jenny cares 

ARE YOU POISONING YOURSELF, YOUR FAMILY, YOUR PETS?

Do yourself a favour and read this information and advice. (Adapted from an article in Healthy & Green Living)

Everything You Need to Know About Plastic
I admit it, I’m holier-than-thou when it comes to what I feed my six-year-old son, Sam. Organic everything, filtered water, wheat not white. In fact, I’d assumed that my record as a well-informed, health-conscious mother was just about impeccable. But then a chance conversation with my sister-in-law sent me into a tailspin.
“Knowing what I know now,” said my sister-in-law Jeri Metz, an environmental scientist and organic farmer in Cabin John, Maryland, “I would never feed my family anything that’s been sold, served, or stored in plastic.”
.
The concern is...

many of the chemicals used
in the manufacture of the plastic
we wrap and bottle our food in
are
carcinogenic,
hormone-altering
and, at the very least, a cause of
allergic reactions
ranging from
skin irritation to breathing problems.

What’s more, a growing body of studies shows that many of these same toxic chemicals are migrating directing into our food.
Yikes. I thought I had enough on my plate, what with fretting over pesticides, non-stick pans, and antibacterial soaps. Now I have to add plastic to the list of worries? As credentialed as Jeri is–she’s a university science professor who is diligent about keeping up-to-date on environmental and health research–I didn’t want to believe her. I need plastic. I use it every day. My son needs it. “You mean, even the sippy cups for Sam’s soy milk?” I asked. “The baggies I use for his organic pita-bread sandwiches–those, too?”
Indeed, she replied.
.
In short, even the most conscientious, naturally minded consumer may be ingesting a host of chemicals that pose enough of a risk to merit notice–and in some cases, intense scrutiny–by activist groups like Health Care Without Harm and Greenpeace, as well as government agencies such as the USDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). No long-term studies have yet been conducted on humans, Jeri added, but the bottom line is that we can’t be sure what the chemicals in plastics are doing to us and to our children.
.
II IS BEWILDERING!!!
How could something with such potential for harm
be permitted to come in such close contact with the food we eat?
.
And if there is a danger,
how can you minimize your risks without driving yourself crazy looking for alternatives?
.
I ran a mental slide show of the chemical feast of plastics my son may have been ingesting from the womb onward. For starters, there is the sea of plastic chemicals I’ve been surrounded by in my lifetime and passed on to him during my pregnancy, then years’ worth of breast milk stored and heated in plastic bags during his infancy. Then all those plastic baby bottles and sippy cups.
.
The famous line in The Graduate foretold the role plastic would play in our economy:
Indeed, since 1976, it’s become the most widely used packaging material in the United States.
.
Before surrendering to outright panic, I decided to dig up some of the research my sister-in-law was talking about. First on the list of potential troublemakers was an extended family of chemicals known as plasticizers, used to soften normally hard plastic known as PVC, or polyvinyl chloride.
In dozens of animal studies conducted over the past several years, a spate of these plasticizers has been shown to be especially harmful to pregnant mice and their babies.
.
Studies have linked exposure to even low doses of one of these plasticizers,
bisphenol-A (BPA) to 
.
 chromosomal abnormalities...
 hormonal imbalances: e.g.
 -- high rates of spontaneous abortions,
 -- decreased sperm counts in male mice and
 -- early onset of puberty in females.
.
While you can’t make a simple leap from mice to men, researchers like Frederick S. vom Saal, a professor of biology at the University of Missouri in Columbia and coauthor of several of these studies, believe the research raises disturbing questions. He asks:
“It’s worth asking how concerned you should be about the potential for harm in humans from a chemical that can do all these things to mice.”
.
The big, lingering question is how easily these chemicals can leach into food. I asked Ned Groth, a senior scientist for Consumers Union, in Yonkers, New York, what he knew about this. “Nobody has complete data yet” he says, though......  

studies show that the chemicals in plastics leak out and into our food.
.
This especially happens when plastic has been exposed to
   HIGH HEAT  
  FATS  
 HARSH SOAPS 
 REPEATED USE over time 

