Plastic water bottles, food containers and the insides of many of our canned goods, have been in the news for a long time. Since the 1960’s when we moved away from glass for containers we have been ingesting leached substances from the new and modern alternative. Plastic was heralded as the clean, disposable and convenient way to package and store our food. Most of us are likely to come out of the supermarket with at least bottled water sold to us in handy packs of 6, 12 or 24. Plenty for all the family.
This latest study, although not huge does raise a very interesting issue. Whilst we may have had limited exposure to plastics as children in the 50s and 60s, the generations born in the 80s have certainly borne the brunt of the plastic epidemic. Milk, juices, fruit cordials, tomato sause all came in glass containers and I made a pretty penny collecting and returning bottles to augment my pocket money.
I have moved away from most packaged foods including in house baked bread, vegetables which I buy loose and meat and fish from the fresh counters. I have also now gone back to buying my mineral water that I buy occasionally in glass bottles.
I am not intending to be alarmist but I do suggest that you take a look around your kitchen and also check out your next shopping trolley. Especially if you have children or teenagers. Just how much plastic are they being exposed to. Particularly if they drink a lot of soft drinks or water in plastic bottles.
Gender-bending chemicals found in plastic and linked to breast and prostate cancer are found in 86% of teenagers’ bodies
Almost 90 per cent of teenagers have gender-bending chemicals from plastic in their bodies, according to a study.
Bisphenol A (BPA) is found in plastic containers and water bottles, on the inside of food cans and in till receipts.
The chemical, used since the 1960s to make certain types of plastic, mimics the female sex hormone oestrogen, and has been linked to low sperm counts and infertility in men, as well as breast and prostate cancer.
A study by the University of Exeter, whose researchers tested urine samples from 94 teenagers, found 86 per cent had traces of BPA in their body.
Read the rest of the article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5351661/Chemicals-plastic-90-teenage-bodies.html
Here is an extract from another article that covers some of the other chemicals that are used in the manufacture of our plastic food containers
The Dangers of Using Plastic Containers
Commonly-used plastic containers today contain a hazardous mix of additives and chemicals, including:
Bisphenol A (BPA). It mimics the female hormone estrogen and disrupts the endocrine system. BPA is one of the most well-known plastic dangers today. Out of 115 animal studies published, 81 percent revealed significant effects from even low-level BPA exposure. This endocrine disruptor mimics the natural hormones in your body that triggers major changes.
Dr. Mercola explains that exposure to BPA early in your life may cause chromosomal errors in developing fetuses. It may also lead to genetic damage and spontaneous miscarriages. Even 0.23 parts per billion of BPA can disrupt the effect of estrogen and potentially harm your baby’s developing brain.
Phtalates are industrial chemicals that are added to plastics, like polyvinyl chloride (PVC), to make them more flexible and resilient. They’re commonly found in food packaging. Phthalates are pervasive endocrine disrupters that have increasingly become associated with changes in the development of the male brain. It is also linked to metabolic abnormalities, genital defects, and reduced testosterone in babies and adults.
PBDEs are chemicals that release hormones in your body and alter your brain’s calcium signaling, which is critical for memory and learning. PBDEs mimic your thyroid hormones and are linked to decreased fertility.
Dr. Mercola says these chemicals do not magically stay inside the plastic, but actually leach into the foods or beverage you put in them. The amounts of chemicals vary depending on how you use the containers. For example, when BPA plastics contain hot foods or are subjected to heat, the chemical leaches into foods or drinks 55 times faster than if they are used cold.
Old and scratched plastic containers also leach out more chemicals. Washing them with harsh detergents or frequently putting them in the dishwasher increases the amount of leached chemicals, too.
The Ecology Center in Berkeley, California has listed the different kinds of plastic toxins found in the products you use, such as:
Soda bottles, water bottles, cooking oil bottles, and peanut butter jars are made from PET (polyethylene terephthalate). These contain acetaldehyde, which is listed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a probable human carcinogen.
Salad dressing and cooking oil bottles are made from PVC (polyvinyl chloride), which leaches plasticizers like phthalates, cadmium, lead, mercury, and carcinogenic diethyl hexyphosphate into your food.
Meat trays, foam packing materials, and foam take-out food containers and cups are made from polystyrene (PS) that leaches styrene in your food. Styrene can damage your nervous system.
