Fretful Mother

I thought we were avoiding BPA contamination once we switched to stainless steel water bottles last year, but apparently it's canned food that is the predominate route of exposure.

Damn.  I eat a boatload of fresh fruit and vegetables, but I supplement heavily with canned goods.  Not that I crank open a tin of creamed corn (ick!) and call it a night, but I use organic canned diced tomatoes by the case. 

Back in the days of yard sales for food, I suspect our BPA exposure was significantly lower.  Who would buy a can of beans, I snorted, when you could get ten times the amount of dried ones in the bulk aisle for the same price?  Fast forward a year or so, debt repaid, and the security of a regular paycheck again, who the fuck has time to plan ahead and soak beans all night long?  As a matter of fact, screw tinned beans!  Let's order sushi!

Fretting doesn't accomplish much.  It's Action Time!  Here's my BPA free strategy:

Meal planning!  I don't have a pressure cooker to get a jump on the evening's beans, but with a little forethought, I can prep them the night before in my slow cooker.

Put 'em on the glass!!! In the spirit of Ma Ingalls, I'm going to can my own diced tomatoes, the old fashioned way, in glass jars in a big pot.  I'll have room to grow my own organic tomatoes at our new house, but I'll probably supplement with tomatoes from the farmers market when they are in season, plentiful and cheap!

Write some letters!!!  As usual these here United States are late to the party.  Industries in other countries are voluntarily (and sucessfully) reducing BPA contamination of food.  It can be done, so why aren't United States manufacturers doing the same?  Write your legislators and demand safe food for your family.  Safe alternatives are available.  It's unconscionable to continue to expose us to unsafe levels of contaminants in our food.

Support companies that are doing the right thing!!! Actually, there is at least one company that uses a "custom made BPA-free can" - Eden Foods.  I checked my preferred grocery store in town and they carry a limited selection of Eden Foods.  You can be sure I'm going to ask them to stock a wider variety of Eden's safe food for my family.

Got any good ideas to add?  Use the comment section.

Comments

[jacey]

yes! your plan resembles mine. I'm all about my pressure cooker for beans, that and the quick soak where you boil for 5minutes then cover and soak for 3 hours.

xox,

[Sahara]

Its tiring being a fretful mother isn't it? I do soak beans over night and then simmer them for hours all day. It doesn't seem hard to me, but then I don't have a tiny little guy to take care of like you do. I've got garbanzos for hummus stinking up the house right now. ;)

Oh, you can also freeze processed tomatoes. If you leave head space, good quality glass freezes great. Both methods (freezing and high-temp canning) change the nutrition a bit so its just a judgment call to make. Also, look into the book "Keeping food fresh : old-world techniques & recipes", The gardeners and farmers of Terre Vivante. There are tons of ways to preserve things in there that our ancestors used.

Good luck going BPA free and spreading the word! By the way, do you know about the safety of freezer/storage bags and plastic wrap? I try not to use them too much from an environmental end, but there are times when it fits the bill just right and I don't know about the safety.

[Dawn]

I'm looking for suggestions too...we switched out our water bottles as well but we do eat canned beans and tomatoes.

Like the suggestions that were left so far...keep em coming!

:)