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Harmful Plastic Containers Create Dilemma for Organic Food Eaters
As organic food eaters, we are very concerned about what we put into our bodies. We don’t want to eat genetically-modified food and we don’t want to eat food laced with toxic pesticides. Yet, it goes beyond simply buying organic. Why?
Because much of the organic food that we purchase comes in cans or plastic (containers, bottles, wrappers or bags), which contain Bisphenol A (BPA), phthalates and PCV (polyvinyl chloride). These chemicals are hormone disruptors and may lead to fertility issues, cancer, impaired brain function, obesity and other problems.
I certainly acknowledge that plastics are harmful to my body and have taken steps to avoid them. I don’t buy food in cans anymore, and I carry glass water bottles to work each day instead of buying bottled water or drinking from the Poland Springs cooler. Not only is my water quadruple-filtered (from the tap) and has a superior taste but the Poland Springs water comes in 5-gallon plastic bottles.
In The Huffington Post this morning, there was a good article talking about this very issue and asking the question: Is food packaging impacting our health?
It talks about a recent study where families, who switched to a diet composed of foods with absolutely no plastic or wrappers, reduced their BPA levels by 50% in three days. So, the good news is that we can make positive changes to lower the amount of toxicity levels in our body.
The article also talks about good strategies to avoid plastics, many of which, but not all, I do.
So, the dilemma that it creates for organic food eaters is this. How far do we go and how much energy do we expend to have zero exposure to GMO, pesticides AND plastics in our food?
Believe me, it is a lot. It requires a lot of energy and requires us to change our behavior, not an easy thing to do.
I still eat food that comes in plastic and will probably continue to do so to some small extent. It just may be impossible to eliminate it 100%.
Nevertheless, I am going to make a very concerted effort to keep cutting down my exposure to plastic.
The only thing that we can do is the best that we can and not let this dilemma become a source of stress. Stress is probably just as or more harmful than any organic food product that comes in a plastic wrapper.
