Go Greener Tips

div class=image style=float:right;padding-left:8px;img alt=image name height=230 src=http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/daily_green_news/daily_green_news-642656619-1241211575.jpg?ym3aPMBDSmR5oDNo width=300/br /em(Photo: Carmen Martínez Banús / iStockPhoto)/embr /br //divpThe a href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/organic-food-tips-47-040801green food movement/a, at its most basic level, boils down to this old adage: You are what you eat. That’s why so many people avoid foods with a href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/Dirty-Dozen-Foodspesticide residue/a, foods that were grown with fertilizers derived from fossil fuels, foods derived from genetically modified seeds or genes, milk or meat from animals pumped up with hormones or antibiotics…./ppWhile we can look for a USDA Organic and other reputable labels to find those foods grown to our standards, now it seems we should also consider the packaging that bears the label./ppA a href=http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/es9011417 target=_blanknew study/a published in emEnvironmental Science and Technology/em suggests there’s more to avoiding packaging than avoiding waste. The chemicals in food packaging — specifically papers treated to resist grease — are being found in human blood, suggesting that those chemicals are leaching from the packaging to the food, and then to us./ppYou are what you eat, yes. You are also what that food was packaged in. And that means your blood runs thick with perfluorochemicals, according to the University of Toronto study. (Thick is a deliberate overstatement, given that the chemicals are measured at a scale of parts per embillion/em, but when it comes to chemical exposure, that’s the scale that health experts often worry about.)/ppThe two most common chemicals detected are known as PFOS and PFOA, and a deep and growing body of research has already raised serious concerns about their safety. Neither is used directly in packaging, but both result from packaging chemicals — polyfluoroalkyl phosphoric acid diesters (diPAPs) — breaking down inside the human body./ppThis is the first study to link levels of PFOA and PFOS in blood to food packaging./ppOther studies have linked PFOA and PFOS to a range of health problems, including a href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/infertility-cause-47020204infertility in women/a, and to liver, immune system, developmental and reproductive problems in lab animals./ppIn addition to food packaging, the chemicals are used to make breathable clothing, nonstick cookware, upholstery, carpets and many personal care products./ppPFOS is being phased out in the U.S. by its main manufacturer, 3M, and it is being considered for worldwide ban by the United Nations. PFOA, also known as C8, was developed by 3M and then manufactured by Dupont. The Environmental Protection Agency has asked U.S. companies to voluntarily stop using the chemical by 2015. /ppBoth chemicals are long-lived in the environment, and have been found widely throughout nature, including in high concentrations in Arctic wildlife, far from sources of industrial pollution. There appears to be no plans to phase out diPAPs from food packaging, however, so people will likely be exposed to both chemicals as diPAPs break down in the human body./ph25 Tips for Avoiding Packaging/h2pAvoiding packaging helps you reduce waste. It’s one of the best things you can do to a href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/organic-food-tips-47-040801green your diet/a. When it comes to grease-resistant paper packaging, it also may be an important part of protecting your health./pollistrongEat real foods:/strong Real foods — fruits and vegetables, whole-grain bread, rice, etc. — typically aren’t heavily packaged, or processed./lilistrongBring your own bag:/strong Use a reusable bag made from canvas, cotton or other fiber to avoid wasting plastic or paper bags at the grocery store./lilistrongBuy in bulk:/strong Whenever possible, buy and store extra rice, beans, root vegetables and other foods that store well, in order to cut down on both waste and cost./lilistrongStart a garden:/strong There’s nothing like a href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/organic-gardening-tips-460309planting your own garden/a for cutting down on waste and enjoying the literal fruits of your labor./lilistrongStore food in glass:/strong Ditch the plastic for food storage whenever possible, and use glass./li/olbr /pMore from The Daily Green/ppa href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/organic-food-tips-47-040801?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=artmag=tdgGreen Your Diet: 18 Steps/a/ppa href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/Dirty-Dozen-Foods?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=artmag=tdgThe Dirty Dozen: 12 Foods to Buy Organic/a/ppa href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/healthy-recipes-47012605?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=artmag=tdgThe Real Food Diet: Superfoods For a Health Boost/a/ppa href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/recycling-symbols-plastics-460321?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=artmag=tdgWhat Do Recycling Symbols on Plastics Mean?/a/ppa href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/food-iq-quiz-44101001?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=artmag=tdgTest Your Food IQ: Take the Quiz!/a/pbr /pReprinted with permission of Hearst Communications, Inc/pp /p