In what limited science that I had in my undergrad, we were taught that nothing can be proven in science. “There are no facts in science”. And if it isn’t debatable, it is not science. So when I see safe chemicals, I am skeptical. But, in life, you take many chances. You can’t live in fear.

But just because it comes from nature doesn’t mean it is safe. Some poisons are found in nature. People can be allergic to natural products (a friend comes to mind with this). I think it is just as much of a mistake to think that all natural products are safe as it is to think that all synthetic products are dangerous.

The problem is when anyone who disagrees with them or who says, “Wel wait a second, let’s take a look here and figure out for ourselves … ” those people are also strangely branded The Enemy. Like when people accuse you guys of being in the pockets of big business because you always talk up synthetic products (when you aren’t and you don’t).

The only solution is to just take the various claims one by one and go through them one by one — there’s no avoiding it. Gotta think. Oh, well.

You are right that the media often obscures the issue and I agree that many companies often try to use scare tactics to sell their own products.
I also recognize it is very hard to sum up all attitudes in a few paragraphs.

I am grateful to you for providing the opportunity for thought and discussion on these topics. It was a pleasure to read a well-reasoned post with a more objective perspective.