Read the complete article: http://www.drmercola.com/health-tips/bpa-and-pthalates-in-plastic-containers/
What is interesting is that the FDA and some of the medical sites debunk this as myth and that cooking in plastic containers and using foods stored in plastic is completely safe and has their seal of approval. Having seen so many U-turns on many issues both by the FDA and the UK medical council, especially after long-term usage of a drug or other product, it is my view that their assurances should be taken with more than a pinch of salt.
Apart from our own health it is now clear that the oceans and our wildlife are also at risk of permanent damage from our use of plastics which in many countries is simply tossed into the ground or into the sea.
You might find these facts of interest.
Landfill environments are filled with specific microbes and enzymes adapted to break down trash, landfills have been the standard solution for solid waste disposal for years.
Now, landfills are being overloaded with plastic products that can take hundreds of years or more to biodegrade.
Consider the lifespan of these popular plastic products:
Plastic Water Bottle – 450 years
Disposable Diapers – 500 years
Plastic 6-Pack Collar – 450 Years
Extruded Polystyrene Foam – over 5,000 years
Flexible, resilient, and durable – plastics have facilitated innovation and convenience in almost every area of American life. From our medical supplies to our food storage containers, plastic is a commonplace and inexpensive solution for many Americans. But, plastic is not without its flaws. Strong polymers in plastic are extremely resistant to natural biodegradation processes. This means that traditional plastic products can persist in landfills for hundreds of years, if not indefinitely.
Read the rest of the article and more plastic facts: http://www.goecopure.com/lifespan-of-plastic.aspx
There is hope on the horizon but probably not in our lifetimes as the major plastic producers look for more bio-friendly ingredients for their products. However, the majority of plastic manufacturers are unlikely to be quick to modernise their current production plants and methods. But with an industry that is estimated to be worth $660 Billion by 2020, which includes industrial components for the car industry and other manufacturers, Governments are unlikely to clamp down on and risk their tax contributions.
However, on the food related plastics we can make a difference if we move away from buying products such as water in plastic and either filter our own and use non plastic alternatives to store and carry, or move to glass. Perhaps if manufacturers see that the end user is making other choices, it will encourage them reconsider…. one can but hope.
One of the alternatives to plastic drinking bottles.
I bought a couple of stainless steel water bottles for trips and you might find this useful if you decide to do likewise: http://www.sustainablebabysteps.com/stainless-steel-water-bottles.html
I will leave you with this video made by students in Hawaii. Douglas McCauley
I hope this might give you something to consider. Thanks Sally
This video is very scary. Something to think about!
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And something to do something about, too. The next time we shop — or go out for a meal — or buy a cup of coffee — each and every one of us can make different choices to avoid using plastic items.
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Exactly… I wonder what Tesco or other large supermarkets would do if all their food wrapped in plastic was not bought for a just a week. Thank might certainly make them reach for another solution.
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Thanks so much for putting this together, Sally. I’ll have to read it again and check out the links when it’s not so late. I try to cook from scratch which reduces a lot of problems but you still buy the raw ingredients in packaging. It’s hard to get away from.
xx Rowena
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I agree Rowena. Not so bad with foods that are going to be peeled and washed well.. But meats and other proteins can be more challenging although buying from the supermarket counters or butchers is usually cheaper. You end up paying quite a bit more for the packaging.. xx
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One of our pups got through the packaging the other day and managed to snaffle one chop off the foam tray and got caught in the act. These new dogs seem to have long legs, which makes it easy for them to jump up onto the bench. So, our place is being dog proofed for a bit.
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They learn so quickly… the old joke about they stay asleep for the burglar, serial killer but are right there at the rustle of a cheese pack….x
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Reblogged this on Die Erste Eslarner Zeitung – Aus und über Eslarn, sowie die bayerisch-tschechische Region!.
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Thanks for spreading the word Michael.
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Terrifying.
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It is a bit… xx
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Thanks, Sally. This is something I’ve saying for years.We need to be so careful for our next and future generations.x
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At the rate they are going our generation which was pre-sugar, fast food and plastic may end up being the longest living and healthiest! Frightening. xx
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You are right to be worried about all the plastic. Killer stuff. (and watch the glazes on imported ceramics for lead – which used to be in common use here, and still is in many places. Old antique glassware/serving dishes may be trendy and pretty, but once again, lead potential.
