Green Daily

Is it justifiable and morally acceptable to genetically manipulate breeds of cats and dogs to make them hypo-allergenic? How far should a meat producer be able to go in his quest for meat with less fat and more Omega3s? How much monkeying should a scientist be able to do a monkey's genetics when hoping to test a cancer treatment?

These are a few of the questions that are (somewhat) up for evaluation by the Food and Drug Administration. Currently, that very same administration is asking for public comment on its guidelines. Those draft guidelines can be found here. A consumer Q & A can be found here.

The FDA currently checks out every new animal drug and animal drug application, now it might not in specific instances. For example, if a bug has been genetically engineered to treat soybean rust any drug then developed for that bug or working in conjunction would not necessarily need to be reviewed by the FDA.

The environmental implications of new animal drugs and investigational animal drugs will also be considered through the new guidelines.

Confused? Yes, it's not hard to get lost in the non-specific specific language of government documents. But if you fancy a look, search Regulations.gov for Docket FDA-2008-D-0394 and comment away. If you feel like having a human explain these documents to you, try calling the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine at (240) 276-9100 or (240) 276-9300.

We've heard about the benefits of eating locally produced foods, but just how local are we talking about here? For one restaurant owner in Zurich, there's no dairy product quite as exquisite as that which is produced in the breasts of lactating women. He's putting sauces that contain 75% mother's milk on the menu at his alpine restaurant -- and I can't decide whether that's taking this whole locavore thing a bit too far, or not?

If we're thinking about it in environmental terms, it seems pretty green, though it's creating quite a stir in the German-speaking press -- which usually examines things with a green-colored lens. In this case, I think most people are just kind of offended by the idea of adults consuming breast milk. According to the article, health officials in Zurich can't seem find any laws that prevent the restaurant from serving breast milk. The restaurant has apparently found a legal loophole, breast milk isn't on the list of approved species (such as sheep or cows), nor is it on the list of banned species (like ape milk).

We've heard of using sewage to power cities, is there really any reason that breast milk should be off limits? Is breast milk sacred, or a natural resource?

What do you get when you combine a locavore mentality with bottled water? And more importantly, is it green? A company called Tap'd NY is bottling New York City's tap water and selling it at Manhattan stores, and apparently it's not meant to be a tourist gag or anything like that. It's a new business concept that mixes the evils of disposable plastic water bottles with the greenness of drinking local water from the tap. For me, it just seems kinda weird.

According to the company's founder Craig Zucker, we should be wary of imported waters like Fiji and Evian that come from across the planet and aren't any better or healthier than what comes from your tap. When Craig moved to New York from Ohio, he immediately noticed how much better the water tasted. He even considers drinking imported water an insult to NYC's public water system. Tap'd NY does run their water through a reverse osmosis filter before bottling, but that's it.

What do you think? Is this a cool green idea? Or, is it a greenwashed diversion from actually drinking tap water?

Patricia wrote earlier today about the Corn Refiners Association's 18-month propaganda campaign. The above is one of the commercials that you might see while you are watching television. Even though I own a DVR, this one still slipped through and it's been driving me nuts. See some reasons for not eating corn syrup after the jump.

I've been phasing plastic out of my cupboards for a while now. It's a slow process as I and trying to balance convenience with health and environmentalism. One change that I have made is that I throw fewer glass jars in the recycling bin and instead save them to reuse later.

Classico pasta sauce comes in Mason Jars perfect for drinking iced tea. Their pesto comes in tiny Mason jars that I use to serve my 3-year-old drinks. The jars are made of thick glass and can take a lot of abuse. There is an interesting little debate over at Recipe Zaar as to whether or not they can be reused for canning, however, the are perfectly suitable for consuming beverages.

When it comes to indoor air pollution, cigarettes are public enemy number one -- edging out chemical cleaners, and chakra-enhancing incense sticks. But as far as I know, smoking's greatest contribution to outdoor pollution is the cigarette butts that get thrown down by careless smokers like Katherine Heigl. Now, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is blazing a new trail in the fight against tobacco by outlawing all smoking on their campuses indoors and out -- including courtyards, parking lots, and athletic fields.

Announced to students in an email last week, the school's unprecedented stand against the leisurely habit of inhaling harmful particulate matter will affect the Pennsylvania State System's 110,000 students. According to the article, students may face "sanctions, including fines and/or disciplinary action," if they're caught smoking on campus grounds.

