20 people. 5 families. Fresh food intervention. How low can their BPA levels go?

It sounds like the premise for a reality show. But there are no over-the-top TV antics here. Last week, the Breast Cancer Fund and Silent Spring Institute released a study which tested the levels of the toxic chemical BPA for five families. Like many average families across America, these families were regularly exposed to BPA in their day to day lives through pretty normal activities: eating canned foods and beverages, eating in restaurants, using polycarbonate water bottles, and/or microwaving in plastic.

To see if their BPA levels could be lowered, these families were given a fresh food intervention: three days’ worth of freshly prepared organic meals, no canned food, and using only glass storage containers. The results were astounding: When the families took BPA out of their diets, they decreased the amount of BPA in their bodies by 60 percent on average in just three days![1]

Everyone should be able to be BPA free, but not everyone can because of its pervasive use by major corporations in our nation.

Now is the time to bring our voices together, and to use our collective consumer power, to make sure all families can reduce their levels of toxic BPA. Our voices are needed because BPA is one of the most pervasive toxic chemicals in our modern lives With 2 billion pounds of BPA produced annually in the U.S., it's no wonder that over 90% of Americans have detectable levels of BPA in their bodies.[2] Removing BPA from canned foods is a great first step in reducing our nation’s BPA exposure.

* Tell major food manufacturers Campbells, Del Monte, and Progresso that enough is enough! We know BPA is dangerous, and we want it out of our food and packaging!

http://action.momsrising.org/sign/BCF_BPA1/

Women make the majority of purchasing decisions, so when we bring our voices together to contact corporations, we can have a powerful impact. And our powerful impact is needed now because laboratory studies link BPA exposure to breast cancer, infertility, early onset puberty, ADHD, and obesity. Children, whose brains and organs are constantly developing, are particularly at risk and are exposed to more BPA for their size than adults.[3]

There are ways we can personally work to protect our families from some BPA exposure. Suggestions from the Breast Cancer Fund and Silent Spring Institute for reducing exposure to BPA and DEHP include cooking at home with fresh foods and making some changes in the kitchen, such as avoiding canned foods, choosing glass and stainless steel food and beverage containers, and not microwaving in plastic.

But unfortunately, these personal changes are not enough.  We can't avoid canned goods even if we have resources and the time for a pantry overhaul. Think a canned-foods-free pantry is keeping you BPA-free? Think again. Restaurants frequently use canned and packaged foods as an ingredients. So even if you've sworn off canned soup, BPA from canned foods is so omnipresent that it can show up on your plate at the local pizza joint, at a five star restaurant, in your children's school, or at the local food bank.

Like all moms, we're worried about the health and safety of our families. And like all moms, we're busy. That's why we want to make sure that when companies remove BPA from their canned goods, they aren't wasting time by replacing BPA with another toxic chemical. We're asking Del Monte, Campbells, and Progresso to take BPA out of their foods, and to also be transparent about their next steps for replacing BPA.

While we start making changes in the kitchen, lets work together to make a big change for the country. Ask America's top canned food manufacturers what they’re doing to get rid of BPA in their products!

http://action.momsrising.org/sign/BCF_BPA1/

[1] BPA in Food Packaging Study

[2] The Breast Cancer Fund BPA information

[3] Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families BPA Resources