The Precautionary Principle - taking precautionary measures to avoid possible harm even if some cause-and-effect relationships are not fully established - is sometimes ridiculed by GM proponents as ridiculously overcautious.
GM has been going into processed foods in the US for about a decade, they argue, and nobody has dropped down dead. The paucity of research and, preliminary studies suggesting possible problems, are dismissed as not requiring further study. (see Genetic Engineering and Omitted Health Research)
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7219
In January 2004 Prof. Peter Saunders of Kings College, London, as part of a presentation on the Precautionary Principle, talked about the history of asbestos.
Asbestos mining first started in Canada in 1879. A woman inspector in the UK first noticed health problems arising from its use about two decades later in 1898. In 1917 more evidence of harm from asbestos was obtained from research on rats. However, the UK said that there was not sufficient evidence of harm. But at around the same time, US and Canadian insurance companies refused to cover asbestos related illness. (It was not until 1985 - after more than a century of asbestos mining - that the use of blue and brown asbestos was finally banned.)
Priof Saunders said that it's estimated that there are still about 250,000 people yet to die from contact with asbestos in Western Europe over the next 35 years, due to past exposures. (Asbestos causes, among other things, lung cancer and mesothelioma, with symptoms not emerging for up to 40 years.)
As with asbestos, Prof Saunders mentioned that there could be future problems with, amongst other things, genetic modification, rBGH (aka BST) and nano-technology.
Prof Saunders finished by saying that there are now safer substitutes for asbestos - in other words, when they were needed they were invented.
The following article lauding the use of asbestos all around the home is from The Guardian in 1927.
Advice like this was once universal.
It was published nearly 40 years after the first reports of health problems and 3 years after the first medical journal case of asbestosis.
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Asbestos - a real asset in the home
The Guardian, November 21 1927
http://www.guardian.co.uk/fromthearchive/story/0,,1953107,00.html
Asbestos has become a very real asset in the home. Although it is originally a mineral substance, it is nevertheless of a fibrous nature, and can, therefore, be woven into fabrics and formed into boards. Its greatest virtue lies in the fact that it is fireproof, and, as it is a bad conductor of heat, it has great value in many household uses.
Asbestos cord bound round the handles of kettles, saucepans and irons, will prevent burnt fingers. Asbestos mats placed on the stove make a safe surface for casseroles and other fireproof ware during the cooking of the food in them. Asbestos table mats are also very popular as a means of preventing hot plates and dishes from marking the table surface where a tablecloth is not used.
These asbestos mats can be obtained with charming embroidered, or otherwise decorated, slip covers. Asbestos tiles, such as are used for roofing purposes, are exceptionally useful in the kitchen, as a hot dish or saucepan can be placed on them without the fear of marking or burning the table.
When the weather is frosty the tragedy of frozen pipes can be avoided by binding the exposed parts with asbestos cord. This prevents the heat from escaping and equally prevents the frost from affecting the pipes.
An asbestos device of great utility is the fire-blower. This is just a sheet of asbestos mounted on a wire, to which a detachable cane rod is fastened.
The blower can be placed in front of a fire which refuses to burn up and, as it is fireproof, can be safely left in position until a cheerful blaze has appeared. It is a good plan to have a sheet of asbestos in the house as a safeguard against fire.
If it is spread across the hearth, flying sparks cannot ignite the carpet or rug. If a spark does at any time start a fire, it can be prevented from spreading by throwing the asbestos cloth on the burning material.
Asbestos can also be bought in the loose fibrous form, and is excellent for temporarily repairing leaking gas and water pipes. For this purpose the asbestos fibres should be mixed to a thick paste with water-glass, spread over the hole or weak spot in the pipe and bound over with cloth.