Which Plastics to Never Use with Food
posted by Melissa Breyer Dec 28, 2010 5:01 pmfiled under: Children, Diet & Nutrition, General Health, Green Kitchen Tips, Health & Safety, Health & Wellness, BPA, plastic, PVC, storage
Although the apron-wearing, martini-bearing, housewife-in-heels with her rainbow of Tupperware may be a thing of the past, the quest for a well-organized kitchen persists. To see tidy stacks of food-filled plastic containers in the fridge and freezer is comforting in a primal kind of way. But then comes the procession of warnings about storing and cooking food in plastic, and leaching chemicals, and hormone disruption, and ACK! So here it is: The lowdown on plastic food containers.Flip over your favorite plastic food storage container and check the recycling code number. If you spy a number 3 or 7, well, those containers should probably go to the craft room or garage to store buttons or screws rather than food. If there is no number listed, contact the manufacturer. (And to be fair to Tupperware, they do manufacture products that are not made of these plastic types.)
Number 3 is polyvinyl chloride (PVC), also known as vinyl. PVC has garnered the moniker “the toxic plastic” for the presence of DEHA–one of several plasticizers (softeners) used in its production. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, long-term DEHA exposure has the potential to cause: Reduced body weight and bone mass; damage to liver and testes; and cancer. The manufacture and incineration of PVC also releases carcinogenic dioxins into the environment and food chain. Although PVC is not the most common plastic used for food storage containers, some are made from it and it is often used in plastic wrap to improve performance.
Recycling code number 7 includes several plastic types (it’s the catchall “other” category–see tips below) but it is predominantly polycarbonate. The problem with polycarbonate is that it harbors bisphenol A (BPA). Studies have shown that BPA damages the reproductive systems of lab animals by interfering with the effects of reproductive hormones and has other serious health effects. BPA’s capacity to cause these stems from its ability to mimic the human hormone estrogen–it has been linked to prostate and mammary gland cancers, early onset of puberty and reproductive-organ defects.
Next: 12 tips for safer plastic use
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- Gloria H. says
- Dec 29, 2010 5:32 PM
Ditto the tom's ad. If I get points for listening that's one thing, but apparently it just plays..maybe that's what the ad says about having made some bad choices in the past? Playing over and over again is a bad present choice.
I was able to get some stainless steel lunch boxes at yard sales..I think they are made in Japan for Japanese school kids. some nest together..bulky but not plastic. Maybe they are still being made? Stainless steel uses power to create, but looks alot better than melted, torn plastic stuff. Do what ya gotta do.
- Edgar Zuim says
- Dec 29, 2010 5:30 PM
All plastic is harmful by releasing toxins under conditions of high or low temperatures. To preserve food, the safest way is still the glass.
- Rosemary P. says
- Dec 29, 2010 4:09 PM
I freeze home-made soup in glass salmon jars - very good for one helping with perhaps some vegetable stock or ginger water added before serving, but I believe the lids have BPA.
To use a plastic product for maybe minutes, and chuck it into the landfill where it keeps going, and going for 1,000 years strikes me as little short of criminal. As a culture, we have too much power and too little awareness - dangerous combination!
- Past Member says
- Dec 29, 2010 3:53 PM
Love the new(old) glass refrigerator storage containers. I will occasionally use "good" plastic bags for small amounts of treats that I carry with me. Looking for a tote-able substitute....canvas or cotton cloth, I guess I'll have to make some.
- Amilia L. says
- Dec 29, 2010 3:53 PM
1000 years? I learn something everyday. I have avoided plastics as much as possible. We use glass and ceramic.Now that I know about the 1000 years. I think i'm gonna boycott it.
- Fiona N. says
- Dec 29, 2010 3:29 PM
Thanks for the info. I try to use glass or ceramic when possible, but sometimes the sizes I have don't fit and I end up going with a plastic container. I'm going to have a look at the number on the bottom though - hopefully they're ok!
- john o. says
- Dec 29, 2010 1:16 PM
Industry has long known to strictly avoid the "Four Deadly Ladies: Poly, Moly, Ethyl; and Ester" Since the chemical industry now has greatly reduced safety regulations, these substances have become widely used, despite the dangers they present.
