Food Politics

FDA/EPA has spent $80+million and over 11 years “studying” without a single report/finding according to excellent Bill Moyers Journal report 5/23/08 ( listen to the most enlightening podcast, you can find it on iTunes or on-line). Also, BPA was voluntarily removed from packaging in Japan in 1996. I am writing about this at http://www.fightbackwithyourfork.com. My Christmas gift for everyone this year is stainless steel water bottles with packets of Vit.C/electrolytes (anti-sports drink and soda message+no BPA).

I’ve been wondering about your stance on this, so am happy to see this post. I have avoided plastics of all kinds as much as possible for many years just because of the environmental problems–the stuff never, ever completely goes away–just breaks down into smaller and smaller particles and still causes harm.

My problem is the increasing difficulty of finding things NOT packaged in plastic. Almost everything that used to come in a jar is not in a plastic jar–even peanut butter (luckily I use the old-fashioned peanut butter which still comes in a jar). But ketchup, mayo, most everything is in plastic. Produce is increasingly wrapped in plastic on styrofoam trays and, of course, most people still walk out of the market with dozens of plastic bags–this is true even at the coop–although they counter that they use only 1 or 2 containers. I would counter that there are not enough markets for recycled goods to use all plastic even if it does end up in the recycle bin and that it still creates ever more plastic that never goes away. I am appalled to see people (even more appalled at the coop) putting one or two of each produce item into a plastic bag. All my produce goes into one nylon bag which gets dumped onto a canvas bag at the checkout and then goes back into the nylon bag to take home. This works just fine everyone.

Anyway, I store food in glass–use a saucer to cover a bowl if you don’t have a matching lid for every container. I have acquired a lot of pyrex-type of containers recently. They seem to be making a comeback! Yes, they will break sometimes, but so what in the long term? I wish yogurt would come in a glass container. I make my own often for this reason. I reuse the plastic that I do acquire (mostly for freezing), but that is the problem–it never wears out!

I would be happy to hear other suggestions for avoiding plastic, especially in the area of food packaging and storage. We got some Chinese food the other night (a rare indulgence) and every bit of it was in #7 containers! I was horrified–you cannot let your guard down for one minute! What happened to the little white cardboard boxes?

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This post was mentioned on Twitter by nyusteinhardt: The ongoing Bisphenol A saga: more updates http://ff.im/-cZZal...

Stainless steel bottles are a great investment for carrying around water!

we import foods from small artisans in Italy. they pack in glass jars and the inside of the lid is white, i asked one of the producers whether the white material is BPA. he said he doesn’t know and he will enquire. he said the jars he buys from manugacturer are not labeled BPA-free. he believes BPA-free lids do not exist in commerce. possible?
Beatrice from gustiamo.com

I just read online this week that most tin cans are lined with BPA. The site recommended calling companies and asking if they use BPA to line their cans. I called two companies, and they said they did use it.

I just read somewhere that we shouldn’t use canned tomatoes, because the cans contain BPA. What’s your take on this? I use canned tomatoes all the time in soup.

[...] Nestle says that “avoidance is prudent,” and I’m inclined to agree. She mentions that #7 and #3 plastics are major BPA [...]

In the book Our Stolen Future they used hormone-blocking plastics in glass products. So I don’t neccessarily trust glass. And since they line some cans and stainless steel drinking bottles with BPA, there doesn’t appear to be a clear option.

Without an all-encompassing government ban, it can be slipped into or coat anything that comes into contact with food.

But does it stop by banning it from contact with food? Will BPA persist through the environment if it is used only to coat the outside of something, ultimately making its way into the food chain?

There are always more questions than answers, but the problem here is there might not be any immediate answers. Didn’t Consumer Reports find traces of BPA in BPA-Free products?

Plastics migrate into so many things, and with trade secrets a corporate standard, they don’t have to reveal the ingredients in something like glass.

That’s no conspiracy, just a standard business practice, and as long as they don’t hide any research that shows public health risks, they aren’t responsible later. They hind behind a “naivete card.” And as long as they are allowed to be stupid, we will pay the price.

A recent study showed the highest blood concentration of BPA in people who frequently handle cash-register receipts covered in heat-sensitive ink. It’s not just the food containers, by far!

