Kendal Archer, a mother of two, expresses frustration and anger over the burden placed on parents to avoid 'forever chemicals' like PFAS. In a letter responding to a Guardian article linking prenatal and early-life PFAS exposure to gut inflammation and colorectal cancer in children, Archer criticizes the suggested solutions—such as buying organic food, using water filtration systems, and avoiding waterproof clothing—as impractical and costly for many families.
Systemic issues, individual solutions
Archer highlights the contradiction in health advice she has faced since her first pregnancy, such as choosing between glass bottles of non-organic milk or plastic bottles of organic milk, and organic broccoli wrapped in plastic versus plastic-free non-organic broccoli. She argues that these systemic issues should not be solved by individual consumers, especially parents.
According to Archer, 'It is outrageous that these issues are now so commonplace and uncontested that the burden of solving them gets shunted on to the shoulders of parents.' She emphasizes that it is the government's responsibility to legislate, big agriculture's responsibility not to cover food in chemicals, and water companies' responsibility to ensure clean water.
Call for legislative action
Archer concludes by stating that she cannot read another article suggesting that parents are irreparably damaging their children's health with solutions that simply involve buying certain products. She insists that the solution is 'bigger and harder than this' and should not be shouldered by parents alone.
