Beauty is Skin-Deep.. or is that the products?

I would consider the cosmetics industry the ninja of all chemical industries. Not only is the cosmetic industry not required to follow any kind of national or international chemical regulation, they actually profit by using more chemicals in their products.

How much profit are we talking here? In 2000, Wall Street Journal, Agriculture News recognized the Cosmetic Industry as the eighth largest industry of the “life science” industries generating $15 billion in revenue that year.

Toothpaste, shower gel, shampoo, hair products, make-up, deodorant, are all chemical products that we ingest daily, and the ingredients that make up these products are very harmful to our health. Because it is not a conscious act (like eating) we often forget that our skin consists of millions of pores that are absorbing whatever we choose to apply to it daily.

Some ingredients to avoid (information retrieved from David Suzuki Foundation)

      1.)  Petrochemicals aka petrolatum, mineral oil, and paraffin. These chemicals can be found in some hair relaxers, shampoos, anti-aging creams, mascaras, perfumes, foundations, lipsticks and lip balms. Petrolatum can be contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which have been associated to cancer when contact extends over long periods of time.

      2.)  Coal-tar colors which are listed in the ingredients as “FD&C” or “D&C” colors. These chemicals increase risk of cancer and may be contaminated with heavy metals toxic to the brain.

  

      3.)  Parfum aka fragrance. This ingredient is one of the many phthalates (soft un-bonded plastic) we find in our cosmetics. It is a known endocrine disrupter and has proven to cause feminization of males, insulin resistance, and asthma.

**Pthlataes are found in nearly all air fresheners, hair and beauty products, perfumes, and any scented products (even “unscented” is a scent)

      4.)  DEA (diethanolamine) are used to make cosmetics creamy or sudsy. There are various forms of DEA but they can be found in moisturizers, sunscreens, shampoos, cleansers and soaps. Long term exposure to these chemicals have been linked to liver cancer and precancerous changes in skin and thyroid. (DEA is recognized as a harmful toxin by the EU only)

The David Suzuki Foundation has done a significant amount of research into the chemicals found in our cosmetics and have come up with a list of the most common and threatening chemicals found in our cosmetics products. “The Dirty Dozen Pocket Guide” http://www.davidsuzuki.org/publications/downloads/2010/whats-inside-shoppers-guide.pdf

What to Do:

The first thing I would like everyone to think about it what he or she is using in and after their hot showers. Heat and moisture causes our pores to open and if we are using shower gels, shampoos, conditioners, and moisturizers that contain one or more of the chemicals in the “dirty dozen” then we are coating our skin with chemicals at the time when our skin is most absorptive.

Instead we could turn to more natural cleaners like tea tree oil or biodegradable soaps, then not only are we helping ourselves but also we are decreasing the chemical waste in the environment. And, if soft skin is important to you then consider opting out of using a daily moisturizer and instead doing a skin exfoliation. Exfoliation helps your skin remove toxins from the body rather then put them in.

The other major effort that we can do to help reduce the ecological impact of the cosmetics industry on the environment is opt out of using disposable razors. Two billion disposable razors are purchased annually; this is an easily divertible waste stream that we can all participate in with our consumerism. 

Don’t forget your daily toxins!

It is rather unnerving to think about the amount of pesticides we are unknowingly ingesting on a daily basis in our produce, however through buying more fruits with removable peels and selectively buying organic we can easily reduce our chemical intake.

There are three other areas of concern surrounding our daily chemical ingestion and that is plastic, cosmetics, and additives. I hope to spend the next couple posts addressing these topics more in-depth, so that we can all be chemically savvy shoppers and consumers in this modern world we live in.

The average American consumes 4 pounds of additives per year, they are found in most processed foods for the purposes of preservation and flavoring.


