I first warned readers of the dangers of acrylamide in April of 2002. Problems like are this typical of factory farmed, highly processed foods in general. Ideally, you should consume foods that are minimally processed, and come from local, environmentally sustainable sources.

It is important to understand the impact you have when you spend your money on highly processed factory food. Changing your shopping patterns by supporting local agriculture will not only help improve your health, it will also help improve the environment and bring back our rural communities.

At the same time, over half of the foods you eat should be uncooked and eaten in the raw state. It may take you awhile to get to that point, but in the meantime, you can start by avoiding processed foods which simply have no redeeming qualities whatsoever, such as doughnuts, all sodas, French fries, and potato chips. 

In addition, you can reduce your exposure to these cancer-causing chemicals by throwing away your non-stick cookware.

On Vital Votes, Dr. Matthew Loop  from Lilburn, Georia agrees that French fries need to be taken off of your menu:

"Speaking of Acrylamide, popular American brands of snack chips and French fries contain the highest levels of the substance, according to laboratory tests commissioned by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). Fast-food French fries showed disturbingly high levels of acrylamide with large orders containing 39 to 82 micrograms. One-ounce portions of Pringles potato crisps contained about 25 micrograms, with corn-based Fritos and Tostitos containing half that amount or less.

"Regular and Honey Nut Cheerios contained 6 or 7 micrograms of the carcinogenic substance. The amount of acrylamide in a large order of fast-food French fries is at least 300 times more than what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency allows in a glass of water! ...

"Clark University research professor Dale Hattis estimated that acrylamide causes several thousand cancers per year in Americans. Hattis, an expert in risk analysis, based his estimate on standard EPA projections of risks from animal studies and limited sampling of acrylamide levels in Swedish and American foods."

You can view other responses to this article at Vital Votes. You can also vote on the comments, or add your own, by first registering.