Thinking Toxic Chemicals Again

This week brought not one, but two articles in mainstream media regarding the omnipresence of toxic chemicals in our environment and in non-organic food.

The article “Don’t Believe that Label” in The Atlantic even links to Silent Spring Institute for tips on greening your cleaning and personal care products. The second piece deals with noxious plastic packaging and appeared in the Washington Post. “The whole system is stacked in favor of the food and packaging companies and against the protecting of public health,” Nudelman, of the Breast Cancer Fund, is quoted as having said. Of course, the American Chemical Council makes its asinine assertions that “there is no cause for concern.” Does anyone still believe them??

I’m glad to see my younger daughter is now Facebooking this stuff, too. She linked to the WaPo article so her friends could become informed, noting, “Researchers have found traces of styrene, a likely carcinogen, in instant noodles sold in polystyrene cups. They’ve detected nonylphenol — an estrogen-mimicking chemical produced by the breakdown of antioxidants used in plastics — in apple juice and baby formula. They’ve found traces of other hormone-disrupting chemicals in various foods: fire retardants in butter, Teflon components in microwave popcorn, and dibutyltin — a heat stabilizer for polyvinyl chloride — in beer, margarine, mayonnaise, processed cheese and wine. They’ve found unidentified estrogenic substances leaching from plastic water bottles.”

This is all very shocking. Why is it still going on? Because the FDA has been infiltrated by people who support the interests of Big Ag and chemical companies, like Monsanto.

I decided to print out the WaPo article for Wellfleet Marketplace management. I understand how difficult it is for shopkeepers to avoid these chemicals. Difficult? Impossible.

Wellfleet Marketplace does a good job of providing a selection for folks who must eat gluten-free. It's also possible to buy grass-fed local beef from a farm in Truro. Some organic food is for sale, too. On the door, there’s a sign, albeit, SMALL, suggesting shoppers bring their own bags. Still, I feel more must be done.

I went in to deliver the article yesterday, but the manager was out. At the cash register, the cashier pulled out a "cornstarch" bag for the customer in front of me.

"No thanks," the young man said. "I go green."

Wouldn't it be nice if everyone in town adopted this attitude?

What's Wrong With This Picture?

I'll give you a clue. It's not the buoy, or the sardines. The magnificent mural on the Wellfleet Marketplace front window includes, choke-choke, plastic silverware. While I understand that eating utensils may be in demand in summer for picnics, I cringe at all the plastic forks and knives that end up in my recycling bin. We need to do a better job. We can do a better job. We must do a better job. Yesterday came news from the EPA that plastic bag recycling has diminished over the past year. This is not surprising when it comes to Wellfleet because, despite the Recycling Commission's best efforts, not everyone is refusing plastic bags and bringing their own. There's a sign on the door at Wellfleet Marketplace, but it is very, very easy to miss. What can you do about it? (Thought you would never ask!) Suggest a bigger sign. Always bring your own totes. Ask why the sign is so small. Make a beautiful LARGE sign that cannot be refused when you suggest posting it to the door. Thank the salesman or lady when he/she asks if you need a plastic bag. (You really don't.) Think of the environment. Let's make a resolution for 2012 to improve that EPA statistic, as least where Wellfleet is concerned ... With me?

Check out this great list from my friend Kris Bordessa at Attainable Sustainable. Plastic bag reduction is on it, but do check out the other 62 small changes that make a difference.

Wellfleet Marketplace Gets New Decoration

In the fall, winter, and spring, Wellfleetians shop at Wellfleet Marketplace. When I went in over the weekend, Shaina was busy decorating the windows with her perky designs. "Writing backwards must not be easy," I said, after complimenting her on what she had accomplished so far. "It's not," Shaina agreed. I really appreciate the fact that the owners employ local talent to beautify their store. Now that farmers' markets are closing for the season, we will shop at Wellfleet Marketplace more often. Below, another photo of Shaina, hard at work.

