Why Modify Genes?

Genetic engineering is no longer science fiction. The world's most profitable seller of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), America's own Monsanto, specifically engineers seeds to tolerate its herbicide. Are herbicide-tolerant plants more productive? A study by Charles Benbrook the former director of the Board on Agriculture at the National Academy of Sciences, says no. In more than 8,200 field trials, Monsanto’s “Roundup Ready” (RR) seeds produced fewer bushels of soybeans than similar unmodified varieties. Then why do farmers keep buying Monsanto’s patented RR seeds? For the same reason homeowners use Roundup on their lawns rather than pulling weeds by hand. It's easier.

Did you know that the largest user of the herbicide Roundup is the U.S. Government? That’s right. Each year we spray truckloads of the herbicide over the northern countries of South America in an effort to discourage cultivation of the coca plant. This indiscriminant drug-fighting effort is called Plan Colombia. Google it for yourself. You may also find an article about our not-so-precise use of the herbicide (also known as “Agent Orange”) during the Vietnam War.

Now, what happens when the company that sells the patented GM seeds also sells the patented herbicide? It makes lots of money, of course. In 2005, Monsanto's net sales totaled $2.20 billion (MSNBC). And Monsanto continues to make a killing (forgive the pun) as it buys out more and more seed companies on its way to becoming the world's largest vegetable and fruit seed dealer.

Unfortunately, farmers aren’t benefiting from this monopoly. In March 2001, a judge ordered Percy Schmeiser, a small farmer in Saskatchewan, to pay Monsanto thousands of dollars after its genetically engineered canola was found growing on his farm. How did the plants get there? Pollen had blown onto his fields from neighbouring farms. It cost Schmeiser thousands of dollars and his dearest treasure: his seeds. He was forced to destroy his stockpile of unique seed that his family had developed over many years. Sadly, the law is not on the side of farmers.

Are GM foods safe? That's the $211 billion question. And according to the African Centre for Biosafety the answer is no. They claim that "Monsanto's Roundup Ready GM wheat is unsafe for human and animal consumption and poses unacceptable risks to human and animal health, biodiversity and the environment." The use and overuse of herbicides risks the health of our environment as well as agribusiness. Cross-pollination (the fertilization of a normal plant with pollen from a GM plant) may lead to triple herbicide resistance and impossible to kill superweeds. A scary scenario.

And how about superBUGs? Some scientists believe antibiotic markers (genetic tags) in GMOs may contribute to the decreasing effectiveness of antibiotics against disease. Not to mention the viruses that are used to infiltrate the cell wall in order to modify the organisms.

What can you do to avoid GM foods? Actually, you’ve probably already eaten them. Crop varieties developed by genetic engineering were first introduced for commercial production in 1994. Nearly two-thirds of products on supermarket shelves today contain genetically engineered ingredients. But you wouldn’t know it. That’s because Congress and the FDA do not require the labeling of GM foods. According to the Pew Initiative, as of 2004, genetically engineered varieties accounted for 85 percent of all soy planted, 45 percent of all U.S. corn planted, and 76 percent of all cotton planted. Other GM food crops grown by U.S. farmers include canola, squash, and papaya.

If this makes you think, you should watch the film that inspired this blog: The Future of Food.

Another great source:
A History and Overview of Monsanto's Biotech Madness

The United States of Plastic

There is some controversy over the use of plastic in food preparation and storage. Controversy is good. After all, you’re talking about big money, and if Big Money doesn’t like your tone of voice, then you must be doing something right. Titanic petrochemical companies like Dow, ExxonMobil, and BASF, are making billions upon billions in annual profits and they’d rather not have chanticleers waking up their neighbors.

It wasn’t always so.

