Industry research<br /> for large-scale sustainability Industry research<br /> for large-scale sustainability

Glossary

Chemophobia

«Chemophobia» is an irrational fear of chemical substances. This psychological phenomenon affects people who reject synthetic chemicals because they are not of natural origin. In contrast, they see everything that comes from nature as the only thing that is healthy and right for people and the environment.

Chemophobia is believed to have originated with the publication of the book Silent Spring (1962) by US biologist Rachel Carson, in which she demonized chemicals. In the discourse on synthetic chemicals, however, misinformation continues to spread - for example, that «synthetic» is synonymous with «toxic». This is proven to be wrong. Substances of natural origin can also have a toxic effect. The dose is decisive for the toxicity of both natural and synthetic substances. This also applies to plant protection products. The latter, like all such substances, are safe when used correctly.

Sources

Terms from the glossary