Whelan, Elizabeth M.

Elizabeth M. Whelan (; December 4, 1943 – September 11, 2014) was an American epidemiologist best known for promoting science that was favorable to industry and for challenging government regulations of consumer products, food, and pharmaceuticals industries that arose from what she said was "junk science." In 1978, she founded the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) to provide a formal foundation for her work. She also wrote, or co-wrote, more than 20 books and over 300 articles in scientific journals and lay publications. Whelan's advocacy encompassed numerous high-profile cases, including the Delaney Clause used by the Food and Drug Administration to eliminate use of the sweetener saccharin. She worked to promote industry-friendly science and to suppress the influence of other science on regulators, and was condemned by activists for promoting industry interests, for example with respect to pesticides, growth hormones for dairy cows (rBST), PCBs, hydraulic fracturing, and the proposed limit on soda sizes in New York City. She was critical of many public interest groups that she said "frightened" people away from making personal choices in cases where "no danger had been proved." Whelan disputed whether toxic chemical exposure caused birth defects and health problems at Love Canal and instead claimed without evidence that people were falling ill because of "stress caused by the media."