Once upon a time, Wellfleetians had larders full of preserves. Does anyone bother anymore? I certainly did not grow up learning the art of putting up food, but then my mom was a career woman. Wish someone had taught me! I bet we'll be seeing more courses in food preparation, as citizens seek to avoid GMOs. (Calling Prez. Hall: Hello, hello?) I'd also like to learn cheese-making. This week my friend Melanie, in New Zealand, turned 16 liters of raw milk into three types of cheese. Check out her blog Frugal Kiwi over the next few weeks as she will be posting how-to details. Do you know how to preserve vegetables or applesauce? Make jam? Ever tried your hand at cheese?

Do You Eat Foods Containing GMOs?

It’s Blog Action Day and the topic for 2011 is FOOD. Above, visitors arriving at Oysterfest yesterday morning. How appropriate for this post to have, as a backdrop, Wellfleet Marketplace where Wellfleetians buy food. At Oysterfest, we celebrate the oyster, a food consumed by Native Americans, then Cape Cod settlers, who threw the shells out their windows. Winslow’s Tavern gives a good description of why Wellfleet oysters are the best on Winslow’s Blog. Food is important. It nourishes us. Or, should. Many of us start the day with a bowl of cereal. (Check which brands provide true nourishment here.) Did you know that 80% of the food sold at stores, therefore technically at Wellfleet Marketplace, half of the food, available in the USA today, now contains GMOs?

Most Americans, when polled, say they do not want to consume GMOs. Do you?

GMO means genetically-modified organism. Anything not organically grown or certified non-GMO that has any corn, soy, canola oil or cottonseed oil, or products made from them, such as lecithin, and high fructose corn syrup, are very likely to be GMO.

I believe sufficient testing has not been done on GMOs and that they are not “good” for us to eat. “Good” is a euphemism, according to this short video:

DOUBLE DIPPING DANGER from NO GMO on Vimeo.

I do not want to serve GMOs at my bed & breakfast, so I have been writing manufacturers of certain products to inquire. For instance …

“I plan to blog about GMOs on Blog Action Day, when the subject will be food, Oct. 16. I would like to know whether Nonni’s biscotti contain GMOs. I no longer plan to serve products with GMO ingredients at my B&B. I looked on your site and could not find this information. Since your biscotti are a personal favorite of mine, I hope you will respond that they are all natural, no GMOs. I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks.”

And,

“Please stop using GMOs in your muffins. I love them. I just checked to see if you use GMOs and, with regret, have decided to stop buying. GMOs are not safe for health, no matter what the FDA claims. These ingredients should be avoided. I plan to mention Thomas English Muffins in the list of foods served at my B&B for Blog Action Day, but add that I am no longer buying until all ingredients containing GMOs are removed.”

I also wrote to my favorite pasta manufacturer. A Ronzoni rep actually wrote back:

“Dear Alexandra:

Thank you for your kind comments. They are greatly appreciated.

We are proud of our commitment to excellence in manufacturing quality products. We are always pleased to hear from consumers who appreciate our efforts. Our company has built its reputation on this tradition, and we will continue to manufacture the superior quality products you enjoy.

GMOs are not currently available in Durum Wheat, our major raw material. Nevertheless, we will continue to monitor developments in this area to ensure that the quality and safety of our products remains above reproach.

If we may be of further service to you, call us toll-free at 1-800-730-5957, weekdays 9-5 Eastern Standard Time …”

Note, the rep avoids saying whether Ronzoni will use GMOs in the future.

Anyone who cares about nutrition should be writing letters like these. The Internet makes it easy. Manufacturers do pay attention to public opinion. If they receive enough letters against GMOs, they will make an effort to buy non-GMO ingredients.

As of today, it is still hard to tell what is GMO and what is not. That is because BigAg has succeeded in lobbying against labels. This decision, at least, can still be reversed. Sign the petitions to demand the labeling of GMOs here and here and here.

