ACSH From a Past Employee's View 
Nicolas Martin 24sep01

Dear Mindfully,

You have a page on your site here http://www.mindfully.org/Pesticide/ACSH-Koop.htm that attacks ACSH. As a former employee of that organization, I would like to point out a couple of things which outsiders do not know that lends credence to the view that ACSH is merely an industry front.

I worked at ACSH for 6 months, in 1988-89. It as my experience that ACSH was little more than a play toy for founder Elizabeth Whelan, who made little effort to remain informed herself about the topics the organization addressed.

Before I quit the organization in disgust, the spring of 1989 was approaching and Dr. Whelan considered having the group issue a new booklet defending the safety of lawn chemicals. As I was doing the fundraising for ACSH at that time, I was told directly by Dr. Whelan that no such booklet would be produced unless the Professional Lawn Care Association made a donation for its production. By the time I left (I think it might have been in March 1989) no donation was forthcoming and no booklet produced. > Also while I worked for ACSH, a draft of a booklet on the health effects of alcohol was sent to the Stroh Brewery Co, (a donor) for editorial recommendations.

Another booklet was produced before my stint there, but I was told by ACSH's assistant director that the organization's booklet on the healthfulness of sugar was printed in-house by the Hershey chocolate company.

None of this direct collaboration with funders has ever been publicly acknowledged by ACSH to my knowledge.

If one wants to know how vulnerable Dr. Whelan is to health quackery, they need only be made aware that she placed her endorsement on one of the worst books ever written about AIDS. That book is "The Aids Cover-up? The Real and Alarming Facts About AIDS," by conservative christian activist Gene Antonio. The HIV infection projections by Antonio were so wrongheaded that they are legendary (sort of like Paul Ehrlich's about population.)

I want it to be clear that there are many positions that ACSH takes with which I still agree. In fact I'm sure I agree with them more of than I do you. But in my view ACSH has no credibility since it is primarily, as critics charge, a front for industry. I have seen it directly. Therefore, I think ACSH does more harm than good by bringing the positions it takes into ill repute.