Just because you see glass doesn’t mean BPA-free. Standard canning lids (used with glass canning jars for home canning) are BPA-coated. Processed foods or foods from restaurants come from coated cans and plastic containers before they are put in those cute little cardboard containers. Then little cardboard takeout boxes are coated in plastic, usually polyethylene, and sometimes other coatings. The water in our city is plumbed to us in PVC underground pipes, full of #3 plastic. Sure, you can buy glass, search out glass containers and food storage solutions, but unless your food is fresh from the farmer’s hand, you can bet it’s already been in contact with plastic at least once.

[...] The ongoing Bisphenol A saga: more updates <<More bad news about BPA. My guess is this will be taken out of our food supply as soon as canned food companies start to see dips in their profits. So maybe we should stop buying cans for awhile… (Food Politics) [...]

[...] plastics, including those (like the lining of the cans of tomatoes) that package the food we eat. Marion Nestle at Food Politics: Ordinarily, concerns about leaching plastics are way down on my list of food safety worries [...]

Hello, and Thank You to- Marion Nestle again, – Yes, the Bisphenol Saga goes on. — From 2008:– — Hello, – I have been a Traditional Naturopath & Whole-Life Extensionist for over 30 years. And the News About – Bisphenol A (BPA) is Not New!? I have been telling my friends, clients, and students for 30 years to heat the baby-formula or whatever in stainless steel containers, then use Glass bottles, or if using Plastic bottles, wait till temperature is acceptable to baby; – and use as soon as possible. Never store anything (milk, juice, etc.) in plastic more than 5-6 hours, or over night, at most! Even if Not Heating, some chemicals are absorbed into the drink. – Also, I use a Microwave oven on a regular basis. da!?- Yes, I know of the multiple dangers. (microwaves are banned in Russia). – But especially Never use Plastic bottles, Plastic Containers, or Dangerous PLASTIC-WRAP, when heating anything in the Microwave!! – Multiple poisons, including Bisphenol-A (BPA’s and more, are inserted into the food)! And, the microwaves Do Alter the Natural Live Food Content,- of course killing the Live enzymes of Natural Live Whole-foods. – This is not just my opinion but a fact. Will Our FDA please end the Too-Big-Corps cover-ups. Finally not: That “gorillas-dont-cook”.- Inother words, primate like gorrilas do Not use cookstoves or microwaves,- and only aquire Peopl’s Dis-Eases when zooed or introduced to dead, cooked, processed foods. More on that later. — Joe Ward (jward52) (ReFidolize) @ 43040 -

Posted by: J Ward | February 05, 2008 at 10:07 AM (updated Dec, 2009)

Hello again, – If the Federal government says that Bisphenol A (BPA) is safe, then the FDA needs retooled or removed, – as they are protecting the $special interest Too-Big corporations instead of the Citizenry THEY ARE SUPPOSE TO PROTECT! – Also, the possible dangerous effects of BPA, such as Cancer’s and other Auto-Immune Dis-eases, can be halted and/or reversed in many cases (later topic). Change of life-style, removal of the access (dis-ease cause) to these deadly chemicals is a start. Then with some proper, (da!?)- Medical attention, acid / alkyline balance, and other aspects of Traditional Naturopathy,- we hopefully add proper healthy life-style changes, live unprocessed foods, etc., and whole-Life nutrition and Immune-modulation supplements as needed (herbs, vit/min, aminos, EFA’s,, ect) to reprogram the bodies ‘innate’ protective immune system. Traditional Naturopathy presents us with many positive results that sometimes so-called traditional medicine does not apply. We need to remove the ‘Cause’, not just the Symptoms of Dis-ease. – To rebuild, support, and transform an ailing Immune System, so as to work efficiently, as Nature intended. “Peace” — Joe Ward [JWtalks], — Traditional Naturaopath / Herbalist (‘gorillas-dont-cook’). p.s. (inventor of canine suplement ReFidolize), – (again – updated dec – 2009)

[...] is not safer than tap water, comes in bottles that are potentially hazardous to our health (hello, BPA), originates from often-indeterminate sources rather than the local water basin, produces enormous [...]