Poly is a real looker (no wrinkles) but her sister Ester is a real stinker (esters: reacting to acids [as are found in perspiration] produce odor)...So polyester looks good but it stinks when you wear it.
Where are those safety rules -forgotten except being used against us?
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Disclaimer: Care2.com does not warrant and shall have no liability for information provided in this newsletter or on Care2.com. Each individual person, fabric, or material may react differently to a particular suggested use. It is recommended that before you begin to use any formula, you read the directions carefully and test it first. Should you have any health care-related questions or concerns, please call or see your physician or other health care provider.
1051015
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Which Plastics to Never Use with Food | Care2 Healthy & Green Living
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Top Food Stories of The Year | Care2 Healthy & Green Living
Top Food Stories of the Year
posted by Judi Gerber Dec 27, 2010 11:05 amfiled under: Blogs, Diet & Nutrition, Eating for Health, Food & Recipes, Health & Wellness, On The Go, farms, food legislation, food news, food stories, school lunch reformThis year, as usual, it seemed that you couldn’t get away from food news raving about the newest “trend” — some for better and some for worse, including KFC’s double down chicken sandwich which actually replaces the bread with more chicken; the seemingly inexplicable use of bacon in just about everything including bacon ice cream and bacon coffee; and food trucks with every type of food imaginable rolling down streets in cities across the US.
Here’s a sampling of some of the top stories of this year.
The emphasis on healthy school food finally reached the highest levels of government, due in large part to First Lady Michelle Obama, whose efforts to reform school lunches included her Let’s Move Initiative, designed to reduce childhood obesity. Not only does it focus on movement, but better food via fresh produce, including using the White House Garden as a living, demonstration garden and the linking of farmers’ markets to healthy eating.
Her work helped lead to the passage of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which includes the provision to increase lunch reimbursement rates, expands the After School Meals Program to all 50 states, and aims to address the national childhood obesity epidemic by improving nutritional quality of school meals and reducing junk food in schools.
The First Lady’s involvement in healthy food for kids wasn’t the only high profile one that caught our attention this year. Most notably, chef Jamie Oliver and his Food Revolution went to the small town of Huntington, West Virginia to reform school lunches there and start a healthy food “revolution.”
Another big trend this year was a campaign to encourage people to eat less meat, led by the Meatless Monday Initiative. This is a non-profit health initiative led in association with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health encouraging people around the world to go meatless one day a week “for their health and the health of the planet.” The goal is to reduce meat consumption 15 percent.
In August, in one of the largest food recalls ever, a national outbreak of salmonella in eggs sickened hundreds of people, and was spread to about 380 million chicken eggs all distributed by Wright County Egg, one of the top egg producers in the United States.
This massive recall no doubt led to what is perhaps the biggest food story of the year; the passage of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act at the end of year. Not only was it one of the biggest stories of this year, but in decades. It finally gives the FDA the powers that everybody thought they already had, and that is the authority to recall certain tainted foods. It also requires the FDA to create new regulations for fruits and vegetables, and provides new regulations for food facilities, grocery stores and farms. However, there is concern about how the Act will ultimately affect local food and small farms. There will be more discussion of this issue as the details of the bill are ironed out.
This brings up a good point that Daily Yonder brings up about food stories of the year. This is that the top news stories don’t seem to focus enough attention on the areas where our food is actually produced, and where the battle to produce it takes place, because many issues impacting rural areas are not reported on as frequently.
As they say, this includes the tragedy that our small dairy farmers are facing as the dairy industry is virtually collapsing and as small dairies go out of business and are being replaced by mega-farms, and the issue of control of seeds since as they say the Monsanto Company “has control of most of the corn, soybean and cotton planted in the country. Farmers have been agitating for years against the virtual monopoly Monsanto has in these markets. Now the government is interested.”
Related:
8 Reasons to Rock On with Meat-Free Mondays
Top 10 Riskiest Foods
Resolve to Support a Healthier Food SystemJudi Gerber is a University of California Master Gardener with a certificate in Horticultural Therapy. She writes about sustainable farming, local foods, and organic gardening for multiple magazines. Her book Farming in Torrance and the South Bay was released in September 2008.related stories
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- David J. says
- Dec 28, 2010 7:39 AM
I was glad to see a little more power given to the FDA but still not enough. They will most likely still be understaffed. It is a move in the right direction.