The Top Seven additives and preservatives are as follows:

Additive or Preservative	Purpose	Symptoms and health effects
Acacia gum (additive)	Thickening agent in gum, hard candies, ice cream, and salad dressings	Asthma or breathing problems, rashes or skin irritations, and abnormal embryo development
Alginic Acid (additive)	Used to maintain texture in packaged foods, commonly found in beverages, cheeses, ice creams, and salad dressings	Reproductive problems and birth defects; has caused maternal and fetal deaths in animals.
Benzoic Acid (preservative)	Found in baked goods, BBQ sauce, beer, candy, chewing gum, fruit juice, jams, jellies, margarine, pickles, and soft drinks	Gatrointestinal, liver, and kidney problems. Can also result in asthma, rashes, and itching and irritation of the eyes and mucous membranes (especially in people allergic to aspirin). May also cause neurological disorders and hyperactivity in children
BHA and BHT (preservative)	Found in baked goods, breakfast cereals, candy, chewing gum, enriched rice, freeze-dried eats, gelatin, ice cream, instant potatoes flakes, lard shortening, soup bases, salad dressings and unsmoked dry sausage.	Linked to liver problems, reproductive problems, breathing problems, high cholesterol, behavioral problems, vitamin d deficiency, weakened immune system, and increase susceptibility to cancer causing substances.
Iron Salts (additive)	Used to add iron to foods like bread, breakfast cereals, cornmeal, poultry stuffing, and self-rising flours.	Linked to gastrointestinal disturbances (like ulcers) and tumors
Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) (additive)	Flavoring agents in baked goods, candy, condiments, Chinese food, pickles, pork sausages, seasoning salts, sodium-free substitutes, and soups.	Often results in a diverse range of allergic reactions like burning sensations, dizziness, fainting, itching and hives. May cause facial and chest pressure, headaches, eye inflammation, brain edemas, depression, irritability, mood swings; and central nervous and vascular problems like numbness and high blood pressure. The placenta concentrates MSG, doubling the amount to which a fetus is exposed, and young test animals given MSG have shown decreased brain function and learning abilities.
Propyl Gallate (preservative)	Found in baked goods, candy, chewing gum, breakfast cereals, flavored beverages, frozen custards, gelatin desserts, ice cream, ice milk, instant potato flakes, mayonnaise, and vegetable oils and shortenings.	Stomach irritation, skin irritation, and allergic reactions like asthma, especially in people sensitive to aspirin. Also causes liver and kidney damage. Since this preservative is frequently used in combination with BHA and BHT, it can intensify the problems caused by those additives, like elevated cholesterol, allergic reactions (like asthma), liver damage, kidney damage, infertility, behavioral problems, vitamin D deficiency, a weakened immune system, and increased susceptibility to cancer-causing substances.

What is beneficial about this information is that it provides incentive as to why it is important to know the food we eat.  The health effects of these substances can aid in explaining the growing number of chronic health disorders society is experiencing. Eating foods where we can fully comprehend the ingredients list is not only beneficial for our bodies but it is beneficial for the environment.

What you can do: Check the labels! My goal in this blog, if anything, is to assert the need for health and eco-conscious consumerism. We make thousands of decisions about the foods we buy and eat, understanding the health end environmental effects of these products is essential to changing the market economy.

What I will do: I checked the labels and it is defiantly a learning experience. Kellogs cereal with dehydrated strawberries? Surprise, they are not strawberries; they are actually apples with flavoring and preservatives. Now I try and make my own complex foods. Instead of buying something sweet it is much more rewarding to make it yourself, crumbles, pies, granola (bars) have all become something I love to make and love to enjoy!

Pesticides- Out of Sight, Out of Mind

Pesticides are manufactured chemicals that serve the purpose of killing any pests or insects that may lower the crop yield of the foods we eat. They are not included in the labeling of any food on the market and so we are conveniently shielded from the amount we are ingesting and the knowledge of the health effects.

Things you should know

Dose doesn’t make the poison: There is a growing consensus in the scientific community that small doses of pesticides and other chemicals can cause lasting damage to human health, especially during fetal development and early childhood. Minimizing our consumption of pesticides is the best option for reducing the long-term health consequences. The majority of chemicals used in pesticides are known carcinogens, endocrine disrupters, and connected with organ failure.

Washing and Peeling: Pesticides have been manufactured to be weather resistant, and so do not come off with a simple rinse (they have been power washed before market arrival). Peeling helps, but valuable nutrients often go down the drain with the skin.

Canadian pesticide protection: Canada is the international laager in protecting its citizens from harmful pesticide exposure. There are over 60 chemicals that have been banned in the EU, US, and Australia for their serious health effects but not in Canada.

