Whole Life Times: Wrappings and Droppings

April 2006 | Letters from Readers

Wrappings and Droppings

Plastic—A Bad Wrap?

Your publication’s recent Living Green Q&A session entitled “Chemical Culprit in the Kitchen?” (Feb. ’06) leaves your readers with misinformation about plastic products and their safety.

Contrary to your article’s claims, phthalates are not used in plastic food packaging sold in the United States, and the vast majority of plastics used in food packaging do not contain the constituents needed to form dioxins.

All plastics intended for food use—whether designed for storage, microwaving, freezing or other purposes—must meet stringent US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) safety standards before they are allowed on the market. Because it is sometimes possible for small amounts of these substances to migrate from the packaging to the food, FDA thoroughly evaluates and regulates these substances to protect the safety of the foods we eat.
Many of today’s plastic products are specifically designed to withstand microwave temperatures. The best advice for your readers is to check the product or packaging label and follow the instructions for proper use. Concerned consumers can visit FDA’s website for additional information: fda.gov/fdac/features/2002/602_plastic.html —Patricia A. Enneking Managing Director, Plastics Division, American Chemistry Council, Arlington, VA

Co-Op America, Creator of Living Green, responds:

This letter highlights the difference between the approaches that the American Chemistry Council and Co-op America take toward human safety.

Not all of the hazards associated with plastics are related to their use in food packaging—as we stated at the beginning of our article, plastics are problematic throughout their life cycles, and some are worse than others. PVC is of particular concern, because dioxin is a byproduct of both its production and incineration.

In terms of food packaging, the FDA web page referenced above does admit that chemicals contained in plastic can leach into food; it claims that consumers can feel safe because their level of exposure to these substances is low. Given that chemicals used in plastic are linked to very serious health conditions and that their cumulative effects and interactions with other chemicals have not been studied as extensively as we would like, we think it is best to err on the side of caution and avoid exposure to them as much as possible.

Co-op America’s work is based on the Precautionary Principle, which, in the face of risks to health or the environment, “involves acting to avoid serious or irreversible potential harm, despite lack of scientific certainty as to the likelihood, magnitude, or causation of that harm.” (See the Precautionary Principle Project website, pprinciple.net.) We believe that in the case of plastic, there is enough concern to warrant acting to avoid serious potential harm. —Tracy Fernandez Rysavy, Editor, Co-op America Publications

Diamonds in the Rough

I thought you might be interested in a new trend sweeping Hollywood! It all started when I attended a workshop listed in WLT. During the meditation I kept getting the message “Money is SH..T” (sorry to be crass). It was so odd at the time, but all makes sense now.

About a week after the workshop, driving home through the desert, we saw a small stand with a National Geographic truck parked in front. They were filming for an article about dinosaurs. My Australian shepherd Rascal, my friend Gemma and I got out to see what all the hoopla was about. One big pile of rocks really grabbed my attention. I just kept picking it up and holding it. “What is this stuff?” I asked. The old rockhound answered, “That’s dinosaur dung, 150 million years old and counting!”

I bought all 100 pounds of the stuff.

I did some research. Its scientific name is coprolite and it is [said] to have many metaphysical qualities. Fast forward six months... with the help of many different characters—the ex-con “slicer dicer,” the Armani- clad jewelry designers at the St. Vincent Building (one of the world’s largest diamond centers), the disabled Americans at the work training center—DinoDiamonds came to be. We have not quite opened our doors for biz, and already we have a huge clientele of Hollywood stars: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Hugh Jackman, David Duchoveny to name a few! Please check out our website: dinodiamonds.com. The story gets even wilder and is a good lesson to follow your higher self, no matter how crazy the message may be! —“Dinodiva” Maryjean, La Canada

Toast to the Earth

Cheers to Traci [Hukill] for a well-done article on the organic beer world (“The Clean, Green Buzz,” 3/06). —John Power, via e-mail

Naked Pups

After last month’s article on the health benefits of barefoot hiking, (“Barefootin’,” 3/06), several readers contacted us looking for a local chapter of barefoot hikers. There is currently no So Cal chapter, but if your bare toes are itchin’ to start one in our ideally-suited locale, or you’d like to share trail stories with shoeless hikers around the world, visit bare footers.org/hikers.

Correction: Organic cookbook writer Leslie Cerier’s The Quick and Easy Gourmet, Sea Vegetable Celebration and Going Wild in the Kitchen were published by Square One Publishers.

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