I just won't do the meatless thing. Every so often just a vegetable meal is OK with me but as I have stated in many of my posts I enjoy my meat. I think we should have an ALL MEAT Sunday. LOL Then maybe I'd do the Meatless Monday.
- Bo Tipton says
- Dec 28, 2010 7:28 AM
More reason to grow our own food even if it is tomatoes grown in a pot in a apartment in the city. When we control what goes on the plant we know how safe it is.
- ilse D. says
- Dec 28, 2010 7:23 AM
hm what about only meat-monday and meatless all other days? If you look at http://www.thegreenguide.com/ you can calculate your water usage and actually by eating less meat you dont only save money but you also help environment
http://www.thegreenguide.com/ you can calculate your water usage and actually by eating less meat you dont only save money but you also help environment">send green star
- Ernie Miller says
- Dec 28, 2010 6:17 AM
Meatless mondays sounds good. cant wait for spring and more local fresh vegies tired of frozen already.
- Rosalind R. says
- Dec 28, 2010 5:30 AM
With the prices on meats these days, "Meatless Monday" is no problem. In fact, meatless Monday, meatless Wednesday & fishless Fridays aren't either. When you consider the antibiotic tainted meats plus unhealthy farmed fish, going meatless or fishless is a winner!
- Nola g. says
- Dec 28, 2010 3:49 AM
Thank you for the article. We try & have meatless meals all the time.
- Charuwan Kangkagate says
- Dec 27, 2010 10:41 PM
As I live in Thailand. I seems that tofu and soy milk in my country be safer cause it was made from natural soy bean not the GMO one.
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Friday, December 10, 2010
Real vs Fake Christmas Trees | Care2 Healthy & Green Living
Real vs Fake Christmas Trees
posted by Melissa Breyer Dec 9, 2010 6:08 pmfiled under: Garden & Nature, Christmas, Easy Greening, Green Home Decor, Holidays & Gifts, Nature & Wildlife, Reduce, Recycle & Reuse, real vs fake
As a kid growing up in Los Angeles I was always attracted to the Christmas lots that had trees frosted with pink or turquoise fake snow. (What were they thinking?) I have yet to see those special specimens since, but it’s no surprise that as an adult I lean toward non-traditional trees. Part of that is just my stubborn attraction to the unique, but much of it stems from my feelings for trees.
Although I know that Christmas trees are farmed like any other harvested plant, it still makes me sad to think of those noble little guys whacked down for my temporary pleasure. But my humble homemade feather tree is starting to molt—and I wonder if it’s time to join the 29 million American households who will buy a fresh cut tree this year? Or should I opt for an artificial tree? How about a living tree that will take a Christmas miracle of its own to actually end up planted in my garden? To forego a tree altogether is way too bah-humbug for me, so what is the greenest Christmas tree option?
Next: Greening your Christmas tree
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- Linda L. says
- Dec 10, 2010 8:43 AM
I don't care if your Christmas tree is real or fake-just keep your Christmas SPIRIT real!
I do want to know enviromentally healthy ways to get rid of old artificial ones though.
- Barb F. says
- Dec 10, 2010 8:41 AM
I agree with P.L.T.
"If one simply MUST adhere to this inane and wasteful ritual, a permanent live tree is the only ethical option. Where there's a will (to be creative and respectful of our environment, including trees) there's a way!"
If a ritual to be done, I like the idea of the decorated live plant that remains to be alive.
Just my personal opinion, a question always in my mind, the concept disturbing to me, "Why does the celebrations and rituals of holidays whose names get written upon calenders mandate the mass slaughter of a once living being, animal, plant, etc?" I disagree with the concept, there is zero need to end the lives of turkeys, hams, trees, pumpkins, so many other once living species, mass slaughter is part of celebration???????? Nope, don't understand how ppl who profress it is a time of love, caring, sharing, respect, which imo should be done everyday, are accepting of the mass slaughter and death of living animals, plants, trees, rather morbid imo. I'm opposed to the giving of cut flowers for any "calender day" as well, the sentiments of "I love you", "my condolences", "because you're special", hey, here's a freshly murdered beautiful plant that in a short time will be looking as dead as it actually, not one damn thing "beautiful" about it.