But the FDA’s George Pauli isn’t alarmed. “Plasticizers can leach into food more than any other chemical,” admits Pauli, who is associate director for science and policy in the FDA’s office of food additives and safety. “But there’s a robust number of animal studies, with a wide margin of safety, which show no effects.” It’s worth noting, however, that all the studies he cites are those put out by the plastics industry. 
.
(The author says) the data from animal studies is worrisome enough that I’ve decided to purge plastic from my kitchen; I’m not willing to wait years for scientists to sort it all out. And even if it turns out that plastic poses no specific risk to my family, I can be comforted by the knowledge that reducing our consumption of it is good for the environment. Not only do millions of pounds of plastic find their way into landfills every year, 14 percent of air pollution nationwide is from plastic production.
.
Yet when it came to the point of actually doing something about it, I found the prospect of clearing out my drawers of handy plastic bowls and bins almost painful. At the risk of sounding melodramatic, how was I going to live without them? Feeling both martyr and saint, I began tentatively at first, then picked up speed. Soon all my food was stored in old-fashioned glass and ceramic jars and bowls. Once I’d made the switch, I was surprised by how easy the conversion could be.
.
But while it’s one thing to rid the home front of this stuff, it’s an entirely different challenge to avoid buying it in the first place. ... I’m lucky enough to live near a health-food co-op where I get a majority of my staples in bulk. So now when I shop, I come loaded with a cache of small paper bags and glass jars. And for foods that come in plastic, like deli foods and cheese, I try to transfer as much as possible to nonplastic containers and wrap when I get it home. For Sam’s lunch, I put most of the food in waxed-paper bags. With messier fare like yogurt, fruit salad, and drinks, I use a metal thermos.
.
Have I managed to eliminate all plastics that come in contact with our food? Hardly. Plastic is an unavoidable part of shopping in America. But I have realized that what I thought of as convenience was, in fact, simply habit. It’s getting easier by the day to break my seeming reliance on plastic. As for my holier-than-thou attitude? All I can say is that, chastened, I’m praying that one day my lack of faith in plastic proves me wrong. But until we know for certain one way or the other, I’ll happily take paper, thank you very much.

Deplasticizing Your Food
.
Chemicals are most likely to migrate
.
from plastic into food when exposed to
.
high heat, harsh soaps, repeated use, and fat
.
These precautionary measures can help you play it safe.
....................................................
AVOID MICROWAVING IN PLASTIC.
Heat speeds the release of chemicals into food.
“People are being sold microwave-safe plastic, when in fact
we’re not being told what’s in there and the rate at which
these chemicals leach out,” says researcher Frederick vom Saal.
Avoid this uncertainty by using ceramic or glass instead.
.............................................
EXPLORE THE ALTERNATIVES.
You can store your food in GLASS, CERAMIC containers,
WAXED- and BROWN PAPER bags, and
METAL CANISTERS made for hot and cold food.
..............................................
USE PAPER–NOT CLING-WRAP.
Most of the cling wrap used by delis, grocery stores
contains high levels of polyvinyl chloride (PVC),
a plasticizing chemical linked to hormonal abnormalities in mice.
(Happily, the cling wraps made for home use are safer.)
Ask the butcher to wrap meat and fish in paper.
Transfer fatty deli foods out of plastic wrap and
into waxed paper when you get home.
If you put cling wrap that’s been plasticized on fatty foods, that stuff will migrate.
Cut off cheese’s outer layer–which has been directly exposed to plastic–before rewrapping it in something safer.
.................................................
WHEN IN DOUBT, THROW IT OUT.
Discoloration, cracks, or other signs of wear suggest your plastic
containers are degrading and may be leaching chemicals into your food.
Once you’ve purged your kitchen of old plastic food bins and cups,
splurge on a replacement set made of glass.
...................................
LIMIT YOUR EXPOSURE.
The longer food sits in plastic, the greater its time of exposure to
chemicals that could migrate into it.
If you must buy food in plastic transfer it into a
more food-friendly container once you get home.
.......................................
WASH PLASTIC BY HAND.
It only takes 20 washings in the dishwasher for BPA to start leaching. Along with high heat, harsh detergents break down plastic as well.
WASH YOUR PLASTIC CONTAINERS
BY HAND in warm water and mild detergent,
even those labeled “dishwasher safe".
.........................
READ THE LABEL.
While you’ll never find an actual list of ingredients,
many plastics come with labels of sorts:
those triangles with numbers inside
found on the bottom of plastic containers.
The numbers you most want to avoid are 3, 6, and 7.
The safest numbers are 1, 2, and 5
–the type of plastics used in most small water bottles and all soda bottles, yogurt containers, tubs of butter, and so on.
At the very least, look for brands billing themselves as
“PVC-free.”
.................................
BUY GLASS BOTTLES.
Why?
Because some clear plastics, e.g.baby bottles, are treated with
bisphenol-A, to which infants are particularly vulnerable.
Using these bottles is like putting a serious drug into what the baby’s drinking.
Look for glass baby bottles by Evenflo.
................
AVOID 
drinking water from those five-gallon water jugs
delivered to offices and homes-
they contain bisphenol-A (BPA).
Opt instead for filtered water from the tap.
....................
BUY IN BULK.
Health food stores are selling everything from pasta to tofu in bulk, and the plastic used to bag bulk products isn’t known to be toxic. To play it really safe, you can transfer your bagged items to glass containers at home.
..................................
Plastic by the Numbers
--Many plastics are classified by one of seven codes located in that familiar triangle on the bottom of containers and bottles.
--The triangle doesn’t mean a plastic container is recyclable; the number inside it simply indicates the kind of resin used.
--With plastic wraps and bags, it’s harder to know which chemicals have been used. At the very least, look for brands that advertise on their packaging that they don’t contain PVC.
--Until consumers demand better labeling on plastic products, you’ll never know exactly what you’re getting in your bottles, bins, and bags...
.......................................................................
...here are a few plastics to avoid....
..............................................................
#3 Vinyl or PVC (polyvinyl chloride)
Where it lurks: Most commercial cling wrap used in grocery stores and delis;
bottles used to store many brands of olive and cooking oils; some water bottles.
Risks: Contains plasticizers that are suspected endocrine disrupters and carcinogens.
......................................
#6 PS (polystyrene)
Where it lurks: Some disposable plastic cups and bowls;
most opaque plastic cutlery.
Risks: Contains p-nonylphenol and styrene, both of which
are carcinogens and suspected hormone disrupters.
...........................................................................
#7 “Other” (Usually polycarbonate, or PC)
Where it lurks: Most clear plastic baby bottles, five-gallon water jugs;
clear plastic sippy cups; some clear plastic cutlery.
Risks: “Other” is a catchall category, meaning you don’t know what you’re getting.
Many plastics labeled “7″ contain bisphenol-A (BPA), an endocrine disrupter
................................................. 
click here for original articlein Care2

