Comments on: Are Plastics Safe?

By: Dave B

Dave B — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:41:46 +0000

In animal studies, BPA exposure during pregnancy permanently alters offspring DNA:

http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20090529015303data_trunc_sys.shtml

By: How to Freeze Fruits and Vegetables | Mark's Daily Apple

How to Freeze Fruits and Vegetables | Mark's Daily Apple — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:29:26 +0000

[...] stored with juice, is freezer appropriate canning jars. Many people find it more convenient to use plastic freezer bags (either the Ziploc kind or the self-cut kind that requires a heat sealer). In any [...]

By: sammylou

sammylou — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:47:17 +0000

my tricks:

i wrap meats individually in parchment paper, then put them in a plastic freezer bag. that way, i can take out one chop, or several, depending on how many i need to cook, they don’t touch the plastic, but they get a more airtight seal than just paper. i also wash the bags out when they are empty and reuse them so as not to be wasteful.

i’m not afraid of the microwave. i mostly use it to reheat leftovers but i don’t use plastic. wax paper works great as a splatter cover over bowls/plates. can often be used a few times, and is accepted in my municipal organics bin for composting.

for anyone else in toronto who consumes milk, there are several places that carry the harmony line and they come in glass bottles. they also offer organic [from pastured cows], unhomogenized, whole milk that is pasteurized at the lowest temp possible. probably our best bet given that raw milk is illegal here.

By: Suzanne

Suzanne — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 04:26:50 +0000

interesting abd SCARY documentary about chemicals we are exposed to, including BPA and pthalates..
“The Disappearing Male”
Link:

http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/docplayer2.html?playlistId=f21067aaabfdece3076458e7e035e69febe7cfe7&id=911913844

By: thania1

thania1 — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 00:43:04 +0000

Thanks , great as always.

By: Amy

Amy — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 00:36:30 +0000

Pyrex makes big containers — I assume this is just glass, but maybe Mark has some insights on Pyrex??

By: Candace

Candace — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 23:30:32 +0000

Microwaves give me the creeps (Craig Ferguson called them “witchcraft” lol… that’s kind of how I feel about them myself). I know that’s about as subjective as you can get, but I don’t own one and never plan to. Besides, even if I were 100% conviced of their safety they still tend to ruin the texture of foods and just make them taste bad. It’s really not such a big deal not to be able to heat things in 10 seconds.

By: Justin De Quim

Justin De Quim — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 23:10:54 +0000

Can we Squire have yr take on water and filtering it or not and what kind of filters etc etc ?

By: Henry Miller

Henry Miller — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 21:09:54 +0000

You are a little too paranoid. Microwaves destroy nutrients to the extent they heat things. If you use a lower setting you won’t heat things as fast, and thereby not get the hot spots that destroy nutrients.

I almost never use a microwave. When you are cooking slow enough for good flavor to develop there is no speed advantage to the microwave, and a cooktop is easier to work with.

The idea that those vibrations are anything other than heat is silly and not backed by science.

By: Daniel Merk

Daniel Merk — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 19:41:31 +0000

Mark,

Great article. I design consumer products and we always talk about what materials to use in things. I preach quite a bit about using sustainable materials as much as possible without being “that guy.” Once we were talking about making a child’s dinner plate using melamine, a commonly used plastic that is pretty durable. It seemed like the natural thing to use since many plastic-ware outdoor plates are safely made with this. However the shocker is that last summer (yes in China) there was a scare about a contaminant found in milk that was killing kids. Digging into this we discovered that they were using a powdered form of melamine to thicken milk so they can thin it with water. Melamine. Yeah. No words can describe how cruel this concept was. I mean, come on. Kids here. Milk? Plastic Milk?

Yeah, I wish I could jump off the plastic bandwagon, but even the Vibram shoes have plastic in them. Its almost impossible. Sad.

Cheers,
dan