Happy Coffee drinkers- who’ve just found out there’s no real evidence that
their hot beverage of choice causes Cancer.
This is April 1, but this post is no joke. So please don’t go reading it as a spoof or prank of some kind. The story may sound crazy, but anything is possible when California do-gooders get involved…
Under the court ruling, Coffee has been placed in the category of cancer-causing products as defined under that state’s Proposition 65 plebiscite. That law, voted on directly by a majority of California citizens, states that vendors of products containing substances known to cause Cancer must post warnings to their customers. Coffee, it seems, contains minute amounts of acryamides, known to cause cancer in mice. Now, Coffee shops like Starbucks and restaurants what serve Coffee will have to post the signs. Will it hurt business? I think not, and I’ll tell you why…
The authorities agree…
…Coffee – even six cups a day – is safe to drink. In fact, the World Health Organization recently removed Coffee from its official list of potential Cancer causers, and the American Institute for Cancer Research says coffee is actually a Cancer-fighting food, in as much as it contains powerful anti-oxidants which could lower your risk of some types of Cancers.
Why are the doctors standing in opposition to The Council for Education and Research on Toxics, which brought the lawsuit in California court? Because the amount of acrylamides in Coffee is so small that you’d have to drink, literally, gallons of the stuff a day to consume dangerous levels of it.
Another defeat for Common Sense
But the California court has adopted a zero-tolerance policy concerning possible Cancer causers under Proposition 65. It’s a big headache for Coffee retailers and a windfall for sign makers.
So, Common Sense once again takes a back seat to myths and ‘zero tolerance’ policies. I thought the blindfold on the figure of Justice often displayed at court houses was meant to indicate she’s impartial, not stone blind…
~ Maggie J.