Plastics were born innocently enough in the Age of Industrialism. The first synthetic plastic, Bakelite (phenol & formaldehyde), was created in 1907 by Leo Baekeland. Over the next two decades, Bakelite became a kind of miracle material to be used in records, cameras, radios, and of course telephones. Have you ever held a Bakelite phone? It is a cold unearthly substance like bone but heavier. It’s easy to see why Hyat Burroughs chose Bakelite to replace ivory billiard balls in 1917. Function and durability were not the only advantages of this new material. During the Great Depression, Bakelite radios were ten times cheaper than wood radios. Th popularity had far-reaching social and cultural effects. Suddenly the President of the United States, F.D. Roosevelt, could deliver radio addresses to millions of Americans simultaneously, even those most affected by the Depression.

It’s really an old story and, if you’ve studied history, you know it.

Ushering in the machine age in the ‘30s and ‘40s, the petrochemical industry began cranking out other new materials like styrene (synthetic rubber), acrylics (Plexiglas, Lexan), and vinyl chloride (Saran, Teflon). Suddenly there was a war on, between nations and between corporations. The assembly line was king.

After the War, with the rise of consumer credit and consumer electronics, the demand for plastics was as high as ever. The American lifestyle had changed and the petrochemical industry was there to accommodate. You might also say that this was the logical outcome of years of advertisements pushing colorful inexpensive gadgets at the public.

In the year 2007, plastics have become part of the modern everyday, on the verge of replacing paper currency: “Do you take plastic?” To which the answer is inevitably yes. You can’t turn around without seeing some form of plastic at work, in your car, at home. At this very moment, I am typing on plastic, sitting on plastic, wearing plastic. Several of my teeth are capped in composite resin. Guess what? More plastic.

In this plastics-driven world – in the cogs of production and consumption – in the maze of information and misinformation – this is a fine time for individuals and congregations and corporations to question the environmental impact and safety of many new materials.

Experience teaches that we Americans can’t rely on the federal government to protect us. So it comes as no surprise that“The FDA has recognized that chemical components of adhesives, polymers, paper, and paperboard products used in microwave packaging migrate into food but has developed virtually no regulations” (The Safe Shopper's Bible 373).

Healthy Child Healthy World, a non-profit that advocates for safer products and environments for children, claims:

The use of plastics in food storage and cooking can carry health risks. Plastics have been linked to endocrine disruption in babies, cancers, birth defects, and poor brain/nervous system development. Some petroleum-based plastics leach harmful chemicals into foods and drinks, especially when plastic comes in contact with oily or fatty foods, during heating and microwaving, as a result of harsh cleaners, and when exposed to excessive moisture.

Use of certain plastics may also result in exposure to phthalates. For example, diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) may migrate from foodwraps during storage. It is classified as a probable human carcinogen and also causes chronic health problems, including liver and kidney abnormalities. Breathing dust contaminated by phthalates that have escaped from vinyl products used in the home may be a significant exposure for children. Children spend up to 90% of their time indoors breathing close to the floor, and many children’s toys are made out of phthalate-softened vinyl.

If these claims are true, are we plastic? That is, are we “readily capable of change”? For most of us, the answer is “No.” Change takes effort. Change takes time. And it’s easy to be overwhelmed.

Try this. Read up on the different types of plastic below and then consider these simple suggestions from HCHW:

1. Avoid the use of polycarbonate (No. 7) and polystyrene (No.3 and No.6). If the packaging does not identify the plastic, ask the manufacturer or don’t buy it.
2. Choose safer plastics such as polyethylene (No.2 and No.4) and polypropylene (No.5) which require the use of less toxic additives and are non-chlorinated.
3. Look for products which state “no phthalates” or “no bisphenol A (BPA)” – these are safer.
4. Avoid using plastic containers in the microwave - unsafe chemicals are released when plastics are heated. Instead, use glass or ceramic containers to microwave food and beverages. Pop out frozen food from plastic containers and heat in glass or ceramic.
5. Wash plastic containers by hand with a mild soap instead. Dishwasher’s hot water degrades most (if not all) plastics.
6. Be cautious of cling wraps, especially for microwave use. Wrap foods in butcher paper, waxed paper, or paper towels. Or store food in glass or ceramic.
7. Use alternatives to plastic whenever possible. Use glass, ceramic (lead free), and stainless steel.
8. Replace vinyl chew toys made of soft plastic - If you see “V” or “3”, it’s PVC - don’t buy it. Opt for toys and books made with natural wood, paper, cloth, or metal. If you can’t eliminate all of your child’s PVC toys, then make sure they are cleaned regularly. Wet wipe them regularly.
9. Look – be aware of plastic products in your child’s surroundings – squeeze toys, rattles, bath toys, cribs, teethers, pacifiers, high chairs, sippy cups, and baby bottles.

