Over the past two decades, Lin has carried her equipment to schools and the neighborhood, and since more than 600 experiments and speeches have been made to build people¡¦s awareness of toxins around us, usually with expenses out of her own pocket.

Born in Damshui, a farming township in northern Taiwan at the time, Lin often helped her grandfather during harvest time. Out of a passion for nature, Lin chose horticulture as her major in Taiwan University, where she also pursued her master¡¦s and doctoral degrees. But the Damshui that we are familiar with today is no longer the town where Lin had grown up. With the diminishing of farm fields, the now tourist attraction has witnessed changes in people¡¦s living style and farming techniques.

During a lab experiment, Lin accidentally found that the detergent contained an incredible excess of phosphorus. Follow-up tests showed that detergent residue on dishes wouldn¡¦t be washed away completely if flushed less than 35 times. But who would wash their dishes that many times? That is to say, most of us eat down chemicals along with the food. Discharges of detergents do harm to the environment as well: they can cause serious damage to rivers, oceans, and soil. In the end, consumers will have their own medicine once taking in the contaminated seafood.

Lin reminds consumers to read the ingredient list carefully before buying toothpaste, dishwashing detergent, laundry detergent, and other household products, advising them to buy those with lesser amount of chemical agents such as surfactant. The use of natural products is both beneficial to your own health and the earth's.

In another experiment, Lin got astonishing readings of nitrate on the spinach she bought from a food market. Tests showed levels of 8000 ppm of nitrate in the spinach.

What is nitrate? It is a type of chemical additive often used to cure sausages. Levels of nitrate in sausages are regulated to be under 70 ppm. Lin was surprised to find the levels of nitrate in the spinach more than ten times higher than the regulated levels for sausage, making her wonder if the experiment had gone wrong. She realized after repeating tests that it was the over-use of nitrogen fertilizer by farmers wishing to shorten the growing period of the crop that resulted in the high levels of nitrate in the plants. ¡§We wouldn¡¦t eat sausages every day, but we do eat vegetables every day; how will the nitrates in vegetables we take in over the years affect our health?¡¨ warned Lin.

Later on, the Homemakers' Union & Foundation approached Lin who together founded a group purchasing cooperative. They signed contracts with farmers who were persuaded to cut the use of nitrogen fertilizer and to avoid the use of pesticides. The campaign had a positive spin-off: the farmers became proud of their organic fields after realizing that growing organic produce has a higher production value and other benefits.

Many consumers may recognize the benefits of buying organic produce, but are deterred by its higher price tag. ¡§The prices of organic produce are only higher by a small margin,¡¨ clarifies Lin. ¡§You might as well save 10 or 20 dollars on unhealthful sweetened drinks to buy organic produce.¡¨

Lin expresses her commitment to toxic-free living by continuing giving speeches and running tests. If she gets more consumers to support organic food industry and environment-minded manufacturers, a toxic-free world where our health is better protected will not be just a dream.