Silly Meryl.
Sad when they age like that, and resort to public stunts for attention.*
You think she'd be content to fall back on her lengthy career work, and of course: her brief foray into political activism, trying to ban apples because of the Alar scare... she was embarrassingly wrong on that, of course.
Against a background of a skull and crossbones, overlaid on a red apple, the late Ed Bradley appearing on CBS TVs "60 Minutes" on February 26, 1989 said:
"The most potent cancer-causing agent in our food supply is a substance sprayed on apples to keep them on the trees longer and make them look better. That's the conclusion of a number of scientific experts, and who is most at risk? Children who may someday develop cancer."
Almost overnight the Alar story seemed to be everywhere: Phil Donahue, the Today Show, Women's Day, CNN, The MacNeil/Lehrer Report, the Washington Post, the New York Times, etc. Actress Meryl Streep announced on TV the formation of Mothers and Others for Pesticide Limits.
Enormous Consequences
Within a short time, apple juice and apple sauce were thrown away. Apples were taken out of school lunches, and parents on the border of hysteria called the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about risks of cancer to their children.
The publicity campaign was so effective that sales and prices of all apples declined sharply, and 20,000 apple growers in the U.S. suffered substantial financial harm--even the large number who never used Alar.
Farmers went bankrupt. The government spent $9.5 million of taxpayer money to reimburse apple growers.
A consumer group called Citizen Alliance claimed Florida grapefruit contained Alar residue. As a result, tons of grapefruit were left to rot on docks in South Korea in 1989, and 1990 shipments were predicted by some to be reduced by 90 percent.
Growers and exporters suffered great financial loss, and South Koreans were denied a healthful food, all because of a lie. Alar is not even used on citrus. The alarm was a hoax.
All of this occurred because of a carefully orchestrated public relations campaign that was unequaled in the history of environmental activities until global warming fear-mongering surpassed it.
Testing Showed Alar Safe-------------------------------------------
Alar is the trade name for a compound that was sometimes sprayed on apple trees before apples formed, to reduce early drop, thus extending the harvest season. It also extended the shelf life of apples and improved their color, which we now know increases their nutritional value.
* Apologies if she is transitioning, like Bruce Jenner or Richard Simmons, allegedly. If so, the best course of action is just to let her/him alone, to pursue happiness with no mockery or any attention given. Because that's not the point, right? To just draw attention?
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