Black History Month celebrates the achievements and contributions of African Americans to American culture and society. Learn about scientists who overcame great odds to pioneer some of the most important discoveries and developments in our history.

It always amazes me to see these kind of signs or labels. I mean what does this mean really? What does it mean to be “chemical free”? Is not all matter chemical? Some chemicals are villainized – bad, bad chemicals – and this is done to promote the sale of “healthy” food – but how do we determine what is really going on? What exactly is in a hot dog? Certainly there are many, many chemicals. If we remove chemicals – such as nitrate preservatives then we have to ask ourselves what is happening to the food over time when it is no longer fresh. Chemical changes are taking place all the time. Nitrates are added to preserve color and maintain microbial safety. Are nitrates harmful? How do we know? Are microbes harmful? Certainly some are and, well, some aren’t. Chemicals are not good or bad – they just are – and it is very important for us to understand the role they play in our physiology so we can make good choices for our health. I would hope that we would be interested in a deeper understanding of our world than what is implied on hyped up window ads but are we prepared to make good decisions and to separate information from misinformation? What do you think?

Glossary:
GMO = genetically modified (food)
HFCS = high fructose corn syrup
GME = genetically modified engineering

Scholarships for African Americans, Hispanic, and American Indian Chemical Science Students from ACS (American Chemical Society) are available. The deadline to apply is March 1, 2011.