Every time Pete Evans opens his mouth, a public health body throws up its hands in despair.

There was the time he warned his 1.5 million Facebook followers against the dangers of sunscreen, saying that it’s full of poisonous chemicals and that wearing it is a “recipe for disaster.”

Then there’s his ongoing crusade against fluoride in tap water, which has been slammed by the Australian Dental Association as “delusional” and by NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner as “inappropriate and quite disturbing.”

The My Kitchen Rules judge is also no fan of Wi-Fi, and leapt to the defence of fired ABC journalist Dr Maryanne Demasi, who was let go after a Catalyst report claiming that it causes brain tumours.

In a Facebook Q&A session shortly after, he was asked by a fan about “the dangers of Wi-Fi in our schols and houses”, and doubled down on claims that it causes health problems, saying:

“EMFS [electromagnetic fields] are causing a lot of issues for people … [we] turn off Wi-Fi at night at home and have our house EMF friendly. If people have no educated themselves on this yet, then I urge them to do so as well. EMFS are casing a lot of issues for a lot of people.”

In a recent Fairfax profile that was packed with quality quotes, Evans hit peak Pete when he explained that he protects himself from the dangers of Wi-Fi via the earthing process, which involves a special mat that he keeps by his computer.

He told journalist Jane Kadzow:

“When you’re sitting at your computer, you put your feet onto a little mat and it sort of, potentially, negates any of the Wi-Fi issues, you know, and reconnects you to the Earth. So that to me sounds like, wow, that’s a positive thing.”

Adherents of earthing believe that “connecting to the Earth’s natural, negative surface charge by being barefoot outside” can act as “a defence against chronic inflammation and cancer.”

Seeing as earthing mats are now the new activated almonds, you can pick up one of the type Pete described for around $70. You can also buy fitted sheets, sleeping pads and yoga mats, so your entire home can scream WAKE UP, SHEEPLE.

One of the key texts of the movement is Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever!, a weighty tome that Evans recently spruiked to his Facebook fans.

You could give that a go, or skip straight to this piece by Yale University clinical neurologist Dr Steven Novella, who called earthing “one of many pseudosciences that fits into the ‘just make shit up’ category.”

The Blocked By Pete Evans Facebook group has already clocked the article, so you could also just grab a snack and spend the afternoon reading the comments there.

Source: Fairfax.

Photo: Pete Evans / Facebook.