How to Be a Conscious Eater

products, look for silicone substitutes. In lieu of ziplock bags,

dishwasher-safe cloth substitutes work great.

Phthalates. This is a word people inject into the argument right

about now that never looks right on paper but is important

to recognize and easier to say. (It’s THAL-lates, if that helps.)

Phthalates are endocrine disruptors, which means they inter-

fere with the normal functioning of hormones in the body.

They can make plastics like some food wraps and packag-

ing soft, and the concern is that they may leach into foods

themselves. Phthalates are found in such a dizzying number

of consumer products—they’re almost impossible to avoid

completely. But at high levels they have been linked to com-

promised sperm quality, hormone function, and reproductive

development among men, and to preterm birth and early-

onset puberty among women.

Culturally, Americans are far more guilt-free about using dis-

posable consumer goods than people in many other countries.

Americans still use an average of nearly a plastic bag a day,

for example, whereas people living in Denmark use four a year.

Bottom line: Whatever you care most about—oceans of plastic or

oceans of health reasons—it’s time to part ways.

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