The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Baby boomers concentrate on keepin’ on during the coronavirus pandemic

I’m working on my book about my journalism career, so these days of staying at home are going by quickly for me. I have plenty of food (and toilet paper) and just found out I can order groceries, expect frozen food, from my local food co-op. I was ready to try Safeway or Fred Meyer thinking eating nonorganic food would be a lesser risk than going to the co-op to shop.

Then, I wrote about the Dirty Dozen, a list of the produce with the highest pesticide residues offered yearly by the Environmental Working Group. Topping the list are strawberries, spinach, and kale. The EWG recommends that whenever possible, consumers purchase organic versions of produce on the Dirty Dozen list.

Raisins, which hadn’t been tested by the U.S. Department of Agriculture since 2007, had the most pesticide residues. The EWG recommends eating organic raisins or prunes. Prunes, USDA tests found, had much lower pesticide residues than either conventional and organic raisins.

Meanwhile, boomer bloggers are writing about:

Strawberries, spinach, and kale top this year’s Dirty Dozen list for pesticide residue, but raisins are worse

Nearly 70 percent of the fresh produce sold in the United States contains residues of potentially harmful chemical pesticides, according to the Environmental Working Group’s 2020 Dirty Dozen. This year’s Dirty Dozen are:

1. Strawberries
2. Spinach
3. Kale
4. Nectarines
5. Apples
6. Grapes
7. Peaches
8. Cherries
9. Pears
10. Tomatoes
11. Celery
12. Potatoes

Scientists call for the elimination of hazardous chemicals that come in contact with food, such as in food packaging

Many chemicals can migrate into food from packaging and equipment used to manufacture and process food. Some of these chemicals are known to have hazardous properties such as carcinogenicity, toxicity for reproduction, persistence and bioaccumulation, or endocrine disruption. In addition, the safety of other chemicals hasn’t been adequately assessed.

Thirty-three international scientists published a scientific consensus statement on food contact chemicals and human health Monday in Environmental Health.

The statement sends a message that the system for protecting consumers from food contact chemicals is broken, said Lisa Y. Lefferts, senior scientist for the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Crystal Geyser pleads guilty to storing and transporting wastewater contaminated with arsenic

CG Roxane, the parent company of bottle water producer Crystal Geyser, has pleaded guilty to federal charges of illegally storing and transporting hazardous waste created from filtering arsenic out of spring water at its facility in Olancha, California. In a plea agreement recently filed in U.S. District Court, CG Roxane agreed to pay a criminal fine of $5 million.

CG Roxane obtained water by drawing groundwater from the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains that contained naturally occurring arsenic, according to court documents. The company used sand filters to reduce the concentration of arsenic so the water would meet federal drinking water standards. To maintain the effectiveness of the sand filters, CG Roxane back-flushed the filters with a sodium hydroxide solution, which generated thousands of gallons of arsenic-contaminated wastewater.

For about 15 years, CG Roxane discharged the arsenic-contaminated wastewater into a manmade pond – called “the Arsenic Pond” – at its Olancha facility along Highway 395.

The Thompson’s Co. recalls aerosol cans of wood and masonry protector due to fire hazard

The Thompson’s Co. is recalling about 852,000 Thompson’s waterseal waterproofing wood protector and masonry protector in aerosol cans.

The contents of the cans can react with the package, causing rust to form along the can seam, which could spread to other areas of the can and create pinhole leaks. Leaking propellant poses a fire hazard when it comes into contact with sources of ignition. Leaking sealer can also cause property damage. 

The Thompson’s Co. received about 18 reports of leaking cans from retailers. No injuries, fires, or property damage were reported.

FDA bans e-cigarettes that appeal to children, including fruit and mint

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an enforcement policy Thursday against some flavored e-cigarette products that appeal to kids, including fruit and mint flavors. Under this policy, companies that don’t stop the manufacture, distribution, and sale of unauthorized e-cigarettes, other than tobacco or menthol, within 30 days risk FDA enforcement actions.

