ReadersDigestAustraliaNewZealand-March2018

March• 2018 | 107

been associated with a reduction
in weight and blood pressure and a
lower risk of heart disease, diabetes
and some cancers.
IT’S PLANET-PLEASING BECAUSE ...
Our carnivorous ways contribute to
carbon emissions – big time. A 2006
United Nations report found that cat-
tle rearing was responsible for more
greenhouse gases than transporta-
tion. The massive carbon footprint
stems from deforestation used to cre-
ate pasture, as well as the bodily emis-
sions of the livestock. Swapping your
usual serving of meat for plant-based
protein options such as nuts, seeds
and legumes can have a big impact.
US biological research found that,
while eating a 230-gram steak pro-
duces the same amount of pollution
as driving a small car about 47 kilo-
metres, a vegetarian substitute equals
driving only about five kilometres.

Ditch Plastics

IT’S BODY-BOOSTING BECAUSE ...
SoyougotridofallyourbisphenolA
(BPA)-containing water bot t les and
canned foods – plastic problem
solved,right?Notsofast.According
toLindsayCoulter,theDavidSuzuki
Foundation’s green-living expert,
many of those plastic containers
thatboasta‘BPA-free’statusare
actually filled with another chemi-
cal,bisphenolS(BPS),whichmaybe
equally problematic. “Researchers
arefindingthatthosearestillhor-
mone disrupters,” says Coulter. And

since these oestrogen-mimicking

compounds are connected to weight

gain,it’snosurprisethata2016study

published inEndocrinologylinked

BPA-free plastics (containing BPS) to

fatcellformation.Whenitcomesto

waterbottlesandfoodstoragecon-

tainers, Coulter recommends switch-

ingtostainlesssteelorglass.

IT’S PLANET-PLEASING BECAUSE ...

In a 2014 study, many BPA-replace-

ment plastics were found to still leach

chemicals with oestrogen activity,

especially when they were exposed to

ultraviolet rays. The potential effects

of all these endocrine disrupters have

been scientifically documented. In

the aquatic environment, the effects

have been observed in seals, birds,

alligators, fish and molluscs, where

there have been changes in

everything from reproduction to im-

mune function. It’s a risk so big that

it incited hormone experts to write an

editorial in a 2013 edition ofEndocri-

nologyarguing that these chemicals

pose a threat to human health and

the Earth’s ecosystems.