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CHEMICALS IN OUR FOOD, AND BODIES
By Nicholas D. Kristof
New York Times
November 8, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/opinion/08kristof.html

Your body is probably home to a chemical called bisphenol A, or BPA. Itıs a
synthetic estrogen that United States factories now use in everything from
plastics to epoxies -- to the tune of six pounds per American per year.
Thatıs a lot of estrogen.

More than 92 percent of Americans have BPA in their urine, and scientists
have linked it -- though not conclusively -- to everything from breast
cancer to obesity, from attention deficit disorder to genital abnormalities
in boys and girls alike.

Now it turns out itıs in our food.

Consumer Reports magazine tested an array of brand-name canned foods for a
report in its December issue and found BPA in almost all of them. The
magazine says that relatively high levels turned up, for example, in
Progresso vegetable soup, Campbellıs condensed chicken noodle soup, and Del
Monte Blue Lake cut green beans.

The magazine also says it found BPA in the canned liquid version of Similac
Advance infant formula (but not in the powdered version) and in canned
Nestlé Juicy Juice (but not in the juice boxes). The BPA in the food
probably came from an interior coating used in many cans.

Should we be alarmed?

The chemical industry doesnıt think so. Steven Hentges of the American
Chemistry Council dismissed the testing, noting that Americans absorb
quantities of BPA at levels that government regulators have found to be
safe. Mr. Hentges also pointed to a new study indicating that BPA exposure
did not cause abnormalities in the reproductive health of rats.

But more than 200 other studies have shown links between low doses of BPA
and adverse health effects, according to the Breast Cancer Fund, which is
trying to ban the chemical from food and beverage containers.

³The vast majority of independent scientists -- those not working for
industry -- are concerned about early-life low-dose exposures to BPA,² said
Janet Gray, a Vassar College professor who is science adviser to the Breast
Cancer Fund.

Published journal articles have found that BPA given to pregnant rats or
mice can cause malformed genitals in their offspring, as well as reduced
sperm count among males. For example, a European journal found that male
mice exposed to BPA were less likely to make females pregnant, and the
Journal of Occupational Health found that male rats administered BPA had
less sperm production and lower testicular weight.

This year, the journal Environmental Health Perspectives found that pregnant
mice exposed to BPA had babies with abnormalities in the cervix, uterus and
vagina. Reproductive Toxicology found that even low-level exposure to BPA
led to the mouse equivalent of early puberty for females. And an array of
animal studies link prenatal BPA exposure to breast cancer and prostate
cancer.

While most of the studies are on animals, the Journal of the American
Medical Association reported last year that humans with higher levels of BPA
in their blood have ³an increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease,
diabetes and liver-enzyme abnormalities.² Another published study found that
women with higher levels of BPA in their blood had more miscarriages.

Scholars have noted some increasing reports of boys born with malformed
genitals, girls who begin puberty at age 6 or 8 or even earlier, breast
cancer in women and men alike, and declining sperm counts among men. The
Endocrine Society, an association of endocrinologists, warned this year that
these kinds of abnormalities may be a consequence of the rise of
endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and it specifically called on regulators to
re-evaluate BPA.

Last year, Canada became the first country to conclude that BPA can be
hazardous to humans, and Massachusetts issued a public health advisory in
August warning against any exposure to BPA by pregnant or breast-feeding
women or by children under the age of 2.

The Food and Drug Administration, which in the past has relied largely on
industry studies -- and has generally been asleep at the wheel -- is
studying the issue again. Bills are also pending in Congress to ban BPA from
food and beverage containers.

³When you have 92 percent of the American population exposed to a chemical,
this is not one where you want to be wrong,² said Dr. Ted Schettler of the
Science and Environmental Health Network. ³Are we going to quibble over
individual rodent studies, or are we going to act?²

While the evidence isnıt conclusive, it justifies precautions. In my family,
weıre cutting down on the use of those plastic containers that contain BPA
to store or microwave food, and Iım drinking water out of a metal bottle
now. In my reporting around the world, Iıve come to terms with the threats
from warlords, bandits and tarantulas. But endocrine disrupting chemicals --
they give me the willies.

.............

RELATED ARTICLES & LINKS:

EVERYONEıS ABUZZ OVER BPA
By Keith Goetzman
Utne
November 11, 2009
http://www.utne.com/Environment/Everyones-Abuzz-Over-BPA-5766.aspx

NHNE Body Burden Resource Page:
http://www.nhne.org/tabid/443/Default.aspx

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Published by David Sunfellow
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