The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

USDA’s final rule on GMO foods is lacking

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released a final rule to carry out the mandatory GMO disclosure law passed in 2016. It will allow the genetically engineered ingredients in many foods to remain hidden from consumers.

“No one should be surprised that the most anti-consumer, anti-transparency administration in modern times is denying Americans basic information about what’s in their food and how it’s grown,” said Scott Faber, senior vice president of government affairs for the Environmental Working Group.

The Trump administration has yet again put the interests of pesticide and biotech companies ahead of the interests of American consumers, Faber said.

Baby boomers, the holidays, and thoughts for December

Do you, your partner, or a family member have a birthday in December?

Rebecca Olkowski of Baby Boomster’s birthday was Sunday, and it was a big day in many ways because she turned 65. Olkowski reports as a December baby, she’s used to sharing her birthday with all the holiday traditions that take place during the month. In some ways, it’s fun, Olkowski says, because it’s a festive time of year, but December birthdays always get mixed up with everything else. December babies are used to receiving combo birthday–Christmas–Hanukkah presents. It’s part of the deal, she says.

Olkowski reports, in the Best of Boomer Blogs #577, that boomer bloggers are writing about the holiday topics of how to create new holiday traditions and how to handle grief at the holidays.

Toxic fluorinated chemicals found in cosmetics, study shows

Toxic fluorinated, or PFAS, chemicals were found in high levels in nearly one-third of the cosmetics products tested, according to a study from the Danish Environmental Protection Agency.

Some of the PFAS concentrations detected “exceeded” limits that will soon be in place under the European Union’s chemical regulatory program.

PFAS chemicals are linked to cancer, thyroid disease, weakened immunity, and other health problems.

New non-stick chemical nearly as toxic as the ones it replaced, EPA says

GenX, introduced a decade ago as a “safer” alternative for the non-stick chemicals PFOA and PFOS, is nearly as toxic to people as what it replaced, according a recently released Environmental Protection Agency study. 

The EPA published a draft toxicity review for GenX and a related compound called PFBS, both part of the PFAS family of chemicals. The Environmental Working Group’s analysis of EPA’s assessment shows that very tiny doses of GenX and PFBS could present serious health risks, including harm to prenatal development and the immune system, liver, kidney, or thyroid.

“It is alarming that, 12 years after DuPont, 3M and other companies, under pressure from EPA, began phasing out PFOA and PFOS, we find that replacements like GenX are nearly as hazardous to human health,” said David Andrews, Ph.D., senior scientist at the EWG.

Watch out for toxic, dangerous toys, consumer group warns

This holiday season, watch out for dangerous and toxic toys. WashPIRG Foundation’s 33rd annual "Trouble in Toyland" report found toxic amounts of boron in slime products and a failure by Amazon to appropriately label choking hazards. Boron can cause nausea, vomiting, and other health issues.

“No one should worry about whether or not the toy they’re buying is toxic or dangerous," said Elise Orlick, director of the WashPIRG Foundation. "But in 2018, we’re still finding hazards in some of the most popular toys. Toy manufacturers must do better to ensure their products are safe before they end up in children’s hands and mouths.” 

For more than 30 years, Trouble in Toyland has issued toy safety guidelines and has provided examples of toys currently on store shelves that pose potential safety hazards to small children. Key findings from this year’s report include:

Best wishes on Election Day to us all

If you haven’t voted yet, be sure and do it. So much is at stake. Americans have the opportunity to tell a racist, sexist, anti-consumer, anti-environmental president that we don’t want his toxic policies any more.

I’m hoping for a Blue Wave. We must undo the harm that President Trump and his cronies are doing to the nation’s consumer and environmental laws. I’ve written article after article on this. Some examples of Trump’s terrible policies are:

• Allowing oil and gas companies to drill in the Arctic.
• Relaxing car pollution rules.
• Extending the life of dirty coal power plants.
• Weakening protection for student borrowers harmed by for-profit colleges.
• Allowing coal ash to be dumped into streams.
• Allowing association health plans that have a history of offering inadequate coverage, even scams.
• Weakening of chemical and pesticide regulations.

See the Brookings Deregulatory Tracker for more information on the Trump administrations deregulatory program.

Copyright 2018, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Blood pressure medication recalled due to impurities that could cause cancer

ScieGen Pharmaceuticals Inc. is recalling some lots of Irbesartan tablets because they may be contaminated with an impurity.

The impurity, N-nitrosodiethylamine, is classified as a probable human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

The Irbesartan tablets recalled include 75 mg., 150 mg., and 300 mg. dosages and were manufactured by Aurobindo Pharma Limited.

Baby boomers offer hope in these dark days

Carol Cassara at Heart•Mind•Soul calls these dark, dark days. It’s been a terrible and tragic week with the massacre of 11 people in a synagogue near Pittsburgh, bombs being sent through the mail to top Democratic leaders and critics of President Trump, and the continual leaked news about the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist in Istanbul, Turkey.

Cassara said it’s hard to think about anything other than the families of victims of the recent mass shooting.

She offers a prayer of healing and protection, which we’re all mightily in need of.

However, it’s that time of the week when boomer bloggers provide some of their articles for your review. Consider this an opportunity for a brief respite from the darkness around us, Cassara said.

Eating organic food dramatically reduces cancer risk, study shows

Eating organic food that has no pesticides is strongly correlated with a dramatic reduction in the risk of cancer, according to a study published Monday in an American Medical Association journal.

The study led by a team of French government scientists tracked the diets of nearly 69,000 people. Four years later, those who consumed the most organic foods were 25 percent less likely to develop cancer.

For people consuming the highest amount of organic food, the study found a significantly lower risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, all lymphomas, and postmenopausal breast cancer.

Trump administration delays and rolls back public protections

None of the of 14 significant regulatory actions finalized during FY 2018 by the Trump administration are significantly improving the public’s health and safety or saving lives, according to Public Citizen, a citizens’ advocacy organization.

Public Citizen analyzed the U.S. Office of Management and Budget’s Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions for fall 2018 released on Tuesday.

“Today’s deregulatory agenda shows that the Trump administration finalized zero significant health and safety protections in fiscal year 2018,” said Lisa Gilbert, vice president of legislative affairs for Public Citizen. “This is a clear indication that our regulatory agencies have been corrupted and captured by corporate interests.”