If there is one thing that defines ubiquitous in our society, it’s plastic. Look around and you’ll see it everywhere. There’s no doubt that without plastics our world would be very different, and most likely a lot more primitive. Food, medicine, and electronics come to mind as areas where plastics are particularly crucial.

It’s the food area that really concerns me, and should concern all of us. Recent exposes on a particular chemical, Bisphenol-A, used widely in many plastics that hold our food, have revealed that plastics, especially when heated, are not nearly as safe as we have been led to believe. It is present in almost all food packaging, including water bottles, microwave meal containers, food storage containers, and the linings of all food and beverage cans.

This chemical, which appeared to be safe the low levels present in our food packaging, has been discovered to be and endocrine disruptor, which means that it can in fact be be harmful in very small amounts. Here are a couple of  links to information on Bisphenol-A:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_A
• http://www.bisphenolafree.org/

I won’t write a big long article on this, as there is plenty of info out there. But I will give you my takes on this:

1. Do not heat anything in plastic if you can help it. Heating plastic is a sure way to release chemicals from it. Use glass if you have to microwave. I bought a bunch of glass storage containers and if I want to heat a microwave meal, I take the food out of its plastic container and put it into the glass one or into a regular bowl or on a plate before heating it.
2. Switch your water bottle out for a BPA-free bottle. Many companies, including Nalgene and Camelbak have already committed to BPA free bottles.
3. Don’t reuse store bought water bottles. If you want to reduce waste, buy a BPA free bottle and refill it.
4. Babies and children are particularly affected by these kinds of chemicals, so make sure your baby bottles are glass or BPA-free plastic.
5. Replace all of your plastic food storage containers with glass containers. You can buy these pretty cheaply at department and grocery stores.

Here is a link to a very good PBS documentary news piece on the subject, that provides some very good information. Please take the time to watch it, it is a very informative and well put together piece that is highly relevant to all of us. After all, BPA is estimated to be present in measurable quantities in 93% of our population!

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/05232008/watch2.html

Is it a coincidence that many types of cancers related to the endocrine system (prostate cancer, breast cancer) are on the rise? Maybe. Maybe not. I’d rather not wait and see…