"We must kill something in order to celebrate", I shall never agree with this concept in general.
- Zuzanna P. says
- Dec 10, 2010 8:40 AM
Hm, we always have real trees. Every year we forget about the tree, so in the last moment I go with my brother to buy a leftover tree, which usually don't look very nice, but it's fun to search. Anyways, this year dad will cut just the top of a tree which is growing in our garden.
- Lois K. says
- Dec 10, 2010 8:20 AM
My mom had a fake tree all through my childhood. By the time we disposed of it when I was around 12 or 13, it was looking pretty ragged. But I have fond memories of watching my mom get the tree out of the box each year, and then helping her decorate it with our mostly handmade ornaments.
There are advantages and disadvantages to both types of trees. The cool thing about artificial ones is that they come in different colors--pink, blue, white, purple, even black--to match anyone's decor or weirdness level! Also, you can hang them upside-down. :o]
- Rebeca C. says
- Dec 10, 2010 8:20 AM
In Mexico we have a company that will rent you the tree, live and in a pot! You can buy it at the end of the season if you want to keep it, it not, they pick it up and plant it in a forest. I think it's a brilliant idea
- Tamara H. says
- Dec 10, 2010 8:19 AM
In some of the Nat'l Forests they are happy to have you cut your own tree as part of fire mitigation. The fee is minimal (~$10). Check your local area.
- Robert B. says
- Dec 10, 2010 8:12 AM
For years we would find a lot that was going to be cleared for a building and we would cut a tree from it, since it was going to be destroyed anyway. When we moved to a house with a large lot we had a lot of cedar seedlings that kept popping up. We just let them grow and when they are big enough we cut them for use as a Christmas tree. Then we recycle them. There's just something about a real tree.
- Kaye S. says
- Dec 10, 2010 8:12 AM
About 5 years ago we got a 4-foot potted pine and planted it afterward. It's now 30 feet tall and beautiful, but there are only so many times you can repeat that process on a 60-by-120-foot lot. Still, a fake tree? Factory-made facsimiles emanating a scent of plastic instead of the pungency of pine or spruce, branches dusted with dust instead of snow? No, no, no. I could never agree to a plastic pretender when there are so many alternatives without it coming to that sad state.
For instance: Any big potted plant with sturdy branches—I've used hibiscus, especially pretty when it's in bloom, and avocado—can make a great Christmas tree. A lovely, starkly sophisticated and appropriately wintry solution is a simple gathering of bare branches hung with ornaments. It's also about as green and cost-efficient as can be—simply gather dead branches, anchor in a bucket of sand and gravel, et voilà! Time to decorate.
Other years, I've just used trimmings from pruning my evergreens to distribute greenery all around the room, tucked among candles on the mantle, draped along shelves and windowsills, made into swags and wreaths for doors and windows. Then I distribute the tree ornaments likewise around the room and make a special spot for the presents. With Christmas in every corner, we never miss the tree.
- Pam C. says
- Dec 10, 2010 8:10 AM
I have a 50ish year old mid-century tinsel tree, 3 of them actually and age appropriate decorations. It's amusing, a delight for my grandchild and myself since I found them over the past 5 years and kept them out of the land fill. Killing trees just makes me sad and these relics from the atomic era are as green as I can get.
- PL T. says
- Dec 10, 2010 8:00 AM
If one simply MUST adhere to this inane and wasteful ritual, a permanent live tree is the only ethical option. Where there's a will (to be creative and respectful of our environment, including trees) there's a way!
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Disclaimer: Care2.com does not warrant and shall have no liability for information provided in this newsletter or on Care2.com. Each individual person, fabric, or material may react differently to a particular suggested use. It is recommended that before you begin to use any formula, you read the directions carefully and test it first. Should you have any health care-related questions or concerns, please call or see your physician or other health care provider.
1048576
I have always loved the smell of fresh trees and have bought them for many years. Now however, my allergies have started to flareup with a real tree in the house. This might be the last year for having a real tree.