The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Trump administration repeals a clean water law, putting the drinking water for millions of Americans at risk

On Thursday, the Trump administration finalized its plan to repeal the Waters of the U.S. rule or WOTUS – an Obama-era rule that prohibits the dumping of industrial and agricultural pollution into sensitive waterways that provide tap water for more than 117 million Americans.

The repeal of the rule will remove protections for many small streams and wetlands, which were put in place in 2015. The rule determines which streams, rivers, and lakes are protected from pollution by the federal Clean Water Act and extends protection for millions of acres of wetlands that filter drinking water.

Small streams are where big rivers start, and the best science confirms that dirty streams lead to even dirtier rivers, said Craig Cox, senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources for the Environmental Working Group. Millions of Americans drink water directly connected to 234,000 miles of small streams that will now be unprotected as a result of the repeal.

Consumer Reports replies to Impossible Foods’ criticism of its article on the company’s beef substitute burger

Photo: Sarah Stierch

On Monday, I went with a group of colleagues to a local restaurant for a meeting. The menu said you could get an Impossible Burger for $2 more in any of its burger options. Knowing I was going to post the Consumer Reports reply to Impossible Foods’s article about them, I wanted to try one. However, I was told the Impossible burger wasn’t available. The company hasn’t been able to keep up with production to meet all the new demand. Disappointing.

Here’s the Consumer Reports statement on Impossible Foods’ beef with its critique:

In response to Consumer Reports’ recent article “Meat Gets A Makeover” focusing on plant-based alternatives to traditional beef burgers, Rachel Konrad – Impossible Foods’ PR chief – published an inflammatory and misleading attack on the motivations and methods behind our coverage of the safety of a key ingredient in the Impossible Burger. Oddly enough, she seems out for blood about an article that very fairly compares several plant-based alternatives based on taste, safety, and environmental impact.

Baby boomers focus on change

The leaves are already beginning to change here in the Seattle area, so change and fall are in the air. Fall is definitely just around the corner.

Laurie Stone from Musings, Rants & Scribbles is happy. Yes, spring is lovely and summer’s fun. Even old man winter has his icy grandeur. But nothing compares to fall’s beauty and poignancy. And though this season comes at a price, Stone still loves it for leaves, crisper air, school supplies, the good shows that come back on TV, and candy apples.

Other boomer bloggers are writing about:

Processed meats cured with natural ingredients just as harmful as those cured with synthetic ingredients, Consumer Reports tests show

The terms “Uncured” and “No Nitrate or Nitrite Added” shouldn’t be allowed to be used on labels for meat processed with nitrates or nitrites from natural ingredients, such as celery powder, the Center for Science in the Public Interest and Consumer Reports told the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wednesday. The groups urged the agency to revise its rule because the labels are misleading and may give consumers the false impression that these products are healthier.

Tests of deli meats by Consumer Reports show the labels are misleading. Consumer Reports tested 31 packaged deli meats – name brands and store brands – including chicken, ham, roast beef, salami, and turkey. It’s tests showed that nitrates and nitrites, which have been linked to cancer, are found in processed meats labeled “Uncured” or “No Nitrates or Nitrites Added” at similar levels to those prepared with synthetic curing agents such as sodium nitrite.  

“The ‘Uncured’ and ‘No Nitrate or Nitrite Added’ labels could make people think these meats are healthier, but our tests show they are not,” said Charlotte Vallaeys, senior policy analyst at Consumer Reports. “Deli meats carrying these labels pose the same health risks as traditionally cured meats because the nitrate and nitrite levels are essentially the same.”

Happy Labor Day

It’s estimated that 25 percent of Americans plan to get out of town for the Labor Day weekend, and that 86 percent of them plan to travel by car. If you’re one of these, be sure to drive carefully. Another estimate is that about 400 people will die in traffic accidents during the holiday weekend, and 45,300 will sustain serious injuries.

The top travel destinations are New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Orlando, and Chicago.

I wish I’d be at a cookout like the 40.6 percent of Americans who plan to barbecue over Labor Day.

A lot of people will probably be working on the holiday weekend because the largest category in the workforce is retail with 4,450,000 salespeople and second is food preparation and service workers with 3,680,000. Third is cashiers with 3,640,000 workers.

