Posted Sunday, July 20, 2003; 16.11BS
So what's a mother to do? As a first step, consider the evidence. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) decided in February not to ban PVC — which contains phthalates — in toys, stating there is "no demonstrated health risk." Don't trust the CPSC? Then do as Salter-Green did: stay away from products that may contain chemicals you want to avoid. To give consumers the information they need to make such decisions, the European Commission is set to propose new rules that will require mandatory testing for all chemicals, including those found in household products.

Under the new system, manufacturers would be responsible for proving the safety of any substance they produce. WWF U.K. argues that the draft legislation should also require the industry to phase out potentially harmful chemicals. "The chemical industry is a great generator of jobs," says Salter-Green. "We don't want to put them out of business. We want a reversal of the burden of proof, where they have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that their products are safe."

We want a reversal of the burden of proof, where they have to prove their products are safe. — ELIZABETH SALTER-GREEN, WWF's U.K. toxics program director

When it comes to calculating risk, reasonable doubt can be the consumer's best friend. It's perfectly reasonable to doubt what scientists, activists, businessmen and politicians say; to doubt hyped-up headlines that exaggerate the benefits or dangers of new technologies. But doubt is not enough. To take control of decisions that can affect your health, you have to do your homework — by using the library or the Web to get more information, and finding out whether the people praising or blaming some new advance have a vested interest in the result.

But be warned: even after you've done the research, you still won't know for sure if GM foods, mobile phones or household chemicals are safe. So the first step is to accept the fact that, despite our scientific prowess, 100% certainty has gone the way of the new economy and the free lunch. There's no such thing as total proof, no such thing as zero risk. Better learn to live with it.

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	Are First World Fears Causing the Third World to go Hungry? [July 10, 2001] People in the U.S. and Western Europe have qualms about genetically modified foods. But does that mean we should deny those foods to developing nations? Read Any Good Fruit? [Nov. 24, 2002] The E.U. approves tough new labeling for GM food, pleasing activists and complicating trade relations To Greener Pastures [Mar. 12, 2001] Germany's new farming minister is up to her ears in food scares and dead cows. Her answer: Go organic When Pigs Go Bad [Feb. 27, 2001] British farming, in its worst slump since the 1930s, is hit by a new plague: foot-and-mouth disease Slaughterhouse [March 12, 2001] Cattle burn, farmers despair and consumers worry as a new food-related catastrophe hits Europe Search all issues of TIME Magazine