Disclaimer: I am not a scientist, so I can only tell you what I’ve read. But I am reasonably confident of the reliability of the information below. It is also the most readable and comprehensive listing that I've seen. If you find a better handbook/cheat sheet on plastics and safe food storage, please let me know.

Plastic No. 1 (20-30% of total sales)
Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET, PETE) – Often including DEHA (diethylhydroxylamine) and DMT (dimethyl terephthalate), potential carcinogens

Description:

Plastic No. 1 (PET, PETE) is usually clear and durable. It has good gas and moisture barrier properties. Generally, it has good resistance to mineral oils, solvents and acids but not to bases. It is very inflammable and inflammability can be reduced by the use of additives.

Creation:

· Production of 1 kg of PET requires the equivalent of about 2 kg of oil (raw material and energy).

Common Uses:

· Plastic soft drink, water, sports drink, beer, mouthwash, catsup and salad dressing bottles, peanut butter, pickle, jelly and jam jars, prepared food trays and film that is used to cook frozen foods and roast.

· Commonly used in soft drink bottles and many injection molded consumer product containers. Other applications include strapping and both food and non-food containers.

Disposal:

· Incineration in an incineration plant mainly produces water and carbon dioxide. Heating value is equivalent to 1/2 kg of oil.

· PET can be recycled into fibres that are used for polyester fabrics.

Recycled Products Include:

· Fiber, tote bags, clothing, film and sheet, food and beverage containers, carpet, strapping, fleece wear, luggage and bottles.

· Cleaned, recycled PET flakes and pellets are in great demand for spinning fiber for carpet yarns, producing fiberfill and geo-textiles.

· Nickname...Polyester.

Plastic No. 2 (50-60% of total sales)
High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)

Description:

Appearance is wax-like and opaque. HDPE has stiffness, strength, toughness, resistance to chemicals and moisture, permeability to gas, ease of processing, and ease of forming. It is highly resistant to many acids, alcalis and solvents. Dishwasher safe. Some types can be used in contact with food.

Creation:

· Production of 1 kg of HDPE requires the equivalent of about 1.75 kg of oil (raw material, energy).

Common Uses:

· Milk, water, juice, cosmetic, shampoo, dish and laundry detergent bottles; yogurt and margarine tubs; cereal box liners; grocery, trash and retail bags.

· HDPE is used to make bottles for milk, juice, water and laundry products. Unpigmented bottles are translucent, have good barrier properties and stiffness, and are well suited to packaging products with a short shelf life such as milk. Because HDPE has good chemical resistance, it is used for packaging many household and industrial chemicals such as detergent and bleach. Pigmented HDPE bottles have better stress crack resistance than unpigmented HDPE bottles.

Disposal:

· Used PE plastic can be recycled through remelting although there is a quality loss. Incineration is straightforward and comparable to oil, since PE only consists of hydrogen and carbon atoms.

· In an incineration plant only water and carbon dioxide are produced. However, common additives like UV-stabilizators (e.g. carbon black), dyeing agents and fire protectors can produce other waste products.

Recycled Products Include:

· Liquid laundry detergent, shampoo, conditioner and motor oil bottles; pipe, buckets, crates, flower pots, garden edging, film and sheet, recycling bins, benches, dog houses, plastic lumber, floor tiles, picnic tables, fencing.

