“Congress is considering a bill that would roll back protections for our oceans. This bill would allow large-scale, commercial fishing companies to pollute our environment and engage in harmful and reckless overfishing practices. We need your help to stop this bill from passing!” – Friends of the Earth
Tell your Representative: Don’t scrap basic protections for our oceans!
Rather than dismantle critical protections for our oceans, Congress should be defending them from harmful overfishing practices and other industrial uses. Your Representative needs to hear from you that they should stand up for our oceans and marine life, not big fishing corporations and other industrial uses.
5 Ways to Reduce Your Exposure to Toxic BPA
By Monica Amarelo and Samara Geller of EcoWatch
“BPA acts like estrogen in the body. It disrupts hormones, affects brain development and metabolism, and harms the reproductive system. Evidence suggests the developing fetus and young child are most at risk, but adolescents also appear uniquely vulnerable. BPA has also been linked to cancer, heart disease and other serious disorders.”
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found BPA in the urine of more than 90 percent of Americans sampled. In 2009, tests commissioned by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) were the first to find BPA in the umbilical cords of nine of 10 infants sampled. Because food packaging is the primary source of exposure, it stands to reason that BPA levels in our bodies are affected by what we eat and how that food is packaged. Although a new British study suggests that lowering your BPA level yourself through diet is not easy, there are some steps you can take to reduce your exposure.”
Here’s what you can do to limit or avoid exposure to BPA:
1. Buy fresh, frozen or dried food instead of canned. Or buy cans free of BPA lining.
2. Limit how many packaged foods you eat.
3. For those who cannot avoid foods in BPA-lined cans, rinsing the food in water may help lower the level of BPA in the food. Bonus: Rinsing cuts back on other additives too, such as sodium on beans or sweet syrup on fruit.
4. Never heat food in the can. Transfer it to a stainless steel pot or pan for stove-top cooking or microwave in glass—not plastic.
5. Search for your family’s favorite foods and beverages in EWG’s BPA product list. If they are packaged in containers made with BPA, look for alternative products in EWG’s Food Scores. Tip: Use the BPA-free filter function when searching.
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