Updates

Hello readers.

Lots of important things have happened while yours truly has been trying to master some techniques for deciphering rye from barley from oats from... lions and tigers and bears, oh my! Here are a few updates:

• Congratulations to Sarah Backhouse and Planet 100 on their 200th episode milestone! To celebrate we've added the automatic Planet 100 feed to JustSaying. Find it over on the right. Yay!!
• A new book about food localisation came out. MEAT: A Benign Extravagance by Simon Fairlie. Read Permaculture's take here and some other discussions here. 
• Nicholas Kristof wrote a strong column on the egg recall.
• Mark Bittman posted about the new study linking obesity and school lunches.
• Chez Panisse celebrated 39 years.

Toxins: Not Just in Plastics Anymore

If you've spent much time here on JustSaying, you already know that plastics marked "7" are a big no-no. And if you've spent much time shopping or sharing space with yours truly, you already know that perfume is a no-no (and have likely had your eau de toilette yanked out of your hands and heard, "Don't use that! That stuff is carcinogenic with a capitol "C." The perfume industry is going to go down in history like the tobacco industry. Just promise you'll at least stay away from it when your pregnant?!")

So why do I bring this up today, you wonder? Because Nicholas D. Kristof wrote a must-read Op-Ed in response to the rise of autism disorders, an article posted in Current Opinion on Pediactrics linking the rise to environmental exposures experienced prenatally, and the Environmental Health Perspectives article about suspect chemicals called phthalates (unregulated and commonly found in fragrances, nail polish, cosmetics, etc).

Read Kristof's Op-Ed here.

Our advice: Do some research on your beauty products before slathering and spraying them onto your body, and keep your distance from plastics marked 3, 6, and 7.

BPA: It's not just in plastics anymore

In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, Campbell's and Progresso engage in what foks in the advertising business call "Soup Wars." If you pay attention, you'll find that the commercials and print advertisements evolve from self-propelling, your-grandmother-gave-us-this-recipe, mmm mmm good jingles to smear campaigns against the other candidate. This year, I wouldn't be surprised if bisphenol A, or BPA, is the new MSG and plays a role in the race.

From Nicholas D. Kristof's recent Op-Ed:

"...More than 92 percent of Americans have BPA in their urine, and scientists have linked it — though not conclusively — to everything from breast cancer to obesity, from attention deficit disorder to genital abnormalities in boys and girls alike.

Now it turns out it’s in our food.

Consumer Reports magazine tested an array of brand-name canned foods for a report in its December issue and found BPA in almost all of them. The magazine says that relatively high levels turned up, for example, in Progresso vegetable soup, Campbell’s condensed chicken noodle soup, and Del Monte Blue Lake cut green beans.

The magazine also says it found BPA in the canned liquid version of Similac Advance infant formula (but not in the powdered version) and in canned Nestlé Juicy Juice (but not in the juice boxes). The BPA in the food probably came from an interior coating used in many cans..."