I just received a notice from No BPA in Kids Products Facebook group with this update: Congressman Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)
and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) this afternoon introduced bills to ban BPA
in all food and beverage containers. This is definitely a step in the right direction.
If you haven't followed this topic, there are tons of studies that have tied BPA to a variety of ailments. But our FDA has relied on studies largely paid for by the chemical industry which, no surprise, found that BPA was safe. Canada and Europe have already taken action to deal with BPA, and many US corporations like Toys R Us and Walmart are refusing toys or items with BPA for children.
The health problems linked to high levels of BPA include genital defects, behavioral changes and abnormal development of mammary glands, along with breast cancer, testicular cancer, diabetes, hyperactivity, obesity, low sperm counts, miscarriage and a host of other reproductive failures in laboratory animals. More recent studies using human data have linked BPA to heart disease and diabetes.
Bad stuff. Which is why we rid our home of almost all plastics - bottles, cups, bowls, food storage items, toys, etc. - years ago. The kitchen was first, then the kids' toys and other items. We drink water from Siggs or the BPA-free Nalgene bottles from REI. The kids have a lot of wooden toys like Plan Toys or Haba (almost none made in USA, sadly) that may cost more, but I have confidence that they're safe.
Stay tuned here for updates on this issue, join the Facebook group - and if you're really ready to ban plastics in your house, give me a call and I'd be thrilled to share more ideas!
More people are becoming aware of the potential problems. Great post! Thanks for this!
Posted by: Mark Salinas | March 24, 2009 at 04:45 PM