Food

• 

  Question

  What is the story with wood pellet grills?

  Answer

  Like the "paper or plastic?" debate, there's no real winner when deciding between charcoal and propane.

  Read More

• 

  Question

  I know that farmed salmon in general is to be avoided, but how about the "organic farmed"?

  Answer

  Organic salmon farms can use the synthetic pyrethroid pesticide cypermethrin to rid fish of sea lice and fish may be treated with veterinary medicines, diminishing the differences between them and conventionally raised fish.

  Read More

• 

  Question

  I drink organic milk mostly because I don't want those extra hormones in my body. Does conventional non-fat milk have less hormones than full-fat?

  Answer

  When speaking of hormones in milk, it is important to first clarify terms. As the FDA has made abundantly clear to milk producers, there is no such thing as "hormone free" milk.

  Read More

• 

  Question

  I'm reading your article about the possible carcinogenic effects of Teflon pans and getting just a little upset as many of my frying pans are non-stick. Shall I just throw out all those pans?

  Answer

  If you're not a bird owner, don't throw out your pans yet: Buying new cookware can be an expensive investment, and reducing cooking temperatures will minimize the fumes.

  Read More

• 

  Question

  I am interested in knowing more about what happens to food when it is heated and or cooked in the microwave.

  Answer

  The health concerns you should consider when microwaving food deal mostly with food safety and packaging.

  Read More

• 

  Question

  I am wondering, is food that is grown organically and makes it through whatever screening process the grower has to my store more likely to be infested in some way?

  Answer

  Organic farmers are just as invested as their conventional counterparts in bringing to market clean fruit uncontaminated by pests.

  Read More

• 

  Question

  A few weeks ago I used a Glad OvenWare plastic container that was supposed to be safe up to 400 degrees F. The container melted, flamed, and gave off fumes

  Answer

  We contacted Glad with your concerns and were told that the containers are made with a plastic resin called crystalline polyethylene terephthalate (CPET), which mixes #1 PET plastic used in plastic soda and water bottles with polypropylene fibers (#5 plastic) to make it more rigid and glass-like.

  Read More

• 

  Question

  I am excited about the health benefits of seaweeds [high in protein and vitamins], especially wakame, hijiki and kombu. But could these sea vegetables be affected by the same contaminants that poison the fish supply, and are "organic" ones available?

  Answer

  Pesticide residues can contaminate sea vegetables, along with sewage, oil, fertilizers and other chemicals that run off into the sea.

  Read More

• 

  Question

  Beef, pork and poultry farming do so much damage to the environment, not to mention our bodies, that I am surprised that you would actively support it.

  Answer

  To suggest that meat is categorically not a "green product" is to fail to discriminate between the way most of our meat is produced and consumed, and meat that is produced in ecologically sound ways.

  Read More