When you write a book about insects and their effect on human history, as I’ve just done, you find yourself reading a lot about pesticides, and their dangers. Which leads to reading about food additives and industrial farming and inhumane animal factories.
And if you’ve also done a lot of research, as I’ve just done, about the history of what people have worn, and why, you find yourself reading about the history of perfume making, cosmetics made with lead and mercury, and fabric dyes containing dangerous substances, such as arsenic.
All of which can make you a little paranoid about the hazards of everyday living, even in this day and age.
Back in August, I blogged about the dangers of a group of unregulated chemicals found in many household products, cosmetics, and perfumes, known as phthalates, triclosans, and BPA. You can read that post here.
This past Friday, the New York Times ran an article on its op-ed page entitled “Eat Like a Mennonite,” in which the reporter, Florence Williams, tried to reduce her exposure to these common chemicals by eliminating as much plastic and scent and meat from her daily life as was possible. She couldn’t ride in a car (because of the phthalate-laden plastic interior), wear cosmetics or deodorant, or buy any food wrapped in plastic.
And then in Saturday’s New York Times, Nicholas Kristof ran this article citing a recent experiment that suggested that one factor in the current obesity epidemic may be these endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in our food, furniture, and shampoos. Even brief exposure to these chemicals caused lab mice to put on fat rapidly. His conclusion is that a good starting point would be to pass the Safe Chemicals Act, because these endocrine disruptors are the “tobacco of our time.”
It does make it hard to know what to wear, what to cook for dinner, how to live your life in general. I guess my own takeaway is to do what I can to keep my family’s exposure as low as possible.
Off to cook some lentils. . . .