Look, I hate seeing cigarette butts all over the place, but is the danger of second hand smoke actually a factor when you're outside? Do you think the university's ban is justified, or too heavy-handed?

Yesterday, the FDA stuck with its prior assessment that bisphenol-A (BPA) is safe. BPA is a chemical used in hard plastics, including food and beverage containers, and even some baby bottles. Yesterday, a major study also came out, linking BPA to diabetes and heart disease in humans.

According to the FDA's Laura Tarantino, because the "tentative conclusion is that [BPA] is safe, we we're not recommending any change in habits." Tarantino continued, that "there are a number of things people can do to lower their exposure." Confused? Anyhow, here are the tips from the FDA to lower your exposure to BPA, even though they are not recommending any change in habits (?):

• Avoid plastic containers imprinted with the recycling number 7 for food and drinks, as many of them contain BPA.
• Avoid warming food in such containers, as heat helps to release the chemical.

Minimizing your consumption of canned goods, including food and drinks, can also lower your exposure, as many of the epoxies used to line cans contain BPA. If you're not sure if the brand uses an epoxy with BPA, call the manufacturer.

According to an AP article, more than 90 percent of Americans have trace amounts of BPA in their bodies, but the FDA defends its conclusion that the levels are too low to pose a human health risk, even for infants. All while offering up some tips to help you lower your exposure. You know. Just in case.

As greenies, we know that plastic is a dirty word. Despite the fact that it's used in such a high percentage of our everyday life, the fact that it emits harmful chemicals and never biodegrades makes it an environmental nightmare. But what if we could somehow change that last part? What if there was a plastic that was as functional as the plastic we know today, but it was created naturally through microorganisms instead of petroleum, and actually was 100 percent renewable?

Genomatica may have that solution. The green chemistry startup company announced today that it has successfully produced a chemical known as 1,4-butanediol (BDO for short) through natural means, instead of with petroleum, as it is created currently. This microorganism actually converts sugar into this BDO in volumes up to scale to compete in the current chemical industry. Genomatica's CEO Christopher Cann says that this "green BDO" can be used in any products that traditionally use BDO, such as spandex, airbags, textiles, etc.

With the ever-increasing popularity of greenwashing, it's getting almost impossible to find out if a product is genuinely safe for the environment. What makes it worse is the fact that so many "environmentally sound" products are either hideously expensive or don't really do their job all that well. I can't count the number of times I've found myself wasting way too many paper towels because the 100% recycled ones don't really absorb that much water, putting on twice as much deodorant because the "environmentally safe" brand doesn't really cover my body stench, or asking myself if the added cost of a "green" cleaner is worth the marginally smaller environmental impact. When I factor in the number of companies that use crude packaging and environmental buzzwords to sell me the same old toxic waste, the whole problem just gets ridiculous and I start fantasizing about throwing in the (bleached, non-recyclable) towel.

Thankfully, GoodGuide, a new consumer rating website, is making it possible to sort through the green hype to find out which products are actually worth the extra money and which are using environmental fears to sell snake oil. Although it is still in its beta stage, the site already has information on over 60,000 products and is in the process of massively expanding its offerings. Better yet, GoodGuide is developing a system that will allow users to access the site from their cell phones. When it is complete, customers will be able to download information about green products while they're shopping. Shopping for sustainable products just got a whole lot easier!

Today, FDA regulators defended their previous assessment that bisphenol-A (BPA), a chemical used in hard plastics including baby bottles, is safe at the "current levels of exposure." BPA is thought to be hormone-mimicking, and animal studies have linked it to breast, prostate and reproductive problems.

This comes just as the first major study of the health effects of BPA in people was released. The study links BPA with heart disease and diabetes. An opinion from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) states that the results of this study deserve follow up due to the public health implications. The study was a survey of about 1,500 adults and found that those exposed to higher levels of BPA were more likely to report having heart disease and diabetes. But the study is considered to be far from proof, only serving to raise questions and invite more investigation.

Along with their assessment, the FDA did concede that further research into the health effects of BPA are needed.

With a new school year, comes the new lice year for schoolchildren all over the country. According to Dr. Greene, throughout history, the main method for getting rid of lice has been picking them out one by one, or "nit-picking," just like apes do for each other daily. Then, thirty years ago, pesticides arrived, making the task much easier. However the lice became resistant, and people had to go back to mechanical removal.

