There is no amount of lead that's considered safe for consumption. Anything that's not zero is bad for you, doesn't matter what dirt or whatever has in it.

We can't compare against the ideal though we can only compare against the world we have. So the comparison against dirt is pretty apt.

Yes. There's also no world where you don't take up miniscule amounts of toxic, naturally occuring chemicals.

Still I would rather consume less than more. If half the protein powders manage to not contain alarming levels of toxins I would much rather have those than the ones that do contain toxins. Not really a difficult concept.

It's only "alarming" because it's presented in an alarmimg way. If the headline had said "Protein powders found to contain 2.5% as much lead as undisturbed dirt" you would not have found it alarming.

This whole argument is silly. People generally don't go around eating dirt off the ground so how much lead is in dirt doesn't matter. It's alarming because lead is incredibly unhealthy for you.

The point is not that you are eating dirt. The point is that you are constantly surrounded by small amounts of things that are not good for you. Take a plane? Eat a banana? You are exposed to radiation. Drink water in certain parts of the country? You are exposed to small amounts of uranium. Is any of that good? No, but it's unavoidable to be exposed to small amounts of naturally occuring toxins and it's not worth worrying about.

The PR guys have arrived.

Nope, just an analytical chemist who's worked in 3rd party testing labs.

Oh well, enjoy your lead consumption anyways.

I will! It's nature's sweetener, I've always said :)

No, it does not.

>plants actually take up very little lead in their stems and leaves, and are safe to eat

They might have, for instance, lead on the level of 1 ppm, which poses no significant harm to your health.