Plastic No. 3 (5-10% of total sales)
Vinyl (Polyvinyl Chloride or PVC) – Leaches dioxins and linked to DEHP & DEHA (carcinogens)

Description:

· Appreciated for its versatility, clarity, ease of blending, strength, toughness. In addition to its stable physical properties, PVC has excellent grease, oil and chemical resistance, performs well in all weather, flow characteristics and stable electrical properties. PVC is self-extinguishing due to the content of chlorine. The diverse slate of vinyl products can be broadly divided into rigid and flexible materials. Soft PVC contains the softener agent DEHP which is under suspicion to reduce men's semen quality. Soft PVC should therefore not be used in contact with food.

· PVC forms hydrochloric acid when it degrades, which causes a chain reaction that proceeds rapidly to a complete loss of strength. Stabilizers are added to prevent this from occurring. Stabilizers used in PVC are generally metal salts, often lead.

Creation:

· Production of 1 kg of PVC requires the equivalent of about 1.5 kg of oil (raw material and energy). This is a low cost plastic.

Common Uses:

· Clear food and non-food packaging, salad dressing and liquid detergent containers, loose-leaf binders, medical tubing, wire and cable insulation, film and sheet, construction products such as plastic pipes, fittings, decking, paneling, gutters, mud flaps, siding, floor tiles, carpet backing and window frames..

· Bottles and packaging sheet are major rigid markets, but it is also widely used in the construction market for such applications as pipes and fittings, siding, carpet backing and windows.

· Flexible vinyl is used in wire and cable insulation, film and sheet, floor coverings synthetic leather products, coatings, blood bags, medical tubing and many other applications.

Disposal:

· When PVC burns, strong hydrochloric acid emanates. Incomplete combustion can develop poisonous dioxin. PVC can be recycled and used in e.g. garden hoses.

Recycled Products Include:

· Packaging, film and sheet, floor tiles and mats, resilient flooring, cassette trays, electrical boxes, cables, traffic cones, garden hose, mobile home skirting.

Plastic No. 4 (5-10% of total sales)
Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE)

Description:

· Excellent resistance to water, moisture and most organic solvents and chemicals (except ones with aromatic or chlorine content). Used predominately in film applications due to its ease of processing, strength, toughness, flexibility, relative transparency, and ease of sealing.

Creation:

· Production of 1 kg of LDPE requires the equivalent of about 2 kg of oil (raw material and energy).

Common Uses:

· Dry cleaning bags, produce bags, trash can liners, bread and frozen food bags, food storage containers, squeezable bottles, e.g. honey, mustard

· LDPE is also used to manufacture some flexible lids, bottles; used in wire and cable applications

Disposal:

· Used PE plastic can be recycled through remelting, although there is a quality loss. Incineration is straightforward and comparable to oil, since PE only consists of hydrogen and carbon atoms.

Recycled Products Include:

· Shipping envelopes, garbage can liners, floor tile, furniture, film and sheet, compost bins, paneling, trash cans, landscape timber, lumber

Plastic No. 5 (5-10% of total sales)
Polypropylene (PP)

Description:

· Polypropylene is an inexpensive, ductile, low strength material with reasonable outdoor performance. The material surface is soft and wax-like and scratches easily. It is resistant to heat, chemicals, grease and oil; it is a barrier to moisture and has a high melting point which makes it good for hot-fill liquids.

· PP material catches fire and burns easily, releasing smoke. Additives reduce its inflammability.

Creation:

· Production of 1 kg of PP requires the equivalent of about 1.75 kg of oil (raw material and energy). This is a low cost plastic.

Common Uses:

· Catsup bottles, yogurt containers, margarine tubs, medicine bottles, aerosol caps, drinking straws

· PP is found in flexible and rigid packaging to fibers and large molded parts for automotive and consumer products.

Disposal:

· Incineration is straightforward and comparable to oil, since PP only consists of hydrogen and carbon atoms. In an incineration plant only water and carbon dioxide are produced. Heating value is equivalent to 3/4 kg of oil.