Read a summary of the situation in yesterday's Daily Beast.

Do you worry about food containing GMOs or do you not care?

Dark Chocolate, Anyone?

Sven had a hankering for chocolate last night, so we drove down to Cumberland Farms. I do not keep chocolate in the house, because I’m a chocoholic. Mother must have dribbled Hershey's syrup into my Pablum. Actually, chocolate addiction runs in the family. My grandmother passed me handfuls of M & Ms when no one else was looking. My dad kept his own private stash of Lindt nuggets under lock and key. On weekly trips to the Giant supermarket in DC, I would trot right down to the candy aisle. Oh, chocolate, food of the Gods! The Mars Bars and the Milky Ways . . . the Snickers and the Three Mousquateers . . . the Mounds and the Almond Joys . . . the Fifth Avenues, the Babe Ruths . . . the Peppermint Patties! As soon as I got my allowance, I would bike up to the soda fountain for a chocolate ice cream soda with chocolate – not vanilla – ice cream and a cherry on top. I didn’t even have to give the lady my order. She recognized me as a regular: “Hi there, hon. One chocolate special, coming right up.” The soda cost 26 cents. With the change, I bought Hershey bars …

Trying to latch onto the recent health craze, Hershey has added Special Dark to its stable of chocolate treats, which is what was available at Cumberland Farms. A seal on the wrapper claims Special Dark is a “natural source of flavorful antioxidants.” Do not get taken in. I read the fine print. This new bar contains only 45% cacao and way too much sugar. In his book Anticancer, David Servan-Schreiber recommends at least 70% cacao to achieve any health benefit.

And, the place to go in Wellfleet, at this time of the year, for real dark chocolate? Wellfleet Marketplace, of course. It stocks two different brands, offering a choice of 70%, 77% or 86% cacao. Each bar costs around four dollars. Expensive! So expensive, I did not buy any.

Some people can break off small squares to eat like medicine. As I said above, I cannot resist eating the whole bar at one sitting. How about you? Are you able to incorporate dark chocolate into your diet?

Thoughts on Local Food and the Food Safety Bill

Since the weather is perfect this weekend, lots of non-resident taxpayers are around. I saw them at PB Boulangerie Bistro yesterday, when I stopped in for bread. The air was redolent with the sensuous aroma of apple tart and almond croissants, fresh from Boris’s gigantic imported oven. I stood there and waited ten minutes, the time required for the tourists in line to make up their mind, enough time for a cloud of sweetness to descend and follow me back outside, baguette in hand. My hair still smelled tantalizing by the time I reached Wellfleet Marketplace. I wanted to pick up some beef raised in Truro for a beef stew, but it was all sold out. There wasn’t even any stewing beef in the freezer. I could have bought ground beef, but I’m not too crazy about pre-ground, even when it's from a Truro farm, so we had quiche instead. Still, I want to salute the Marketplace for stocking more local food. There’s talk that Preservation Hall will house a farmer’s market or an organic veggies and fruit co-op in its basement, which would be a marvelous addition for year-round residents. I have a friend who keeps repeating, “We are what we eat,” and I remember her words whenever I go shopping with my canvas tote and basket. There's an obesity epidemic in the USA, and I believe it is, in part, due to all the high fructose corn syrup pumped into everything.

The Food Safety bill may reach Congress shortly. It is extremely complicated. From what I understand, small farmers will be in jeopardy if the bill passes without sensible amendments to protect them. Remember all those factory eggs that were recalled two months ago? The mega producer merely received a slap on the wrist, as did the bankers who created the worldwide mess with their credit default swaps. From recent raw milk raids, I have realized the FDA is pro-BigAg and no longer feels the obligation to pretend otherwise. We need our small farmers and local food more than ever. Please take a moment to read this post by a food blogger in the know and educate yourself on this important issue. We are what we eat …

Does your town have local food options? Has your awareness of food and nutrition changed of late? Do you think genetically modified food should be labeled?