There are alternative treatments, but most are untested. One method is the mayonnaise or Vaseline treatment, where you cover the hair liberally with either substance, place a shower cap over the head, wait overnight, and then shampoo out. The idea is that the mayonnaise or Vaseline smothers the lice. Downsides? Vaseline and mayonnaise are very hard to shampoo out as you can imagine. Also, there is some research showing that this method just puts the lice into a dormant stage, not a dead stage.

See Dr. Greene's article here for all you ever wanted to know about treating lice, including another popular pesticide-free treatment that utilizes cheap shampoo, olive oil, tea tree oil and rosemary or eucalyptus oil. Another alternative treatment is nit-combing combined with a hot-blow dryer for 15 minutes.

Also, check out Rebecca Lindell's battle with lice and mayonaise on mamazine.

While there's plenty of controversy surrounding the old adage you are what you eat, there's now some evidence that going veggie can make you think like one. As unfortunate as it seems to the green cause, where going veggie=reducing your carbon footprint, scientists in Melbourne have found that it also reduces something else --- the size of your hippocampus. That's the part of your brain that stores memories.

According to these researchers, those with a meat-free diet are 6 times more likely to face "brain shrinkage" than their omnivore counterparts. That's based on the fact that many vegetarians are deficient in crucial brain building vitamins most commonly found in meat and fish, like B12. So, if you happen to be meat free, don't forget to take your vitamins. In fact, you might want to write that down. Zing!

While I take this news to be mostly hype -- since according to urban legend Einstein only used half of his brain -- it will no doubt be used as one of the dumbest excuses for not going vegetarian. When it comes to your brain mass, does size matter?

The New York Times editorial page tackled the subject of irradiated food recently. In late August, the FDA approved the use of ionizing radiation to kill bacteria on spinach and lettuce. Sounds kind of scary, but according to the FDA, the World Health Organization, the CDC, and the AMA, irradiation is a safe way to kill deadly bugs like E. coli, salmonella and listeria. Irradiation is already approved for use in meat, poultry, spices, oysters, clams and mussels.

However, the NY Times editorial cautions that irradiation is not a "magic bullet," as the approved doses are not strong enough to kill some bugs responsible for food poisoning outbreaks, urging the development of comprehensive food safety programs.

Foods treated with irradiation need to be labeled with a radura symbol and the words "radiated" or "irradiated." However, there is a proposal before the FDA to lift that requirement.

Consumer safety groups disagree with the FDA's approval of irradiation, such as Joel Mendelson of The Center for Food Safety. In a recent letter to the WSJ, Mendelson writes that irradiation is just a "quick fix" and doesn't deal with the real problems in food safety.

In the meantime, here are 12 Raw Food Safety Tips, to help you eat your fruits and veggies a bit more safely.

Last week we reported on the toxic baby formula sickening children in China. The formula contained melamine. The effects of the contaminated milk have only grown since the news broke.

The BBC reports that over 1,200 infants have fallen ill as a result of the formula. Two babies have died, another 300 remain hospitalized.

China's health agency says it believes over 10,000 infants have consumed the milk.

The Chinese company Salu Group is the largest producer of milk powder formulas. The company has received complaints about its powder seven months ago.

But until last week, it had gone about business as usual, then, after the death of on infant and illness of several hundred more, the company recalled 700 tons of powdered formula.

A new study has found that one in five ayurvedic medicine products purchased on the internet contained significant levels of lead, mercury or arsenic. The researchers at Boston Medical Center found that products manufactured in the U.S. were even more likely to contain the dangerous metals than those made in India. Lead, mercury and arsenic are toxic at high levels.

According to a Livescience article, ayurvedic medicine originated in India and consists of two practices, either herbal medicine alone or herbal medicine combined with metals, such as lead, mercury, iron and zinc, and gems such as pearls, in a practice known as rasa shastra.

In the study, products made by members of the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) were found to be less likely to contain the metals, as compared to the products manufactured under a "Good Manufacturing Practices" label. The AHPA recommends that its members don't manufacture the rasa shastra products at all.

In the U.S., herbal and other dietary supplements are regulated by the FDA as foods, not drugs, meaning they do not have to meet the same safety standards as OTC and prescription drugs. For example, the FDA currently hasn't set a maximum level for lead, mercury and arsenic in dietary supplements.

See our Green Daily OTC feature here for more tips on how to use supplements safely.