Cotton Farms, Pesticides and Health + Quiz 

Try this quiz, then check your answers in the passage following:

1. The biggest and 2nd biggest producers of cotton in the world are:
   1. China and India
   2. America and Egypt
   3. China and America
   4. Fiji and Australia
2. Cotton workers exposed to pesticides can get:
   1. cancer
   2. neurological and visual disorders
   3. chromosomal abberations, cell death and cell cycle delay
   4. all of these
3. Decide which of the following statements about cotton are true for today:
   1. Cotton is widely used as livestock feed
   2. Cotton is used in food products e.g. crackers, salad dressing
   3. "Monoculture" of cotton crops has caused the crop to be vulnerable to pests and diseases
   4. Californian cotton farms don't use any carcinogenic pesticides.

Pesticides and Human Health

• In California, five of the top nine pesticides used on cotton are cancer-causing chemicals (cyanazine, dicofol, naled, propargite and trifluralin).
• In Egypt, more than 50% of cotton workers in the 1990s suffered symptoms of chronic pesticide poisoning, including neurological and vision disorders.
• In India, 91% of male cotton workers exposed to pesticides eight hours or more per day experienced some type of health disorder, including chromosomal aberrations, cell death and cell cycle delay.
• In the US, a 1987 National Cancer Institute Study found a nearly seven-fold higher risk of leukemia for children whose parents used pesticides in their homes or gardens.
• The World Health Organization estimates that at least three million people are poisoned by pesticides every year and 20-40,000 more are killed.
• Over 1 million Americans will learn they have some form of cancer and 10,400 people in the U.S. die each year from cancer related to pesticides

 

Clothes for a Change: Background Info

Cotton, which is native to Southern Africa and South America, is grown on over 90 million acres in more than 80 countries worldwide. The millions of tons of cotton produced each year account for 50% of the world's fibre needs (wool, silk and flax together account for 10%) and is widely used as livestock feed and in food products such as salad dressing and crackers.

The United States is the second largest cotton producer in the world after China. In 1997, approximately 19 million bales (enough to make 9 billion T-shirts) were grown in 18 states.

Cotton and the Environment

Despite cotton's image as being a natural and pure fibre, conventional cotton farming takes an enormous toll on the air, water, soil and people who live in cotton growing areas.

In the United States, 1/3 (lb) pound of agricultural chemicals are typically used in the production of a single cotton T-shirt.

The growth of Industrial agriculture and consolidation in the seed industry has replaced hundreds of cotton varieties with only a handful. The practice of planting thousands of acres all of the same variety is known as monoculture and has left the crop extremely vulnerable to pests and diseases and forced cotton farmers onto what is known as the "chemical treadmill."

How Do They Do It? - Organic Cotton Farmers

The soil: Organic Farming starts with a healthy soil. The soil is seen as a living system and not simply a growing medium for plants.
Read more here.

Weed Control: Organic Farmers have many options to control weeds including:

1. crop rotations,
2. planting several crops together (intercropping),
3. more efficient use of irrigation water,
4. and more, read here.

Pest Control: By encouraging biological diversity... read more here; 

• In Peru, cotton farmers have saved over $100 per acre in pesticide and fertilizer costs by switching over to organic production.
• In Tanzania organic cotton farmers plant sunflowers to encourage beneficial ants that feed on the larvae of the bollworm, and fertilize the soil with manure from their cattle.
• In India, organic farmers intercrop cotton with pigeon peas and make insecticidal sprays from garlic, chili and the neem tree.
• In California, organic cotton farmers plant habitat strips of vegetation such as alfalfa near their fields as a refuge for beneficial insects

Click here for the original Care2 Organic Consumers Association article