We might have healthier kids/ less mental issues (as some are overly sensitive to components of plastics, coloring, and lead) if we got rid of plastics and went back to basics.
Your observation about which generation will turn out to live the longest/be the healthiest may be right on target.
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It saddens me to say it. But there is evidence already of deficiency in children of essential nutrients such as Vitamin D with a rise in the case of rickets. We have little enough sunlight in UK and Ireland but even then children in city areas particularly are not getting any outside activities.
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A great post Sally. It is indeed frightening for our future if we do not make changes…
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Unfortunately not always heard at the top of the food chain but some changes have been made with plastic bags, straws and utensils in the UK but there are countries who have no intention of making laws or rules and they have millions of people who just keep using and throwing away.. xxx
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So sad
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This needs to be a massive wake up call for the planet Sally, I have known for a while now that estrogen replicators leaking from plastics are turning Alligators female and probably wrecking equal havoc on all sorts of fish, amphibians and sea life, So now it is hitting humans.. with falling sperm counts, cancers etc…. they have already revised the human population explosion downwards because of falling birth rates. As with everything we do Humans are squarely within our own cross-hairs. Although it might be no bad thing if our numbers reduce naturally, it is the other species that are collateral damage that concerns me!
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I agree Paul and in the US the longevity estimates are dropping too. This article was 2016 and things have not improved since. “One of the fundamental ways scientists measure the well-being of a nation is tracking the rate at which its citizens die and how long they can be expected to live.
So the news out of the federal government Thursday is disturbing: The overall U.S. death rate has increased for the first time in a decade, according to an analysis of the latest data. And that led to a drop in overall life expectancy for the first time since 1993, particularly among people younger than 65.” https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/12/08/504667607/life-expectancy-in-u-s-drops-for-first-time-in-decades-report-finds xx
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Wow Sally, perhaps in 100 years time people will look back on this as a golden age! And we are the generation brought up to believe the future would get better and better. Px
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Quite Paul and in the meantime they are finding another planet to sent a select few to that we can trash…xxx
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It’s funny BECAUSE IT’S TRUE!!! PXXXXX
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I believe every word of this, Sally. I see cancer on the increase and affecting more an more people, young and old and it is the modern life we are living filled with chemicals and hormones. My boys hardly ever drink from plastic bottles, they have good quality glass bottles. I also try to make homemade food and bread when I can.
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I know Robbie and hopefully there will be a movement growing around the world.. Mothers against the Polluters. xxx
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THANK YOU for sharing this information which so many powerful companies obviously have no interest in becoming common knowledge. I am increasingly skeptical whenever I hear about a new “solution” or “improvement” being announced — it reminds me of this sentence: “Plastic was heralded as the clean, disposable and convenient way to package and store our food.” We human beings — oftentimes driven by the profit motive and/or market competition and/or ego and/or a sincere yet short-sighted/simplistic desire to “improve” something — continue to invent and sell all kinds of stuff (drugs, chemicals, devices, etc.) with little or no consideration to possible impacts on future generations of life on planet earth. I feel we have been living in a hubristic age ever since we discovered fossil fuels and started burning/refining/converting this millions-year-old shared planetary inheritance/resource into gasoline and industrial lubricants and plastics, etc. I am heartened, however, to read other people’s comments about making changes in their/our daily choices to minimize their/our use of various plastics.
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Those of us who remember going to the corner shop and getting a twist of paper of sweets and the cheese wrapped in greaseproof paper, using steamed puddings in bowls with muslins were told that we were antiquated and needed to modernise. And it is true, don’t get me wrong I love my machinery and gadgets and computers. But along with the good stuff, the harmful got swept in too as there was no oversight. Only dollar signs. It is the same in the drug industry. There are drugs that keep people alive that would have died but there is also the sceptic in me who says why would you find the cure for the common cold, for AIDS or even some cancers you can keep someone alive for life at a cost of 10,000 a month, or for billions to be made in over the counter cold and flu remedies that do not cure but just mask the symptoms. Not only that by they can drive the infection into the body weakening the immune system. Anyway I could go on an on…. sorry.
