Killer Commodities: Public Health and the Corporate Production of Harm [Hardcover]

Killer Commoditiesenters the increasingly heated debate regarding consumer culture with a critical examination of the relationship between corporate production of goods for profit and for public health. This collection analyzes the nature and public health impact of a wide range of dangerous commercial products from around the world, and it addresses the question of how policies should be changed to better protect the public, workers, and the environment.

Merrill Singeris a senior researcher at the Center for Health, Intervention and Prevention (CHIP) and a professor in the Department of Anthropology, University of Connecticut, as well as a research affiliate of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA) at Yale University.

Hans Baeris lecturer in the School of Anthropology, Geography, and Environmental Studies and the Centre for Health and Society at the University of Melbourne

Singer and call for more consumer advocacy and less deregulation of industry, as well as a balance between regulatory agencies and industries. They point out that some industries may have too much oversight, that is, monitored by several agencies, which obscures jurisdiction. Somatosphere

The case studies provide forays into particular cultures of production, consumption, and regulation. These forays, with their implicit and explicit policy suggestions, give the volume its strength. Highly recommended. Choice Reviews

Chapter 1 Introduction: Hidden Harm: The Complex World of Killer Commodities
Chapter 2 Stealthy Killers and Governing Mentalities: Chemicals in Consumer Products
Chapter 3 Nothing to Play Around With: Dangerous Toys for Girls and Boys
Chapter 4 The Environmental and Health Consequences of Motor Vehicles: A Case Study in Capitalist Technological Hegemony and Grass-Roots Responses to It
Chapter 5 Lay Me Down to Sleep: SIDS, Suffocation, and the Selling of Risk Reduction
Chapter 6 MelalS-