Nearly 6 million Contigo kids’ water bottles are being recalled due to choking hazard

Contigo is recalling about 5.7 million kids cleanable water bottles in the United States, 157,000 in Canada, and 28,000 in Mexico.

The water bottle’s clear silicone spout can detach, posing a choking hazard to children.

Contigo has received 149 reports of the spout detaching including 18 spouts found in children’s mouths.

Facts and figures for Labor Day 2019

Source: WalletHub

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Consumer and Personal Finance Journalist

Don’t eat undercooked beef or soft cheeses made from raw milk, consumer group advises, because inspection laws allow meat and poultry contaminated with salmonella to be sold to the public

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a report Thursday describing an ongoing investigation into an outbreak of illnesses caused by a multi-drug resistant strain of Salmonella Newport. Between June 2018 and March 2019, the CDC identified 255 cases in 32 U.S. states, which resulted in at least 60 hospitalizations and two deaths. The investigation is continuing, and agencies are recommending that consumers avoid undercooked beef and soft cheeses made with raw milk.

Consumer advocates are concerned that the outbreak may spread, because food safety regulators continue to allow companies to sell beef contaminated with the strain of Salmonella Newport in the outbreak, said Thomas Gremillion, director of food policy at the Consumer Federation of America.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service has detected the outbreak strain, or “closely related” strains, in three samples at one or more Texas slaughter and processing facilities. However, under current regulations, the agency doesn’t consider beef containing these pathogens to be adulterated, or prohibit it from being sold to consumers.

How to reduce the amount of plastic you eat

That’s right, you read it correctly. Humans, like animals, are eating plastic. We’ve all read about dead animals found filled with plastic, but it’s important for humans to realize that they, too, are consuming plastic.

I recently wrote about how to reduce the amount of plastic we use in our lives. A Consumer Reports article, “How to Eat Less Plastic,” alerted me to the fact we need to go a step further and take a look at how much plastic we’re eating.

Research is just beginning on how many tiny particles of plastic people consume. One research review calculated that by eating, drinking, and breathing, the average American ingests 74,000 to 121,000 microplastic particles every year, with even more ingested if bottled water is consumed regularly, according to the article.

Baby boomers contemplate life’s problems

It’s still beautiful summer, but hints are beginning to appear that fall and winter will come again as they always do.

Meanwhile, baby boomer bloggers are continuing to write helpful, insightful articles:

Meryl Baer of Six Decades and Counting spent the past week recovering from her two-week trip to Scotland. As Baer laments, years ago she would have bounced back the next day. Nowadays it takes longer to rejuvenate. Meanwhile, she reviews the cuisine and a bit of culture experienced in the land of kilts, Celts, clans, and literary greats.

When you’re thinking about an exercise program and you’re age 50 and older, you may want to incorporate functional fitness. On Rebecca Olkowski’s blog, BabyBoomster.com, Candi Randolph, a guest blogger, explains why this is so important.

If you’re thinking of starting a blog or are already a blogger, Jennifer Koshak of Unfold and Begin has some tips for you. Koshak has compiled a lot of her knowledge into her current blog post, “My Go-To Blog Resources.”

Tom Sightings of Sightings Over Sixty recently sat down with a couple who is considering where they're going to live, now that they are retired and their kids are grown and out of the house. They have their eye on a smaller home in a nice vacation area. But as Tom discusses in “Should This Couple Downsize?”  there are still lots of issues to consider and questions to ask.  

Laurie Stone of Musings, Rants & Scribbles gets a cold chill when she hears these words. Like someone with post-traumatic stress syndrome, her pulse increases. Her stomach tightens. She starts feeling light-headed. Did she hear that right? Maybe she got it wrong. But yes, her husband Randy just uttered that most dreaded of sentences: “I’m Going Food Shopping.”

On my blog, I write about the 50^th anniversary of Woodstock and what the Countercultural Movement of the 1960s and 1970s meant to me.

This is the Best of Boomer Blogs #610. Be sure to read these thoughtful articles and join in the conversations. Boomer bloggers look forward to hearing from readers.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Consumer and Personal Finance Journalist