Don't Pass the Pork, Please!

As if it's not bad enough that our pets are being poisoned by tainted food, it now appears that one of the suspected chemicals may be in human food, too. News reports say that pigs destined for human consumption could have been fed melamine-tainted pet food.

A couple of paragraphs in this story stand out:

"The California Agriculture Department said separately it was trying to contact 50 people who bought pork that may have come from pigs fed food containing melamine. The state’s health department recommended humans not consume the meat, but said any health risk was minimal.

There is little research on melamine’s effect on humans, according to World Health Organization, but the chemical has been studied in animals for its risk of kidney problems and cancer. The WHO does not classify the chemical as a carcinogen for people." [emphasis mine]

Honestly, I'm not sure how a state health department can declare a minimal health risk when there has been so little research done on how melamine might effect human health. Nor is it reassuring to learn that the World Health Organization (WHO) doesn't classify melamine as a carcinogenic (cancer-causing) substance. Why would they, since it hasn't been extensively tested?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but plain old common sense would seem to suggest that eating meat laced with plastic dinnerware is just not a good idea. So if the massive amounts of energy and pollution -- not to mention animal suffering -- required to produce pork chops, bacon, sausage, etc., isn't enough to get people to think twice about what's on their plates, maybe the tragic poisoning of companion animals -- and now humans -- will be.

A Better Way To Get Your Water

In an earlier post, I mentioned ordering refillable, stainless-steel Kleen Kanteens to reduce the number of plastic water bottles we are using. They came last week, and the verdict is two big thumbs up!! We fill them with Brita-filtered water out of the tap. The water tastes great in the Kleen Kanteen, better than in the standard plastic bottles. When it's empty, you just rinse it out and refill. There's no energy wasted producing plastic bottles or transporting them to stores, plus fewer bottles end up in landfills. There's probably a money-saving aspect to this, too, but it would take some calculation and right now I don't have time. The bottom line: Check out Kleen Kanteen and other refillable water bottles (like the Siggs, which let you design your own bottle) at www.reusablebags.com.

What's in Your Water?

Last week, a commentator on the radio was discussing the enormous amount of landfill space being taken up by plastic water bottles. Not only that, it turns out huge amounts of energy are required to produce the plastic, and then transport the bottled water to stores. (By the way, if you've only seen the movie version of An Inconvenient Truth, invest in the book. It has tons of information that didn't make it into the movie, including a section on plastic water bottles.) For the past several months, I had been refilling my water bottles two or three times before putting them in the recycling bin. But then I read this and discovered why that wasn't such a great idea. In fact, as it turns out drinking water from plastic bottles is not a very healthy thing to do. So I started looking for alternatives. And found some terrific refillable water bottles from Kleen Kanteen at www.reusablebags.com. When the bottles come next week and I have a chance to take one out for a spin, I'll provide more details.