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I installed a reverse osmosis water filter, switched to cast iron or stainless steel cookware, and use glass for food storage as much as I can. I wish there was

I installed a reverse osmosis water filter, switched to cast iron or stainless steel cookware, and use glass for food storage as much as I can. I wish there was an easy test for my level of exposure but I'm definitely aware.

FirmwareBurner 3y ago
How do you deal with groceries who are unavoidably always packed in plastics like Joghurts?
- fleischhauf 3y ago
  at least in Germany you can also get yogurt from a glass. there is even a shop where you can buy things without packaging in Berlin.
  - FirmwareBurner 3y ago
    Some fancy and expensive joghurts yes, but there's much more dairy that only comes in plastic like cottage cheese, Greek, Faye, Quark, etc., and not everyone lives in a major city where eco friendly shops or farmer markets that sell things without packaging. 90% of the time you're limited by what your local supermarkets provide.
- hedora 3y ago
  Home made yogurt is pretty easy to make, assuming you can find milk in a jar. (Instant Pots are stainless steel and often have a yogurt button, or you can get a dedicated plastic yogurt maker for ~ $20).
  - esafak 3y ago
    Get a live starter. In the US I recommend White Mountain Bulgarian Yogurt. Divide it up into an ice tray and freeze it as backup in case you lose your existing batch of yogurt.
wil421 3y ago
Do you drink out of a metal water bottle, drink juice or milk, or eat anything out of a can or carton? If so it’s lined with plastics.
- m463 3y ago
  I think that is too broad, plastics does not mean forever chemicals. But yeah, they are in unexpected places. https://www.consumerreports.org/health/food-contaminants/dangerous-pfas-chemicals-are-in-your-food-packaging-a3786252074/ https://www.consumerreports.org/health/food-contaminants/dan... Probably most people know about non-stick coatings in the kitchen. Most of them have forever chemicals. And wow, their marketing word choices are almost like privacy policies in their obfuscation.
- hedora 3y ago
  Modern paper straws are apparently extremely bad. Some stainless steel bottles are unlined. Sadly, the lined ones don’t have to include a warning label. Also, our local Whole Foods has a warning sign in the produce aisle saying that some of their fruit is coated in a plastic “food wax”. There aren’t labelling or provenance laws, so not even Amazon can source untainted produce at scale. They recommend peeling everything, since no wax removal soaps reliably remove the plastic.
  - spookybones 3y ago
    Paper straws? Not plastic?
    - more_corn 3y ago
      In order to make a paper straw waterproof we line it with a hydrophobic chemical mixture. It’s probably really bad for you but more research is required.
      - BobaFloutist 3y ago
        Every single paper straw I have encountered has been anything but waterproof.
mint2 3y ago
Now watch out for dental floss - many brands are a single strand Teflon. Don’t wear most water repellent gear and definitely not goretex, although finally non pfas options are being phased in. Avoid compostable to-go containers, many are lined with ptfe. It’s really everywhere
- mikestew 3y ago
  Don’t wear most water repellent gear and definitely not goretex I’m willing to be shown wrong on this, but unless you’re eating your GoreTex jacket, I don’t think it works that way. I am not going to absorb PFAs through my skin by wearing a GoreTex jacket.
  - monetus 3y ago
    This is more like receipt paper, where you shouldn't put your hands in your mouth after touching it. The coating washing off into the water supply is what nags me.
    - mikestew 3y ago
      GoreTex clothing doesn’t have a “coating”. The GoreTex part is typically laminated between sheets of (most commonly) some kind nylon cloth. The exception would be GoreTex Shakedry jackets, which are just big sheets of GoreTex without the nylon layers. Again, that’s just not how it works. It’s the manufacturing of these garments that’s the problem. Once they’re made and sold, I’ve seen no evidence that the garments aren’t safe to wear.
      - monetus 3y ago
        The outer layer is what I was referring too - you're right, it isn't a spray on coating and it isnt all goretex branded. The polymer is pretty durable, but it breaks apart eventually. It goes into the water eventually when washed. The instructions for washing some of these jackets explicitly say that they wash away. Relatively, this supposed to be negligible compared to the runoff of other industrial uses at least.

