Entries For: September 2008

You want safe shrimp to eat; restaurant owners want a good product to sell; chefs want delicious ingredients from which to create a winning menu; and domestic shrimpers need our business to survive as an industry. It’s one big circle – and our choices in one area impact others. This circle was made obvious by voices raised in New Orleans at the 2008 Women Chefs and Restaurateurs National Conference.

The attending women were eager to hear from Food & Water Watch, who sent me to get out the word about the health and environmental price of cheap imported shrimp. Chefs and restaurants got tips and important information about how they can improve their shrimp purchasing practices in the panel, "There’s Something About Shrimp."

 "The only way to make sure that we are getting safe seafood and that we continue to have a domestic industry to supply us with it is to shift demand. "

A lot is at stake for shrimp, and audience members got a well-rounded perspective on the issue from our esteemed panel. Panelists included moderator Leigh Belanger from the Chef’s Collaborative, local New Orleans shrimper Ray Brandhurst, chef of Commander's Palace in New Orleans, Tory McPhail, and Brennan Group operations head Haley Bitterman.

Giant shrimp buffets and growing portion sizes are just two reasons why demand for cheap, imported shrimp has grown immensely (learn more in our report Suspicious Shrimp). The safer, sustainable domestic shrimpers have lost and gone out of business. In addition, natural disasters such as hurricanes have wreaked havoc on shrimpers' boats and the industry’s infrastructure.

Ray, an innovative entrepreneur, talked about how the direct-purchasing relationships that he established with local restaurants have kept him afloat. He’s even begun shipping his shrimp directly to restaurants throughout the country via FedEx.

The overarching message from the panel was clear – eat domestic shrimp. The only way to make sure that we are getting safe seafood and that we continue to have a domestic industry to supply us with it is to shift demand. And we all have a part to play in that – whether we’re consumers, shrimpers, or chefs. To find out more about industrially produced shrimp and why you may want to avoid it, check out our Suspicious Shrimp report.

Plastics have been used in food packaging for years, but who knew that you could end up eating the chemicals used to make the plastic?  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration doesn’t have a problem with a certain plastic ingredient called Bisphenol A (BPA) leaking into your food as long as it stays below “safe” levels. But it turns out that even low levels of BPA may increase the risk of heart disease and diabetes according to a new study. The low levels found in the study to increase disease risk are around five times lower than the levels considered “safe” by the FDA.

So once again, it seems that the FDA has dropped the ball and it’s up to consumers to protect themselves.  While it’s tough to completely eliminate BPA from your diet (it’s used to line the inside of almost all metal cans containing food), you can lower your exposure.  Essentially, you want to avoid types of food packaging that will leak a lot of BPA into the food. The main perpetrators are plastic baby bottles and cans containing acidic foods (like tomatoes).  Look for acidic foods like tomato sauce in glass jars.  As for plastic bottles, BPA is typically found in hard plastics, not the softer types like soda bottles.  When it comes to bottles for water (from the tap, please!) or other drinks, glass or stainless steel are good options.  Finally, avoid heating food in plastic containers that have BPA in them (or any plastic containers, for that matter), since heat accelerates the leaching process.

There is at least one U.S. food company that forgoes the BPA in its metal cans,  but unfortunately for consumers, most companies have not yet switched to an alternative to BPA in canned foods.  You can contact the manufacturers of the brands you buy and tell them they should get rid of the BPA in their cans (look for the 800 number on the package). 

But there is no excuse for BPA to remain in plastic baby bottles.  Canada is in the process of banning the use of BPA in plastic baby bottles and the U.S. should follow their lead.

Congratulations to local water activists in Shapleigh, Maine who worked tirelessly for six months to safeguard their water. They canvassed at the local dump, hosted educational workshops and struggled to protect their local watershed from corporate greed. And they won the battle: no testing or drilling from Nestlé. The committed movement in Shapleigh was spurred on by the dedicated grassroots efforts of POWWR (Protecting our Water and Wildlife Resources). This is not only a victory for Shapleigh but for communities everywhere working to take back the tap!

Please send Shapleigh a note of congratulations and encouragement.

Food & Water Watch
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Rocket fuel in your water? No big deal, at least not to the group that’s supposed to protect our environment. Yes, you read that correctly: the Environmental Protection Agency evidently doesn’t think defending our most valuable resource is a “meaningful” priority. A document the EPA just released states that investing in the decontamination of perchlorate, a toxic rocket fuel, would not result in a "meaningful opportunity for health risk reduction for persons served by public-water systems." If reducing hazardous substances in our water supply isn’t meaningful enough for the EPA, what is? After such a ridiculously slack decision, perhaps the EPA’s water supply is in need of a test for brain impairing toxins.

Water in 35 states has tested positive for contamination with perchlorate at points high enough to affect thyroid and developmental health according to many experts. Even though every scientific panel that’s addressed the matter has appealed for a rigorous clean-up plan, the push for regulation has been hindered by political interference. The blame is being placed on the Pentagon and defense contractors for hampering with the ruling since they would likely be the ones to pay for any clean-up, being responsible for exposing the gunk to our water in the first place.

 "Even small changes in thyroid functions early on have impacts on functioning through high school and even into people's 20s."

