1. Dr Fredrick Von Saal PhD, an endocrinologist, listed canned tomatoes as the main food he avoids. Unfortunately the resin linings of the cans contain bisphenol-A, a synthetic estrogen which has been linked to heart disease, diabetes and reproductive issues. As the tomatoes sit in the cans, their acid content breaks down the resin and releases the toxin. Before you know it, you're creating health issues along with your pasta sauce!
The solution: Buy tomatoes in glass jars or Tetra Paks (or can your own!)
2. Joel Salatin, farmer and author, avoids corn-fed beef. "We need to respect the fact that cows are herbivores," says Salatin, "and that does not mean feeding them corn and chicken manure." On the giant feedlots cows are fed corn and soybeans which fatten them up faster for slaughter. This keeps the prices at the grocery stores low (and more money in the cattle farmers pockets), but sacrifices nutritional value for the consumer.
The solution: (aside from eating less beef) Buy from Whole Foods stores or local farmer's markets. Cuts on the bone are also cheaper (and actually cook better and have more flavor too.)
3. Olga Naidenko PhD, a scientist for the Environmental Working Group, chooses to avoid microwave popcorn. A chemical known as PFOA is used in the lining of the bag and has been linked in animal testing to liver, pancreatic and testicular cancer. When the bag is microwaved the chemical migrates to the popcorn, which is then consumed and the toxin accumulates in the body.
The solution: Do what I do, pop your popcorn in a heavy-bottomed pan on the stove top. It takes no time and is very cheap!
4. Jeffery Moyer, chair of the National Organic Standards Board, stays away from non-organic potatoes.
Potatoes are treated with herbicides, pesticides and fungicides during the growing season and are then sprayed again after harvesting to prevent sprouting. All these chemicals are absorbed into the flesh of the potato making organic the only alternative.
5. David Carpenter MD, Director of the Institute of Health and the Environment at the University of Albany, recommends avoiding farmed salmon. Like the cows the salmon are fed soy, chicken litter and even chicken feathers. As a result farmed salmon is full of pesticides including DDT, which has been linked to a myriad of health problems including diabetes. The fish are also treated with antibiotics, not what you really want on your dinner plate.
The solution: Buy wild Alaskan salmon instead.
6. Rick North, project director for The Campaign For Safe Food, avoids milk produced with artificial hormones. Farmers treat their cows with rBGH, or rBST as it's also known, to stimulate milk production. Sadly this also leads to udder infections in the cows which results in pus in the milk. In all other industrialized countries this bovine growth hormone is banned.
The solution: Look for milk produced without growth hormones (rBST-free) or buy organic.
7. Mark Kastel, co-director of the Cornucopia Institute, stays away from conventional apples. Again it's the amount of pesticides used which are of concern here. Apples are one of the most doused fruits and with evidence mounting that exposure to these chemicals is putting farm workers health at risk, it makes sense to avoid eating something that has the potential to contribute to the development of neurological illnesses such as Parkinson's Disease.
The solution: Buy organic apples.
What are your thoughts on this subject? Are there certain foods you avoid?
Links:
Cornucopia Institute
The Campaign For Safe Food
Institute For Health And The Environment
National Organic Standards Board
Environmental Working Group
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