I am writing in response to your editorial concerning fluoridation that appeared in the Saturday, June 13, edition of the Deseret News. As an editor, you have a great responsibility to the public that you serve. You must gather the facts as accurately as possible and report both sides of an issue fairly and accurately without bias.
I was in attendance at the county chamber when the issue was brought before the county commissioners, and I find that your editorial was very misleading and did not accurately reflect the information that was presented there.Your editorial mentions the "unfounded fears based upon faulty science" of those who oppose mass medicating society by fluoridation. However, you didn't bother to mention any of those so-called "unfounded" or faulty scientific evidences presented by them during the meeting.
You didn't bother to mention that 1,100 toxicologists, chemists, biochemists and other professionals of the EPA have gone on record against the practice of adding fluoride to the public drinking water. You didn't mention that those EPA scientists, after reviewing the body of evidence over the past 11 years, indicate that there is a cause-and-effect relationship between fluoride/fluoridation and cancer, genetic damage, neurological impairment and bone pathology. Of particular concern to these scientists are recent epidemiology studies linking fluoride exposure to lowered IQ in children.
Your editorial stated that, "Callaghan conveniently uncovered a wealth of last-minute data showing fluoridation is the cause of most woes known to Western man - including perhaps light rail." However you didn't bother to mention that many of the studies that she and others discussed appeared in such respectable journals as JAMA (Journal of American Medical Association), Brain Research, Chemical Engineering News and others. All of this wealth of data presented by Callaghan and others are in your opinion "unfounded."
The real issue is whether government should be used to mass medicate society. The answer is no.
Neil Newbold
West Jordan