BPA-Maybe Yes-Maybe No. My Opinion on Bisphenol A - by Jodie Michael
To say that there has been some buzz recently about BPA would be a major understatement. There have been hundreds of experiments and literally thousands of articles written on the adverse affects of BPA. So what about the articles out there that are claiming that Bisphenol A aka BPA is not as bad as most would lead you to believe?
Well I know that I for one was relieved to find that David Case a writer for Fast Company Magazine did the research and found that just like most things that are we are told by “Big Brother” to be scared of-maybe isn’t as bad as it seems. And similarly if we are told that something is safe perhaps a little more time needs to be spent researching the topic. What David found is more than a little shocking.
Of the more than 100 independently funded experiments on BPA, about 90% have found evidence of adverse health effects. On the other hand, every single industry-funded study ever conducted — 14 in all — has found no such effects.
It is the industry-funded studies that have held sway among regulators. This is thanks largely to a small group of “product defense” consultants — also funded by the chemical industry — who have worked to sow doubt about negative effects of BPA by using a playbook that borrows from the wars over tobacco, asbestos, and other public-health controversies. A secretive Beltway public-relations consultant. A government contractor funded by the industries it was hired to assess. A Harvard research center with a history of conflicts of interest. These have been the key actors in how the science of BPA has been interpreted by the government. And it is their work, as much as the science itself, that has stymied regulation.
I will be the first to admit that BPA is something I don’t want any part of, nor do I want my children to have any exposure to-if that’s even a real possibility- Now I am by no means a chemist, scientist, or even know the difference between a Burets and a Beaker, but I do know that we don’t know what else may be lurking in plastic and aluminum bottles. Why voluntary ingest even a potentially harmful chemical when I can skip the source-plastic and aluminum water bottles- altogether and pick a perfectly healthy alternative such as Stainless Steel?
Just a thought
Quotes thanks to David Case from the article The Real Story Behind Bisphenol A -Fast Company.com Jan 14, 2009
