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Living Maxwell

Better Choices

What You Need to Know About Buying Organic Food in Cans

While I promote organic food as much as I can and want to help the industry prosper, I also feel a need to educate and inform my readers.

Without question, organic food is the healthiest food that exists and is something that I believe can feed the planet. However, sometimes the packaging of organic food products is not always the best.

I have talked a lot in the past about my aversion to plastic bottles. Aside from the fact that they are horrible for the environment, they are also hormone (endocrine) disruptors.

When I spoke with David Wolfe, the most famous person in the raw food world, he shared a similar opinion regarding plastic.

Have I eliminated plastic bottles 100% from my life? No, but my usage has gone way, way down.

When I carry my water around NYC, I use glass bottles. And I LOVE the glass bottles by Takeya.

Every time I go into my local organic market, I see cans of organic food — beans, pasta sauce, tomato paste, etc. Many of these items are using cans that contain BPA (bisphenol A), a chemical that the FDA has real worries about.

The FDA has some concern about “the potential effects of BPA on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and young children.”

If the FDA, which is so beholden to Big Ag and doesn’t express any real concern about GMOs, has trepidation about BPA in packaging, it is something to pay attention to.

Brands that Use BPA-Free Cans

While there may be other brands that offer organic food in BPA-free cans, these are the ones that I am aware of.

EDEN ORGANIC

– Eden Organic has been using BPA-free cans since 1999. This company has been way ahead of the curve on this whole BPA issue and their efforts are very admirable. The Eden Organic products that do not use BPA cans are the organic beans, refried beans, chilies and rice & beans.

The Eden Organic products that contain tomatoes do use BPA cans.

NATIVE FOREST, NATIVE FACTOR

– Native Forest and Native Factor brands by Edwards & Sons have all of their products (except mushrooms) in BPA-free cans.

Interestingly, the labels do not say BPA-free but I have spoken with the company and they have assured me that all of the products (except mushrooms) under the Native Factor and Native Forest brands are not sold in cans that contain BPA.

MUIR GLEN

– Muir Glen says on their website that they are transitioning to BPA-free cans. What does this mean exactly?

Well, when I called the company, I was told that there are some organic tomato products that have the BPA-free cans and some that do not. However, none of the cans have labels on the outside indicating whether it is BPA-free or not.

I was told that the only way to tell if the Muir Glen can is BPA-free is to buy it and then look at the color of the liner inside.

If the liner is white, it is a BPA can. If the liner is an off-white color (yellow, copper, redish, pinkish color), then it is a BPA-free can.

When I asked to speak with a PR person at Muir Glen about this, I was refused.

I can promise you that I won’t be buying Muir Glen cans anytime soon and playing roulette as to whether the product contains BPA or not.

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Even if the cans are BPA-free, the liners will contain other chemicals, many of which we don’t understand the long-term consequences to human health.

If you still have doubts about BPA-free cans, my best advice is to stick with glass as much as you can.

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Living Maxwell

Better Choices

Are Fermented Foods the Key to Happiness?

Whether it is with a salad or any other dish that I am making at home, organic fermented foods – usually sauerkraut (above) or kimchee – can almost always be found on my plate. Why is this?

I have come to understand that if we want to have a strong immune system, we must take care of our gut and provide it with beneficial bacteria.

And that is exactly what fermented foods give us – beneficial bacteria.

Dr. Natascha Campbell-McBride, a Russian neurologist and founder of the GAPS Diet, says that:

“about 85% of our immune system is located in the gut wall. This fact has been established by basic physiology research in the 1930s and the 1940s. Your gut, your digestive wall, is the biggest and the most important immune organ in your body. There is a very tight conversation and a relationship going on between the gut flora that lives inside your digestive system and your immune system.

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Living Maxwell

Better Choices

Another Reason to Eat Organic — Organic Apples Contain More Diverse, Healthier Bacteria than Conventional

An apple a day will keep the doctor away.

Thanks to a new study, that saying has taken on even more meaning, particularly for organic apples.

In a recently published paper in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology, it was found that organic apples contain a more diverse population of beneficial bacteria than conventional apples.

Researchers analyzed the peel, flesh, seeds, and stem of both organically and conventionally grown apples, looking to find how much and what kinds of bacteria were present. While organic and conventional apples contained the same amount of bacteria, there was a big discrepancy in the types of bacteria found.

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Organic Insider

Better Choices

USDA Approves Genetically-Engineered Apples that Don’t Turn Brown

It seems like every day that passes, the USDA approves another very risky GMO crop, all to the benefit of biotech/chemical companies and to ZERO benefit for consumers.

This time, the USDA has approved a first-of-its-kind genetically-engineered (GE) apple that doesn’t turn brown after bruising or slicing.

The apple, developed by the company Okanagan Specialty Fruits, uses a relatively new form of genetic engineering called RNA interference, or gene silencing, which has raised numerous concerns from consumer groups, environmentalists, and the apple industry.

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livingmaxwell: a guide to organic food & drink