Recycled Products Include:

· Automobile battery cases, signal lights, battery cables, brooms, brushes, ice scrapers, oil funnels, bicycle racks, rakes, bins, pallets, sheeting, trays

Plastic No. 6 (5-10% of total sales)
Polystyrene (PS) – Styrene exposure has been proven to cause respiratory illness and CNS (central nervous system) problems

Description:

· Polystyrene is versatile, has good insulation, and is an easily formed plastic that can be rigid or foamed.

· General purpose polystyrene is clear, hard and brittle. It has a relatively low melting point.

· PS is resistant to water, acids, bases and detergents, but it dissolves in almost all solvents.

· It is not weather resistant, and therefore not suitable for outdoor uses.

Creation:

· Production of 1 kg of PS requires the equivalent of about 2 1/4 kg of oil (raw material and energy). Styrene monomers are harmful to health.

· Polystyrene burns easily but slowly, with development of thick sooty smoke. Inflammability can be reduced by addition of special additives.

Common Uses:

· Compact disc jackets, food service applications, grocery store meat trays, egg cartons, aspirin bottles, packaging pellets or Styrofoam peanuts, plastic tableware...cups, cutlery, plates meat trays, to-go "clam shell" containers

· Other applications include protective packaging, containers, lids, cups, bottles and trays.

Disposal:

· Incineration in an incineration plant mainly produces water and carbon dioxide. Heating value is equivalent to 1 kg of oil.

Recycled Products Include:

· Thermometers, light switch plates, thermal insulation, egg cartons, vents, desk trays, rulers, license plate frames, foam packing, foam plates, cups, utensils

Plastic No. 7 (5-10% of total sales)
Other Plastics, or polycarbonate (‘Lexan’) – Linked to BPA, an endocrine disruptor

Description:

· Use of this code indicates that the package in question is made with a resin other than the six listed above, or is made of more than one resin listed above, and used in a multi-layer combination.

· Light transmission is 85-90% but depends on the thickness. It has good outdoors resistance in the UV-stabilized form, but it tends to turn yellow by long exposition to sunlight. PC is transparent and can be dyed in many colors.

· BPA leaching is greater in polycarbonate that is scratched, cloudy or exhibits other signs of wear. Leaching is also accelerated by heat. Hot and fatty foods or liquids may dissolve traces of BPA.

· Recent studies suggest that BPA exposure can impair brain function, leading to learning disabilities and age-related neurodegenerative disease. Doses of BPA lower than current EPA limits in female rats inhibited estrogen-induction of synaptic connections in the hippocampus, an area of the brain involved with the expression of sexually differentiated behaviors. Another study found that exposure to BPA before birth permanently changed DNA signaling in rats, predisposing them to developing cancer much later. However, this study injected BPA directly into the subject animals’ blood, whereas most human exposure is via ingestion.

Creation:

· Production of 1 kg of PC requires the equivalent of about 2 1/2 kg of oil (raw material and energy).

Common Uses:

· Three- and five-gallon reusable water bottles, some citrus juice and ketchup bottles

· Certain kinds of food containers and Tupperware.

Disposal:

· Incineration in an incineration plant mainly produces water and carbon dioxide. Heating value is equivalent to 1/2 kg of oil.

Recycled Products Include:

· Bottles, plastic lumber applications

Sources:

The Safe Shopper's Bible: A Consumer's Guide to Nontoxic Household Products, Cosmetics, and Food by David Steinman & Samuel S. Epstein, M.D. published by Macmillan USA 1995, New York.

City of Visalia, CA Solid Waste Department

Healthy Child Healthy World

Design Insite

“Petroleum and Downstream Products” by Michael J. Felton. Enterprise of the Chemical Sciences

"The Rise of Bakelite and other plastics in the USA in the 1930s" by Louis Bloedbeld

Pictures of Consumption

Check out this photographic exhibit by Chris Jordan. A description in the artist's own words:

Running the Numbers
An American Self-Portrait

This new series looks at contemporary American culture through the austere lens of statistics. Each image portrays a specific quantity of something: fifteen million sheets of office paper (five minutes of paper use); 106,000 aluminum cans (thirty seconds of can consumption) and so on. My hope is that images representing these quantities might have a different effect than the raw numbers alone, such as we find daily in articles and books. Statistics can feel abstract and anesthetizing, making it difficult to connect with and make meaning of 3.6 million SUV sales in one year, for example, or 2.3 million Americans in prison, or 426,000 cell phones retired every day. This project visually examines these vast and bizarre measures of our society, in large intricately detailed prints assembled from thousands of smaller photographs.

