Breast Cancer Prevention Partners (BCPP), formerly the Breast Cancer Fund, is a left-of-center organization based in San Francisco that aims to prohibit alleged environmental contributors to breast cancer. BCPP issues reports and alerts on certain products and chemicals, warning that the products contain toxins and pressuring companies to stop using materials. The group has aligned itself with left-wing environmentalist and social policy organizations. [1]
Founding and History
BCPP was founded as the Breast Cancer Fund in 1992 by Andrea Ravinett Martin. [2] Previously, Martin worked for U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) unsuccessful run for California governor in 1990. While in charge of the Breast Cancer Fund, Martin organized the controversial “obsessed with breasts” advertising campaign in 1999 and 2000, which superimposed Martin’s own mastectomy scars onto the models’ chests. [3] These controversial advertisements were taken down after multiple complaints around the San Francisco Bay Area. [4]
In 2001, Jeanne Rizzo became the president and CEO of Breast Cancer Prevention Partners. [5] In 2007, Rizzo was a plaintiff in a lawsuit seeking to overturn California’s ban on same-sex marriage. [6] Rizzo moved the organization to become a left-of-center organization aligned with environmentalism, arguing that cities should have the authority to unilaterally ban certain products until their producers can prove their safety. [7]
Under her leadership, the BCPP formed the Cancer Free Economy Network that champions left-of-center policies, including banning the use of conventional energy sources transitioning entirely to environmentalist energy sources and imposing regulations to stop climate change, on the claim that such policies will prevent cancer. [8] The BCPP also began “business accountability campaigns” to pressure companies to stop using certain chemicals in products. [9] In 2017, Rizzo led the effort to change the name of the organization from Breast Cancer Fund to Breast Cancer Prevention Partners. [10]
In 2019, Amanda Heier became president and CEO of BCPP. [11] Under her leadership, the organization continues to partner with left-of-center organizations and advocate for increased government regulation of the economy. [12]
Partnerships
BCPP has partnered with several academics, placing professors on its board and funding research that validates BCPP’s environmentalist agenda. [13] BCPP also partners with a number of left-of-center organizations, including the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Environmental Justice Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform, Physicians for Social Responsibility, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Service Employees International Union, Greenpeace, Earthjustice, Public Citizen, and the Consumer Federation of America. [14]
Activities
While BCPP’s ostensible mission is to prevent breast cancer, the organization has claimed that alleged systemic racism is a “greater disease threatening black women and men” than breast cancer. [15] BCPP funds reports and studies targeting various chemicals and products that it claims contain harmful toxins. [16]
BCPP has called for activism against several companies demanding that they change manufacturing practices. This includes campaigns against perfume manufacturers for allegedly using “secret fragrance chemicals,” Burger King for using alleged harmful materials in its food packaging, and Best Buy for using plastic casings on its televisions. [17] BCPP has demanded Johnson & Johnson stop selling talc-based baby powder. [18]
In 2011, BCPP launched a “Cans Not Cancer” campaign to pressure Campbell’s Soup Company and others to stop lining cans with bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical used to prevent cans from corroding,[19] claiming that BPA creates toxins. [20] Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found the BPA levels in can liners to be safe, Campbell’s announced that it would stop using BPA by 2017 in response to BCPP’s campaign. [21] [22] BCPP has also claimed that Walmart and Target adopted “safe chemicals policies” due to its work. [23]
In 2016, BCPP was one of three groups that sued the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in an attempt to pressure the organization to ban certain phthalates in children’s toys. [24] The flexible chemicals are used to make items such as beach balls, rubber ducks, and shoe soles. [25] The American Chemistry Council noted studies by the United States, Canada, and Australia that found that use of such chemicals posed no risk to human health, pregnant women, or children. [26]
In 2020, BCPP submitted a petition to the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau in 2020 requesting that the agency mandate labels on alcohol that warn of the risk of cancer. [27] BCPP has also advocated for a ban on firefighting foam that contains per- and polyfluoroalkyl, claiming that the chemicals are dangerous to firefighters . [28]
In a policy recommendation letter to President Joe Biden, BCPP advocated for new regulations and expanded influence for environmentalism in the government. BCPP’s recommendations included elevating the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator to become a Cabinet-level position, creating an EPA Office on Green Chemistry, and establishing EPA Office of Environmental Justice. BCPP also recommended that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) allow state agencies access to bioterrorism biomonitoring labs and advocated for stricter environmental regulations on wetlands and mining. [29]
Finances
From 2016 to 2019, BCPP spent $1.3 million more than it raised in revenue. [30] According to the organization’s Form 990 from 2019, BCPP recorded $2,629,024 in revenue and $2,873,559 is expenses. [31] In 2018, BCPP had $2,877,941 in revenue and $3,314,763 in expenses. [32] In 2017, BCPP reported $2,966,482 in income and $3,595,775 in expenses. [33] In 2016, BCPP had $3,096,313 in revenue and $3,098,818 in expenses. [34]
Leadership
Amanda Heier has been president and CEO of Breast Cancer Prevention Partners since 2019. [35] Prior to joining BCPP, Heier was CEO of the San Francisco General Hospital Foundation. [36] Previously, she was executive director of Raphael House, a nonprofit organization focused on homelessness in San Francisco. [37]
Janet Nudelman is BCPP’s program and policy director and director for BCPP’s Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. [38] Previously, Nudelman ran a political campaign for a municipal utility district election in San Francisco. [39] Nudelman was also political director for Working Assets (now CREDO Mobile), one of the nation’s largest left-wing funding organizations[40]