Kennedy speaks out on autism, points to 'environmental toxins' as likely cause

The environmental factors contributing to autism are behind its growing prevalence, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr said Wednesday, adding that he plans to look at everything from mold to medicine to identify them.

In his first news conference since becoming secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Kennedy reiterated his description of autism as an epidemic, said it was preventable and suggested it must be caused by "environmental toxins," in part because he didn't know any people with autism his age.

"This is a preventable disease. We know it's environmental exposure, it has to be. Genes don't cause epidemics," he asserted in front of a large group of journalists and supporters of the "Make America Healthy Again" movement.

Without specifically mentioning vaccines, Kennedy, a former environmental lawyer, referred to "medicines" in a list of things he said he would commission a series of studies to examine. Among those things are mold, air, water, food and others.

Kennedy's speech comes at the same time as the release of a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an agency that found increased rates of childhood autism in the U.S. You can consult the full study at this link.