“As we work to combat the troubling epidemic of youth e-cigarette use, the enforcement policy we’re issuing today confirms our commitment to dramatically limit children’s access to certain flavored e-cigarette products we know are so appealing to them – so-called cartridge-based products that are both easy to use and easily concealable,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, M.D.

Hahn said the action along with the recent legislation increasing the minimum age of sale of tobacco to 21 will address the public health threat of youth use of e-cigarettes.

Consumers, businesses need to reject single-use food packaging, group says

Consumers overlook the environmental impact of food packaging, an analysis by FoodPrint, an organization that studies food production practices, reports.

“If concern about climate change, the environment, or your personal health are motivating factors for you when it comes to deciding what you eat, it’s important to realize that those same issues are factors when it comes to food packaging,” Jerusha Klemperer, director of FoodPrint, said.

Klemperer said massive environmental issues occur with the way food packaging is made and with how much consumers use and throw away, adding dangerous materials also are present in food packaging.

Top consumer stories for 2019

As usual, most of the end-of-the-year, round-up articles are about national issues or corporations. If consumers are mentioned, it’s usually about how they’re responding to some corporation.

For the most part, it’s been a grim year for consumers. With the Trump administration that is so probusiness and anti-consumer, the not much is happening for consumers that's positive.

1. President Donald Trump is impeached.

We have a president who puts his personal interests above the public interest. He tried to bribe the Ukrainian president to get him to investigate a political rival. As a result, he’s been impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives. This is incredible.

How a percentage of the American can support Trump is a great mystery to me. He and his administration announce anti-consumer proposals almost daily.

In addition, we have a president who lies. Since he was elected, Trump has told more than 15,000 false or misleading claims. In 2019, he’s said that the U.S. economy today is the best in history, he passed the biggest tax cut in history, the U.S. has lost money on trade deficits, article II of the Constitution lets him do whatever he wants, windmills cause cancer, and toilet flushes are up. All are untrue.

2. Consumer rights and programs are under continual attack from President Trump and his administration.

The Republican conservatives want to reduce the size of government and give corporations more power. Almost daily, we read about how the Trump administration has done it or is planning to do it. Some examples include:

• The Trump administration’s decision to roll back light bulb standards will cost consumers billions.
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s rule speeding up pork lines and reducing inspectors endangers the lives and safety of consumers and workers. 
• Corporations keep breaking the law due to declining federal prosecutions.
• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and seven states launch an “innovation network” that will approve new, risky financial products and protect them from enforcement.
• The CFPB fails consumers by not carrying out the payday lending rule.
• Fewer children’s products were recalled in 2018.
• Under Trump, enforcement of consumer financial laws drops sharply, especially in areas with the highest complaints.

The list goes on and on. Government regulations and programs help consumers. Reducing the size of government and slashing consumer regulations just helps corporations make more profits at the expense of consumers.

Eating organic food for a week can reduce pesticide levels in the body, study shows

I’m a big proponent of organic foods. My dad, Minor H. Slingsby, died of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He was a farmer. I didn’t know non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma was linked to pesticide exposure when my dad was diagnosed with the disease. None of his doctors in Central Washington state said anything about it. I learned about the connection when listening to a National Public Radio story. It said the children of farmworkers were being diagnosed with high levels of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma because they were in fields sprayed with pesticides with their parents.

I buy most of my food at my local food co-op, with as much as possible of it being organic. I have immune system problems, so organic food is helpful to me.

This recent study adds to the evidence of how organic food benefits people.

A study done at the University of California found that eating organically-grown food for one week can significantly reduce the levels of pesticide in the body. Researchers found the levels of toxins decreased by an average of 60.5 percent after six days of eating organic food.

Zippo recalls Ronson tech torches due to fire hazard

Zippo is recalling about 660,000 Ronson tech torch auto starts in the United States and about 98,000 in Canada.

The Ronson tech torch can continue to produce a flame after the activation trigger is released to the off position, posing a fire hazard.

Zippo has identified 36 reports in the U.S. of the Ronson tech torch continuing to operate after being turned off, including one report of minor property damage. No injuries have been reported.