Robert Zoeller, a University of Massachusetts professor spoke to the Washington Post about the health risk this chemical poses. "It's absolutely irreversible," he said. "Even small changes in thyroid functions early on have impacts on functioning through high school and even into people's 20s." The reference to the studies providing this evidence was deleted by officials from the White House Office of Management and Budget, who heavily edited the EPA proposal. With such political meddling, it appears that the country's so-called protection agency can't do much protecting after all.

Think drinking bottled water solves the problem? Think again. Even showering in water contaminated with high levels of toxins such as perchlorate could be harmful. Plus, bottled water isn't necessarily healthier and a lot of it comes from the tap anyway. Most importantly, supporting privatized water only makes the problem bigger, sending money to big corporations and away from our public resources. Help push for the only real solution, investing in clean and safe public water: ask Congress to provide the funds needed to protect our water sources.

The fourth infant death from contaminated powdered milk was announced in China Thursday, highlighting once again the sad state of China’s food safety system. So far, more than 6,000 infants have fallen ill with more than a thousand requiring hospitalization since the scandal became public last week. All of the deaths have been traced to milk powder produced by the Sanlu Group, although milk and dairy products made by Yili, Mengniu Dairy, and twenty other companies have tested positive for melamine contamination.

While the first death from the tainted milk powder was reported in May, a recall was not ordered until the information became public in September. This revelation has shaken Chinese confidence in the safety of their own food supply with parents questioning what other foods may be contaminated without their knowledge.

This latest scandal has revealed the corrupt nature of the growing Chinese dairy industry. The Chinese dairy industry routinely dilutes the raw milk with water in order to increase their product while reducing its nutritional content.  Companies add the banned toxic substance melamine, which is used to make plastic, so the watered-down milk will pass chemical tests for protein levels.  Due to its high nitrogen content, melamine appears to be protein during chemical tests. To date, eighteen people have been arrested in connection with the contamination.

While so far the problem seems to be primarily affecting consumers in China, melamine was actually at the center of another food crisis last year involving imported pet food ingredients in the United States. Although the tainted pet food was recalled, some tainted livestock and fish feed made with the same imported ingredients was ignored because it contained only “low” levels of melamine.  Given this latest in a long string of scandals over tainted food in China – a growing source of imported food for the United States – it is past time for Congress and the FDA to establish strong standards (and enforce them) for imported food. 

Learn more.

- William Blakeley

Yesterday, Food & Water Watch's Executive Director Wenonah Hauter testified before the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Transportation Safety, Infrastructure Security, and Water Quality. The committee was hearing testimony on legislation to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act so that it requires manufacturers of bottled water to submit annual reports about contamination.

“The people and businesses in a watershed have the right to use it reasonably for drinking, growing food and other activities in the community . . . To restore the public’s faith in tap water and to ensure that future generations of Americans have access to safe, clean, affordable water, Food & Water Watch recommends that Congress pass a clean water trust fund," she said in her comments.

Check out the coverage from CBS.

Write your member of Congress in support of a water trust fund.

Get more information.

Check the map to see if FLOW is screening near you

Around the country and around the world communities are fighting for control of and access to safe, affordable public water. Film Director Irena Salina's film FLOW is a passionate, fact-filled world-tour of the issues facing the planet’s water today. Focusing on human rights, environmental destruction and corporate greed, FLOW shows the public challenges and the public fights for control over their most essential resource. Set in countries across the globe, Flow will inspire you and call you to action.

Join Food & Water Watch in this historic time as our movement for social justice and community control of water comes to local theaters. We'll be attending screenings around the country to bring this important film and movement into your community.

WATCH THE TRAILER

olive oil
parsley
potatoes
a little garlic
lemon juice
pepper

These are some of the ingredients contestants are adding to showcase seafood in scrumptious sounding dishes submitted to our Get Cookin' Sustainable Seafood Recipe Contest.

We've got $250 to give away for the recipe that tickles us and our taste buds the most. All the top entries win a Food & Water Watch Chef's apron and have their recipes published in our Get Cookin' Sustainable Seafood Recipe Booklet.

Who are the lucky judges? In addition to Food & Water Watch staff, locally renowned chef Rocky Barnette will be evaluating the finalists' submissions based on the following criteria:

• Taste
• Uniqueness
• Healthiness
• Simplicity 

Bonus points are given for using sustainable/local ingredients.

Just weeks after Monsanto decided to divest of rBGH, Eli Lilly has acquired the artificial dairy hormone. Not surprisingly, Eli Lilly is now spreading the same misinformation about rBGH's safety and environmental benefits as Monsanto once did. 

Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone is a genetically engineered chemical that is injected into cows to make them produce more milk. Besides the documented increase of infections in dairy cows injected with rBGH, which necessitates increased use of antibiotics, there are ongoing questions about links to cancer in humans.

Despite Eli Lilly's claims, rBGH is not a 'vital technology.' Instead, it's a questionable one that has been shunned by several major dairy retailers this year alone. Help us maintain the momentum against the use of rBGH. Tell Eli Lilly that consumers want rBGH-free milk, and they want it to be labeled plain and simple.

-Filmona
Food & Water Watch
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