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Excellent info here Sal. It’s astounding the amount of people who aren’t aware of the dangers of ingesting products sold in plastic. I do my best to buy foods not packaged in plastic too and neverrrrrrrrr anything plastic in the microwave. It’s a lot to take in for many but like anything else, if we take gradual measures it will become habit. ❤ xx
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Thanks Debby and I have even washed out and put my old kilner jars to good use for rice and pasta etc. They also look better… xxx♥
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Great idea. I don’t store anything in plastic – but I’m sure you knew that, lol. 🙂 ❤
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Yep……♥
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Reblogged this on Retired? No one told me! and commented:
This is a good informative article and very worrying .. Something is always done too late when people are proven to be dying from the effects of chemicals and I think it is a great idea that we speak by our actions and buy liquids in glass bottles where we can …
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thanks for spreading the word Carol.. xxxxx
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Welcome..It is so scary all this stuff we have to be wary of eating, drinking it is a positive minefield 🙂
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Excellent article Sally and very worrying…I had already made the decision to make my own tomato paste for bolognese etc by using fresh tomatoes and not buying tins. So much of our liquids though are sold in plastic bottles with no option to buy glass especially cooking oils/ milk. It is quite scary for future generations … xxx
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We are very definitely lacking in options. and even if you take out of the plastic and wrap in something else it is usually plastic to keep it ‘fresh’. It was fine when we used to buy daily because we had no fridge but now we work around a weekly shop! xxxx
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I know…I shop every couple of days for fresh veg and my meat I buy from the local butcher so no fancy packing there which can harm your health… as I like to walk and I love the markets here. Bit the water fom the mains is not drinkable so it is bottled water and glass for the amount we use the cost would be quite high although you shouldn’t put a cost on health…I am going to enquire about a water filter though I think that would best for us here 🙂 xx
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It might be Carol we filter the water in the Brita jugs but I can certainly tell when they have done a chlorine dump into the water. xxx
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I was thinking more about a system fitted to the water supply..But Alan has just told me that someone comes round and sells crates of water in glass bottles. So he has been charged with stopping them next time which will be ideal and we can then return the bottles to him when we purchase another crate. xxx
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Sounds great Carol.. and a lot less expensive than having a filter fitted… xx
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Luckily there are communities around the world that have banned the use of supermarket plastic bags e.g. Takaka, Golden Bay, N.Z. http://happyzine.co.nz/2012/06/15/golden-bays-plastic-bag-culture-shift-small-community-global-impact/ This issue has been aired on a few news platforms of late. It is depressing when visiting the less rich countries and the masses of plastic that have accumulated there!
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I agree Suzanne.. and unfortunately unless we all get on board and make the changes it will make little difference.. But you have to start somewhere and certain countries such as the community you highlight are showing the way.. thanks for sharing..
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Thanks for posting this, Sally. I’ve already replaced all my plastic food storage containers with glass and replaced my the teflon coated pans with ceramic pans. I’m a child of the 80s 😦
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Great to hear Heather.. thanks for sharing.. x
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I have long known about the evil effects of plastics on food and liquids. And the biaxins in plastic products make it a no-no in microwaves. I shudder to think of all the disposable diapers (both fro babies and the elderly) building up in landfills.
Although I admire your commenters who have switched to glass food storage, I am not as virtuous. Oh, vey!
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Even small changes make a difference Marian and awareness is a great start. xx
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Excellent information! I have always said this is the cause of the increase of cancer, autism etc. I have an autistic client and I will always wonder what caused her autism. She was fine until age 5!
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Glad you found interesting Diane.. there are several theories and certainly I would have thought that five would be a little late for vaccinations… environmental would be a good culprit.
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I agree!
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Reblogged this on Lyn Horner's Corner and commented:
If you have young children or teens, you should read this.
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Thank you for sharing Lyn.. xxx
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Very scary, Sally! I had not heard about this before. Thanks for letting us know about the dangers of plastic-wrapped foods.
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I would love to go back to grease paper wrapped meat and cheese.. Some cheese here is in that kind of wrapping and it is so much better. xxx
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We usually buy sliced cheese with thin paper between the slices, but the whole thing is wrapped in plastic. As old as I am, I’m not to worried about the effects, but I passed on your post to my son and daughter who have children, some teens, some very young. I am worried about them!
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Thanks Lyn.. and I do hope that there will be a global movement of mothers and fathers to make the change.. xx
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Wow! Thanks for this information! This sure is an eye-opener!
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thank you for commenting and glad you found interesting.
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