FirmwareBurner 3y ago

How do you deal with groceries who are unavoidably always packed in plastics like Joghurts?

fleischhauf 3y ago
at least in Germany you can also get yogurt from a glass. there is even a shop where you can buy things without packaging in Berlin.
- FirmwareBurner 3y ago
  Some fancy and expensive joghurts yes, but there's much more dairy that only comes in plastic like cottage cheese, Greek, Faye, Quark, etc., and not everyone lives in a major city where eco friendly shops or farmer markets that sell things without packaging. 90% of the time you're limited by what your local supermarkets provide.
hedora 3y ago
Home made yogurt is pretty easy to make, assuming you can find milk in a jar. (Instant Pots are stainless steel and often have a yogurt button, or you can get a dedicated plastic yogurt maker for ~ $20).
- esafak 3y ago
  Get a live starter. In the US I recommend White Mountain Bulgarian Yogurt. Divide it up into an ice tray and freeze it as backup in case you lose your existing batch of yogurt.

wil421 3y ago

Do you drink out of a metal water bottle, drink juice or milk, or eat anything out of a can or carton? If so it’s lined with plastics.

m463 3y ago
I think that is too broad, plastics does not mean forever chemicals. But yeah, they are in unexpected places. https://www.consumerreports.org/health/food-contaminants/dangerous-pfas-chemicals-are-in-your-food-packaging-a3786252074/ https://www.consumerreports.org/health/food-contaminants/dan... Probably most people know about non-stick coatings in the kitchen. Most of them have forever chemicals. And wow, their marketing word choices are almost like privacy policies in their obfuscation.
hedora 3y ago
Modern paper straws are apparently extremely bad. Some stainless steel bottles are unlined. Sadly, the lined ones don’t have to include a warning label. Also, our local Whole Foods has a warning sign in the produce aisle saying that some of their fruit is coated in a plastic “food wax”. There aren’t labelling or provenance laws, so not even Amazon can source untainted produce at scale. They recommend peeling everything, since no wax removal soaps reliably remove the plastic.
- spookybones 3y ago
  Paper straws? Not plastic?
  - more_corn 3y ago
    In order to make a paper straw waterproof we line it with a hydrophobic chemical mixture. It’s probably really bad for you but more research is required.
    - BobaFloutist 3y ago
      Every single paper straw I have encountered has been anything but waterproof.

mint2 3y ago

Now watch out for dental floss - many brands are a single strand Teflon. Don’t wear most water repellent gear and definitely not goretex, although finally non pfas options are being phased in. Avoid compostable to-go containers, many are lined with ptfe. It’s really everywhere

mikestew 3y ago
Don’t wear most water repellent gear and definitely not goretex I’m willing to be shown wrong on this, but unless you’re eating your GoreTex jacket, I don’t think it works that way. I am not going to absorb PFAs through my skin by wearing a GoreTex jacket.
- monetus 3y ago
  This is more like receipt paper, where you shouldn't put your hands in your mouth after touching it. The coating washing off into the water supply is what nags me.
  - mikestew 3y ago
    GoreTex clothing doesn’t have a “coating”. The GoreTex part is typically laminated between sheets of (most commonly) some kind nylon cloth. The exception would be GoreTex Shakedry jackets, which are just big sheets of GoreTex without the nylon layers. Again, that’s just not how it works. It’s the manufacturing of these garments that’s the problem. Once they’re made and sold, I’ve seen no evidence that the garments aren’t safe to wear.
    - monetus 3y ago
      The outer layer is what I was referring too - you're right, it isn't a spray on coating and it isnt all goretex branded. The polymer is pretty durable, but it breaks apart eventually. It goes into the water eventually when washed. The instructions for washing some of these jackets explicitly say that they wash away. Relatively, this supposed to be negligible compared to the runoff of other industrial uses at least.