Green Living Now News, Edition Six

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Green Living Now News, Edition Six

1. Carcinogens in Bulk Bin Foods?

Do you buy nuts, seeds and grains from bulk bins, like I did?
I thought I was doing a good thing-reducing the need for
environmentally unfriendly packaging and cutting my costs
by buying in bulk. Turns out that all nuts, seeds and grains,
including the certified organic ones (my preference), can
become contaminated by a deadly cancer causing substance
called, Aflatoxins.

What's an Aflatoxin?
They are the by-products of a common mold that grows on
grains, nuts and seeds produced by certain strains of the fungi
Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus. Under favorable conditions
of temperature and humidity, these fungi grow on certain foods
and feeds, then "voila", aflatoxins. And when I say "favorable
conditions" that means a humidity level of 15% and a
temperature of 70 degrees or above.

Aflatoxins are completely odorless, colorless and tasteless.
And, they can't be killed by cooking or freezing the food.

In the United States, aflatoxins have been identified in corn and
corn products, peanuts and peanut products, cottonseed, milk,
and tree nuts such as Brazil nuts, pecans, pistachio nuts, and
walnuts. Other grains and nuts are susceptible but less prone
to contamination.

Any negative health effects?
Aflatoxin-induced liver cancer is widespread in China, where
rice is often stored in warm humid conditions.

Aflatoxins produce acute necrosis, cirrhosis, and carcinoma
(cancer) of the liver in a number of animal species. Apparently
no animal species is resistant to the acute toxic effects of
aflatoxins; so it's logical to assume that humans may be
similarly affected.

Studies have also linked human exposure to aflatoxins to
increased prevalence of infection.

Aflatoxins cross the human placenta. This means that pregnant
women need to be careful. Aflatoxin exposure has been
associated with growth impairment in young children.

Although humans and animals are susceptible to the effects
of acute aflatoxicosis, the chances of human exposure to acute
levels of aflatoxin is remote in well-developed countries, like
ours. My family has been eating foods from bulk bins for years
with no apparent negative effects so far, but I think I'm going
to change my practice.

If you think you've been exposed to aflatoxins, Dr. Nan Fuchs,
suggests taking a chlorophyll supplement, 100 mg three times
per day. A double blind study in China with very high rates of
liver cancer, showed a 55% reduction in toxic exposure and
DNA damage among the people taking chlorophyll for just 3
months.

What's the deal with bulk bins?

In order to prevent aflatoxins, grains and nuts should be placed
in cool, dry, airtight containers. Bulk bins are certainly not air-
tight since they are opened many times per day by shoppers.
Typically, the bulk bins are filled from the top, so we scoop the
oldest stuff into our bags, which has been sitting in the container
the longest.

What to do?

Buy only prepackaged nuts, especially from the U.S. and
Australia, who have the highest standards of inspection,
storage, and packing.

Check out the tasty packaged organic nuts I'm eating.
Maple cashews and tamari roasted nuts.

Don't buy loose grains and cereals. Buy products that are
vacuum packed

Choose jar peanut butter over "fresh"..

2. Does our Government Care About Pollution
Our Health, and the Environment?

Doesn't look like it...

Did you hear anything in this last presidential debate about
pollution, or the environment? Barely a word was uttered.

Here's a thumbnail sketch of what you need to know:

Global Warming

The 10 warmest years on record have all occurred since 1990,
and yet the Bush Administration is still pretending that climate
change and global warming don't exist. James Inhofe (R-OK),said,
"With all of the hysteria, all of the fear, all of the phony science,
could it be that man-made global warming is the greatest hoax
ever perpetrated on the American people? It sure sounds like it.
" And, Vice President Cheney has called energy conservation a
"personal virtue," but not a "sufficient basis for a sound, compre-
hensive energy policy." Are these guys serious?

A new international report, "Meeting the Climate Challenge", has
just come out warning that we may be at a point of no return in ten
years or less. In other words, we have nearly reached a temperature
rise that would create disastrous changes, such as: widespread
agricultural failure, water shortages, major droughts, increased
disease, sea-level rise, and the death of forests. The report also
mentions the possibility of abrupt catastrophic events such as the
melting of the Greenland ice sheet, or the switching of the gulf
stream. The task force that created this report is made up of senior
politicians, business leaders, and academics from around the world.

With all of the hurricanes in Florida this Fall, the wild snow and ice
storms around the country recently, and the Tsunami, I couldn't help
but wonder if these were part of a natural cycle, or due to human
induced climate destruction, or both. No matter what the explanation,
doesn't it just make sense to support renewable energy development
and conservation practices? Most of the heat trapping gasses come from
power plants and automobiles. More gas, oil, coal and nuclear power is
not the way to go. Those technologies are too polluting, dangerous,
and outdated and leave us more vulnerable to terrorist attacks.
(For more information, click here)

Energy

Congress is supposed to be debating a new energy bill by the Spring.
Environmentalists expect it to be filled with more huge subsidies for
rich oil, gas, coal and nuclear industries, and little support for energy
conservation and alternative energy. Same old, same old.

Congress and the Bush Administration still continue to fight the idea
of slightly increasing the automobile fuel economy standard. Virtually
every expert agrees it's the most cost effective short term answer to
reduce our country's costly dependence on imported oil. Can you believe
that despite thousands of public comments urging stronger fuel economy
standards, in December the Bush Administration proposed a weight based
system that encouraged the sale of SUV's and pick-up trucks because
their mileage requirements are lower? And, we're already at a 24-year low
for average fuel economy.

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Don't even get me started on this one...The Republican Congress and the
White House are at it again-they're calling for oil drilling in Alaska's
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Did you know that none of
the oil would even reach the lower 48 states for up to 10 years? And the
most generous estimates say that ANWR might only have a 6 month
supply of oil, at best. Polls indicate that the majority of Americans are
against this drilling. Why won't our politicians listen?

Clean Air and Water

The Bush Administration's so called, "Clear Skies" is a misnomer. This
plan delays deadlines for meeting public health protections, allows
violations of soot and smog health standards to continue for another
17 years, and repeals measures that Congress enacted 15 years ago to
control emissions of smog and soot from utilities, industry and
transportation sources. It's expected that the administration will continue
to try and reduce the number and categories of waters protected, to lower
water quality standards, and allow more untreated sewage into our country's
waters.

Overall, the Bush administration has initiated more than 200 major rollbacks
of America's environmental laws, weakening the protection of our country's
air, water, public lands and wildlife.

What To Do:

To take action, click on this link for the Earth Action Center of the National Resources Defense Council.

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