My only caveat about this series is that the prints must be seen in person to be experienced the way they are intended. As with any large artwork, their scale carries a vital part of their substance which is lost in these little web images. Hopefully the JPEGs displayed here might be enough to arouse your curiosity to attend an exhibition, or to arrange one if you are in a position to do so. The series is a work in progress, and new images will be posted as they are completed, so please stay tuned.

~chris jordan, Seattle, 2007

Please panic

I am an English teacher and this year my sophomores read the deeply funny science fiction of Douglas Adams. If you’ve read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, you’re familiar with the words printed “in large friendly letters” on the cover of the Guide: DON’T PANIC.

But maybe we should.

If trends continue, by 2050, Midwest farmers will need to grow crops other than wheat because America’s breadbasket will be in Canada (BBC News 12/3/06); 15 to 35 percent of the Earth’s 1,103 studied species will be at risk of extinction (National Geographic 7/12/04); and there will be no viable ocean fishing (Science 11/3/06).

This is not science fiction. We must act now to protect and restore God’s creation.

In 1990, the 202^nd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) adopted (by a resounding 97% majority) the policy report Restoring Creation for Ecology and Justice. The report declared:

The American people, beginning with members of our churches, must be challenged to form personal habits consistent with the need to cut back on the emissions of the gases that are causing the greenhouse effect and the depletion of the ozone layer.

If you would like to know what you can do to fight global warming, please attend PCIS's Friday Focus on June 29, 2007 at 7:30 pm, hosted by the Go Green Committee. We will meet in the fellowship hall and watch the film An Inconvenient Truth (2006). Dessert will be served.

Together, we can make a difference.

Welcome to Eco Corner

This column is part of an effort at the Presbyterian Church in Sudbury to raise environmental awareness and to promote global warming solutions.

Global warming, especially in some Christian circles, is not mentioned in polite conversation. Why? Well, it is complex. It is divisive. It is political. Ooh, an ugly word. But does that mean we should avoid it? I think not. The elephant in the room must be addressed.

First, let’s get our facts straight. Fact: Average global temperature has risen more in the last century (since the Industrial Revolution) than at any time in the past 10,000 years. Fact: According to authorities like the National Academy of Sciences and the Environmental Protection Agency, this sharp uptick in greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere is due to the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas).

Fact: We are already seeing the effects of global warming. In April, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), as established by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), published a 21-page report outlining the vidence of climate change around the globe. Read their 12-page Summary for Policymakers.

The Presbyterian Church (USA) says that climate change is a religious issue. In 1998, the 210^th General Assembly resolved to:

1. urge the government of the United States to ratify the protocol negotiated in Kyoto which seeks to have the U.S. and other industrialized countries reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, and urges all nations to develop policies on renewable energy, energy and fuel efficiency, and reforestation which will reduce their emissions;

2. urge developing nations to negotiate targets and timetable for reductions of greenhouse gases;

3. urge Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregations and institutions to pursue energy efficiency and conservation in their buildings and property; and

4. commend church organizations and individuals which have worked diligently since the 1990 General Assembly policy statement was adopted to promote caring for God's creation, and particularly for addressing global climate change.

If you would like to know more about global warming and what you can do to fight it, please attend the Friday Forum on June 29, 2007, hosted by the Go Green Committee. Participants will have an opportunity to make personal pledges to reduce their own global warming impact. We will then watch the film An Inconvenient Truth (2006). Dessert will be served. Taking action is easier than you think.