Our Daily Intake of Chemicals

I am just back form California where I attended the Women Chef and Restaurateurs Conference and also had some great food experiences. From San Franscisco I headed to DC where I participated in Sunday Suppers and SIPs; two fund raisers for DC Central and Martha’s Table. I have posted a few of the haunts I discovered here.

Everywhere you go in CA there are signs similar to this >>

I found it interesting to see this sign at a Starbucks one morning when I was grabbing a tea.

By law in California, Starbucks must post the sign stating that cancer-causing toxic acrylamide is present in their brewed coffee. I wonder who is liable when allowing a company to sell a product containing a known carcinogen?

I am a chemical-conscious person and I take these signs seriously. I tossed out all my plastic wares and non-stick pans years ago. I’ve never had a microwave oven and I even put a sign on the door of the microwave at our local school that says: NO PLASTICS ALLOWED. I never allowed my kids pacifiers and I kept plastic of any kind out of their hands. I have sent my kids to school with breakable glass food containers. I was aware of the dangers of BPAs and I wanted to minimize their exposure to these chemicals. I have a lot to say to my kids when they purchase deodorants and other personal care products that are filled with fragrance, sodium lauryl sulfate and aluminum. I buy soap-free cloths & organic cotton sheets and I consider purchases of rugs, mattresses and pillows for their organic, non-chemical qualities.

So I am taken aback and quietly celebrate when I see a posting of a sign like this. I think we should all be warned of the chemicals we are coming into contact with every day. Perhaps it would push us to push back on the makers of these chemicals. Proposition 65 requires the State of California to publish a list of chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm.

Where do we stop as we are bombarded by these chemicals everyday? Do Californians stop reading the signs when they see them daily? I am a strong supporter of labeling Genetically Modified Foods and I believe we need to continue to question all of our food ingredients. I am working on putting together a presentation called Slow Food Martha’s Vineyard on GMOs and it encourages me to question everything. At home, we feed our animals organic foods and grain and a lot of our table scraps. However, sometimes I buy Iams, owned by Proctor and Gamble, or Friskies which is owned by Nestle. These are manufacturers who use GMO foods in their products. I carefully read a lot of labels this week in the grain store and there are many pet food manufacturers who are marketing highly nutritious cat and dog food with statements like:

Human–grade food quality (whatever that means?)Ingredients from humanely treated farm animalsandNo genetically engineered ingredients, synthetic preservatives and artificial coloring.

Today I noticed my husband filling the bird feeder and thought, oh geeze, we are probably feeding the birds with GMOs! Sure enough, bird seeds and products that are not labeled organic are grown with herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, artificial fertilizers (ammonia) and are filled with GMOs. Oh great! Here I go thinking I am so organic, conscientious and keeping our yard organic only to discover that I am guilty of contributing to this world of chemicals.

Lesson learned. Stay out of Starbucks in California!