A Day Without Plastics

I recently read about a study where breast cancer cells were treated with chemotherapy. In the cases where there was an average presence of BPA in the blood, the cells showed no response to the chemo. Though, BPA was finally federally banned in baby bottles this year, it is still prevalent in many plastics we encounter every day. This led to my decision to see if I could spend one day without eating or drinking anything that had been in contact with plastic.

It definitely required some planning. I stocked up on food the day before.  I went to the farmer’s market, where I brought my own canvas bag and put the produce straight into it. I bought eggs for breakfast, fresh bread, tomatoes and some cheese that was wrapped in paper for as well as broccoli and fish for dinner.  I realized during the shopping process that by cutting out plastic you often will be cutting out processed food as well, which can only be a plus.

The next morning I had a couple of hard boiled eggs with some toast. I wasn’t sure about the lining of the foil bags in which coffee is packaged, but I need my coffee so I decided to just not think about that for the day. For lunch, I made myself a sandwich to bring to the office in a paper lunch bag, the kind your mom used to pack for school trips and write cute notes on. (At least my mom did.) My local organic food store also uses these bags for produce, but at a lot of grocery stores the only choice is plastic in the produce aisle.

I only used half of the avocado and the tomato, so I had to find a way to save them that didn’t involve plastic. I would normally wrap them in saran or put them in a Ziploc, but instead I used glass container that I use to store food for my daughters. This made me think to myself, “Why are we so much more careful with our children’s health than our own?” Of course I know the answer, but I would be so much better off if before consuming anything I stopped to think, “Would I let my kids eat that?”

For dinner , I broiled the fish and squeeze some lemon on top. Luckily I had some spices that were in glass containers because my fish would have tasted pretty bland if I couldn’t season it. I sautéed some broccoli and even poured myself a glass of wine. I was relieved to have made it through the day without too much trouble. However, it involved a lot of forward planning and coordination. So often I don’t think about meals ahead of time, and I just grab on the go. However, when eating out, you have no idea what type of containers your food has been stored in before you eat it.

This experience made me much more aware of what I am using in my house, how I shop, and how many touch points our food has that we should be conscious of. I urge all of you to spend one day avoiding plastics (and cans which also contain BPA) and see how it goes.