Headed to Washington

No, I'm not headed to the East Coast anytime soon, but there's a few bits of legislation related to things I've mentioned here that you ought to be aware of.  (It's up to you how you might want to respond.)

The first I discovered from an Environmental Working Group headline:
"This month, we have an unprecedented opportunity to make sure our food is free of bisphenol A. By March 31 - just days away - the federal Food and Drug Administration plans to decide whether or not to continue allowing food packaging that leaches BPA. There is no time to lose - the FDA has to hear from you before it makes its call. The government needs to know that Americans will not stand for food contaminated with toxic chemicals. Email the FDA today and tell them you want BPA out of your food's packaging!"


By now, you've probably heard about the debate and risks of BPA.  It's research that's been building for years but now seems to point pretty solidly to two concerns: BPA is absorbed by the body and can be measured in saliva, urine, and breast milk; BPA is a hormone disrupter and linked to several cancers and other conditions (insulin resistance, for example).  More and more companies are removing BPA from their re-usable products (often using this fact as a marketing tool) and it's banned for use in baby bottles in many countries.  Even taking BPA out of water bottles, exposure sources remain.  One of the most common is in food packaging.  
Why use BPA in packaging?  Well, it forms a barrier between the packaging (say a tin can) and the food itself. However, while the bag or can is protected and reinforced, the BPA itself can still leach into the food, particularly acidic foods like tomato sauces and coconut milk.  


Till now there really hasn't been much regulation for the containers that food is stored and shipped in - here's an opportunity to speak up about it.




The second is a petition to label foods that use GMO (genetically modified organism) products.  This one is a pretty heated debate, that quickly leads into discussion about more global issues about how food gets from the farm or factory to our table and the politics involved.  However, if you want to learn more from the pro-label side, check out: justlabelit.org  This organization has filed a petition with the FDA that you can join from their website:
A legal petition (Docket # FDA-2011-P-0723-0001/CP) has been filed with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) calling on the FDA to label genetically engineered (GE) foods. 

(There are multiple organizations devoted to this cause, largely in the organic market.)
Should labeling GMO products be de-facto (like allergy labels have become) or should companies that avoid GMO products be the ones to label their products as a self-promotion tool?  One argument here is that GMOs appear in unexpected places that the consumer might not even know to look out for.


So go forth and learn about these issues - and act if you find yourself interested in these questions!

Is this spring that I'm feeling?

MJ has a theme for our garden this year.  He's actually had it for almost half a year, ever since he first saw seeds for purple tomatillos at one of our gardening stores.  Last year was not optimal for planting them - summer was oppressive and long and we wouldn't have had time to grow medium-long growth plants from seeds.  But this year, we're starting early.

The theme is "purple."  Not long after seeing those seeds, we found some purple pak choi seedlings and the idea was born.  (Incidentally, pak/bok choi - pretty tasty and grew well for our fall garden.)

We had a beautiful weekend and headed to the gardening stores with the idea of getting tomatoes in now.  (I'd read that this was the time to do that in Texas - the idea of a 9 month+ growing season is still a bit "off" to me.) After much consideration, we picked up some tomatoes (including two purple varieties), snow peas, purple pak choi, and dark kale.  We did go get those tomatillo seeds, too, as well as picking up some watermelon and pumpkin seeds.  That, plus some beet seeds and swiss chard plants that survived the winter, completed our garden.  We'll be adding some pepper plants to fill it out.  For those interested in such things, there are a few heirloom varieties in there - three tomoato plants, specifically.

We're definitely excited to see how we do.  We spent some time prepping the soil - weeding the weeds that this winter was not cold enough to kill, and adding fresh compost, top soil and fertilizer.  We feel that each year we try this garden thing we learn more and get better; I'm actually a little concerned that we may have started having "expectations", rather than just being pleased to get something, anything.