What to Do: The Environmental Working Group has put out a list of foods that are significantly pesticide heavy and a list of those that aren’t. By making organic choices based on this list you are capable of reducing your pesticide intake by 80%.

There is also a website titled the MRL database and you can look up any food product to find out the number of pesticides residues on your food. For example I found that an apple has 65 pesticide residues while there are only 11 on asparagus.

Pesticide MRL Database www.mrldatabase.com/?selectvetdrug=0

Free-Run, Free-Range, Organic… What is the difference?

Eggs are an interesting topic when it comes to the subject of sustainability. We are aware that the majority of chickens available in the market are from factory farms, but what about eggs?

It doesn’t seem as though supermarket eggs carry much of a different tale. In fact, Free-range-, Free-run, and Organic eggs are likely still produced through factory farms (80% of organic eggs are arriving from factory farms). So despite the good intentions behind purchasing free-range and free-run eggs, I don’t necessarily know if they carry the “ethical solution” we had hoped.

Free-Run Eggs: chickens are not in battery cages but are not allowed outside. Free-run eggs are more expensive because the chickens are being contained inside and allowed to run all over each other, causing an increase in disease and bacteria. As well, there are an increase in number of eggs lain on the ground. “Ground eggs” cannot go to market and so this is a profit loss that must be included in the products costs. This is also the reason why 97% of eggs are from chickens housed in battery cages.

Free-Range Eggs in comparison to Free-run means that the chickens have been let outdoors to experience sunlight for a restricted period of time every day. These eggs have been argued to carry a more nutritional content due to the increased variance in Free-range chickens diet. Free-range chickens are able to graze, eggs insects and worms, which produces a healthier yolk.

Free-range eggs are most defiantly a better option than Free-run but even they are produced via factory farming. 85 000 hens in a single building without cages and a tiny porch for outdoor access can and is considered a viable home for free-range and organic egg production. The best option when it comes to eggs is local.

What you can do: THINK about it. Corporations are picking up on the “green” marketing trend and manipulating it for profit. Next time you go grocery shopping and purchase eggs, take a look at where they are coming from, compare the prices and then think about what you are paying for. If the cost of carbon, ethical farming, and healthy eggs are something that you value I assure that the local producer of farm fresh eggs will thank you.

What I will do: My goal is to find the closest place that sells farm fresh eggs and see if I can incorporate that purchase into my regular grocery shopping. I am currently paying $2-3 on Free-range eggs, I know it wouldn’t be more expensive to buy local. If it is convenient then I will attempt to include others in this purchase so that my trip acts to provide farm fresh eggs to more then myself. 

She's Back!

Alright after a hard hit from a semester of five environmental studies classes I am back and ready to start sharing everything I have learned! My apologies for my absence but school took precedence.
This is a 15minute TED talk I watched the other day that I quite enjoyed and wanted to provide access to for anyone who would be interested. It is addressing the fact that for sustainable development to take hold in the future of human society we need to believe our happiness will not be compromised. However, the common misconception is that happiness derives from material things when in fact this is not the case.
Have a watch, its a very positive video hope you enjoy!


http://www.ted.com/talks/nic_marks_the_happy_planet_index.html

Recycling- not a linear process

Recycling is just that, a cycle, and so we must be aware to not only participate in recycling but also use our consumerism to reinforce its economy.

* Choose glass containers over plastic

* Buy recycled paper and understand paper jargon

Buy post-consumer. If the label indicates recycled but not post consumer it means that the company is simply collecting the scraps from the floor and putting them back onto the assembly line. 100% post consumer is ideal.

TCF (totally chlorine free): means virgin paper that wasn’t made with chlorine or chlorine-containing products.

PCF (processed chlorine free): recycled paper that was made without being re-bleached using chlorine or chlorine-containing products.

* Buy recycled toilet paper- it’s not reused its recycled-

if every household bought a 12-pack of 100% recycled paper rather than 400 sheet rolls made from virgin fiber, it would save 4.4 million trees and prevent the equivalent of 17 000 garbage trucks full of TP from going to the landfill.

* Be aware of packaging. Pick the loaf of bread that hasn’t been triple wrapped in plastic.

dirty dozen

Organic is expensive. So find out which foods are better bought organic and which are not.

