BPA (Be Perpetually Aware)

It’s very hard to understood why corporate interests are allowed to release a product to be sold before defining tests have been completed that ensure its safety — tests by an independent lab, not the vested interest. As the editorial stated, "It would have been far better for the FDA to ban the chemical, or at least require manufacturers to label products that contain it.” Now I will explain why all this really gets to me. In the early 80s, I began to experience digestion problems when I’d eat anything spicy. As time went on, it got to where I couldn’t eat whole grains or raw fruit or vegetables without problems. As a result, my diet became very limited. In order to ease the problem of often having to prepare separate food for my family and myself, I took to eating many canned food products. On a typical day, I would consume a can of fruit, a can of mixed vegetables, a can of spaghetti and/or soup and maybe some fruit juice from a plastic bottle. This continued for a long time until a few years ago when I read about the dangers of BPA and how it is used in can linings. In 2004, I was diagnosed with uterine cancer. I was dumbfounded since there had been no cancer of any kind among any of my relatives.

Shortly thereafter, when I read that BPA is a synthetic estrogen, I put two and two together. Could this have contributed to my cancer? I’ll never know for sure. It is outrageous that BPA was ever used and still is being used in some baby bottles, linings of cans, and soda cans. This is a most egregious example of how our FDA is manipulated by corporate interests. Absolutely shameful. What has this done to babies who have been bottle-fed and who have chewed on plastic toys? What about children and teens who guzzle soft drinks? Being a synthetic estrogen, could this stuff have something to do with early puberty in some girls or the obesity problem in children - or even adults?

When I brought up the Web site of The Department of Health and Human Services, called, "Bisphenol-A Information for Parents,” two statements summed it up pretty well: "It is clear that the government and scientists and doctors need more research to better understand the potential human health effects of exposure to BPA, especially when it comes to the impact of BPA exposure on young children.” - and, "The Department of Health and Human Services… is investing in important new health studies in both animals and humans to better determine and evaluate the potential health consequences of BPA.” Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Are you also wondering how many other dangerous chemicals are in our food and environment that we haven’t been told about? Sadly, it’s as Joan Gussow wrote in "The Feeding Web” : " …there is no straightforward answer. It comes from the government, the scientists, the food manufacturers and others concerned about how Americans eat. The answer is: "We don’t really know, but don’t worry.”