Avoiding plastic in your life

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While it’s impossible to avoid all plastics in your life entirely, it is absolutely possible to rid your diet and life of this toxic material as much as possible.

  • Plastic bags – Do you really need all those flimsy plastic bags when you go shopping? There are so many reusable bag options today. Rather than reaching for several small plastic bags in the produce section, bring your own bags or a box. Reusable grocery bags are easier to carry and you can pack more into them than in regular plastic bags. I like a few study cardboard boxes, less to carry and easier to pack and unpack.
  • Cling film – Do you use cling film every day? Get real; your grandmother never had such an artificial “luxury”. Give beeswax wraps a go, you can even make them yourself.
  • Plastic plates and cutlery – Why not use “real” cutlery instead of plastic?
  • Plastic tablecloths and aprons – replace with fabric.
  • Plastic shoes like Crocs – Try real shoes, they’ll last longer and you will actually look less like an Aussie. Just joking!
  • Plastic toys for your kids or the grandkids – There are plenty of wooden options available.
  • Plastic drink bottles – Try stainless steel or glass, easy. Avoid buying disposable plastic water bottles. Instead, use your own water bottle and refill it with filtered water or tap water. If you’re concerned about using plastic bottles, opt for stainless steel or glass.
  • BYO container – Bring your lunch container with you when you go out next time to get your Thai take-away.  This way you’ll avoid using those unnecessary plastic Chinese containers, Styrofoam or plastic boxes. I do and the guy at the Thai restaurant does not mind at all.
  • Plastic baby’s drink bottle? – try glass.
  • Use biodegradable alternatives to plastic. There are biodegradable dog poop bags for example, and some coffee shops and cafes use biodegradable cups, utensils and containers. Products made from corn and sugar cane are easy to compost and break down over time.
  • Think about the other plastic items you use daily. Pens, toothbrushes, combs and other implements can come in earth-friendly forms. Next time you’re ready to toss a plastic item and buy a similar item, ask yourself if there is a better, more durable and less plastic option.

There is a huge amount of data confirming the migration of plastics and additives in all steps of food manufacturing and processing. And in my opinion and that of many scientists, it is only a matter of time and money spent on new studies before the much more serious harm and more solid evidence is found. Because of the way of the corporate world, regulations resulting from studies may take many more decades yet to actually become law. Look how long it took the government to act with cigarette smoking; it took many decades and millions of avoidable deaths. One day smoking will be entirely banned in any public place, you will see, and I expect it to happen in our lifetime. Don’t you think it important to protect the health of yourself and loved ones right now from these plastics of which we know little about, before the solid rock hard “evidence” is there?

There is no doubt, ample evidence of the negative health effects of plastics already exists in sufficient quantity to halt the use of it in contact with all foods. More importantly, I feel that the manufacture of plastic itself must be halted for a multitude of reasons. Besides causing an endless number of human deaths, disabilities, and diseases, plastic is clogging all habitats of the world and destroying the ecosystem.

Apparently, there is now 6 times more plastic than plankton floating around in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The researcher who found this, Captain Charles Moore, Director of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, mentioned that the ratio of plastic to zooplankton is even higher in two so-called floating plastic “garbage patches” that are each bigger than the State of Texas in the ocean. Even more startling is seeing plastic bits incorporated into the flesh of the sea animals!

So what are you going to do when you go shopping from now on? That’s right, take your carry bags and say no to plastic.

 

By Eric Bakker ND

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