Photo by stevendepolo/Flickr CC
The newspapers and the Internet are full of reports that men exposed to bisphenol A (BPA) [a chemical additive used in cans, plastic bottles, and more] have higher levels of erectile disfunction. Before going into a panic, take a look at the study details. This one was a survey of factory workers in China exposed to exceptionally high levels of this endocrine-disrupting chemical.
What does the study mean for men exposed to much lower levels? We don't have a clue. But we've heard plenty of unsettling things about BPA, including accounts by Jill Richardson and others of the extraordinary efforts of industry lobbyists to prevent officials from banning BPA. This new research suggests that a ban is a pretty good idea, even if most people are not harmed by small amounts.
Reasons?
• BPA is not essential in the human diet.
• It is an unnecessary contaminant.
• Small amounts of harmful chemicals can accumulate in the body.
• We have no idea what the threshold for harm might be.
• Removing it from the food and water supply is not all that difficult.
In sum, everyone except makers of BPA plastics can do just fine without it. I'm stuck; I can't think of a single reason not to ban it.
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Hmmm... I might disagree with the last point. Is there a material that is a drop-in replacement for polycarbonate? One that can handle freezing, boiling, dropping, is light-weight, odor resistant and clear? That's what I use my Nalgene bottles for; based on the info on their website it doesn't look like there's a replacement with all those qualities (I could get by without the clarity, but not the odor resistance...bleccchhh.)
And as for your first point: it's essential to the production of polycarbonate. If you need polycarbonate, you get BPA with it- it's not a contaminant to the process, it's an integral part.
I am wondering why Gingergene has to have a product that does all those things at once. Sounds very much like a person accustomed to having everything she wants no matter what.
on a positive note, repeated, accurate exposure of this issue by responsible journalists informs consumers, creates transparency and supports open debate.
i have a special interest in the foods we eat and the foods we feed our children. it seems to me clear from a wide body of careful, published medical research in peer-reviewed journals that our increased reliance upon processed foods has brought with it unintended threats to our health and the health of future generations.
for me, at least, any potential threat that can be eliminated by independent choice (fresh vegetables rather than canned vegetables; bottled beer rather than canned beer; etc.) is a threat that ought to be eliminated.
thank you.
Man, Gingerne sounds like a very educated plastics consumer.
What's wrong with stainless steel? I've switched my children's cups and water bottles and they work beautifully.