A word of encouragement, well many words

One of the major issues with global warming and environmental destruction is that the people who care feel powerless. How can one person make any conceivable difference? But I figure if we are aware of the daily differences we can make, why not?

Think about the tobacco industry, they were almighty. Most of the developed world was smoking at one point and time, but as we learned the health implications and experienced the losses it could cause, people effected change. Smoking transformed from a trend to a bad habit in a decade, and now tobacco industries cannot even promote their product without displaying a picture of a devastated body organ on the packaging.

The same process is beginning to occur with the environmental movement. As more and more people bring reusable bags to the grocery store, you try harder and harder to remember.  As tales begin to trickle through the grapevine about pesticides and growth hormones, we begin at least comparing prices between the organic meat and regular ground beef.

My favorite part is when you do it, the sense of pride. Yes the organic sugar cost me $1.25 more than the regular sugar, and I defiantly thought twice before making the purchase. But I have never been so proud to own sugar in my life!

So lets just do it because it feels good. Sometimes it will cost more, and often it will cost nothing. For the most part it is just a process of learning and doing. 

Boycott Bottled Water...plastic sucks

Yes, we have all heard it - bottled water is bad- but why?

Bottled water is a multi-billion dollar industry, in 2006, Americans spent nearly $11 billion on more than 8 billion gallons of bottled water. And for what? Your tap water has been nicely filled into a plastic bottle and it'll be $1.75 please.

Aquafina fills its water from the taps of many southern states of America. Companies such as Aquafina and Dasini are not even required to do any testing on their water if it is sold within the same state, while local governments are.


So tap water is tested and regulated, while bottled water is not

The bottled water industry drains 1.5 million barrels of oil each year, and 75% of bottles are thrown in landfill. With the cost of oil it works out that it takes 2litres of water to make 1Litre of bottled water.

Plastic bottled water contains bisphenol A, (which has now officially been declared a toxin by Health Canada).

Bisphenal A is a chemical that may damage male sperm cells, may influences birth defects, and is associated with many cancer cases. It can also, at nonmolar doses, reduce the effectiveness of chemotherapy in certain lines of breast cancer cells.

Researchers are now finding that it may also be related to childhood obesity levels.

If you live in Victoria and the Greater Victoria region you should know that our tap water is from the Sooke reservoir. The Capital Regional District manages and protects this large environment 365 days of the year. It is only open to the public in the first weeks of May. Our water quality is excellent and we have no excuse not to indulge.

http://www.crd.bc.ca/water/waterquality/documents/water_quality-web.pdf

In the past two years I have probably purchased under 5 bottles of water. Often at clubs or bars they want to make a buck and so only provide water to their customers at a cost. Water should be a right to every person in the world. 

I would like to acknowledge Lucky Bar in Victoria, BC, who have taken the pledge not to sell any bottles of water at their bar.  

Coffee.. our daily fuel

Coffee is a daily must for many people, in fact 2.25 Billion cups of coffee are consumed daily.

Coffee is good, obviously, but 90% of its production takes place in developing countries. During the 1970's and 1980's the US agency for Industrial development offered Latin America $80 Million to switch coffee production to a monoculture.

Prior to this seemingly large offer, coffee was shade grown and mixed in with other vegetation that provided food for locals. It is now a sun grown monocrop.
The issues with this are obvious, increased use of pesticides, lower biodiversity, land degradation etc.. But the reason we don't do anything about it is because we are not directly effected. But, boy would we be pissed if we didn't get that morning cup of joe.

So... lets make the connection.

Since the transformation from sustainable shade grown coffee to sun grown monoculture there has been a complete devastation of the songbird population. Song birds are migratory, and so in the spring and summer come to North America and eat the same insects that are the primary vectors of infectious and parasitic disease.

Loss of Songbirds = Increased risk of disease

What you can do - buy local and fair trade coffee. Practice your sustainability first thing in the morning every morning. You will never taste a better cup of coffee.

What I will do- I am more of a tea drinker, which is equally as much of an issue. First I will be more conscious to buy fair trade tea, and continue to buy Red Rose as they have a commitment with the rainforest alliance. Second, I will only buy boxes of tea that do not have individual wrapping. Each tea bag does not need to have its own packaging, its absurd.