We read in Revelation about things that must happen in the Last Days:

Rev 13:15-18 And there was given to it to give a spirit to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might both speak, and might cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. (16) And it causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark on their right hand, or in their foreheads, (17) even that not any might buy or sell except those having the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of its name. (18) Here is the wisdom. Let him having reason count the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. And its number is six hundred and sixty-six.


This Blog deals with the Mark of the Beast and to link current world events and Technology with end time prophecy to see where we stand in regarding to the return of Jesus Christ / Messiah Yeshua.

We will look at technology that supports this passage as well as the "changing" of humanity through Transhumanism and population reduction and how technology and food engineering help the elite to reach their goal of 500 Mil people on he Earth.

Wednesday 2 November 2011

2/11/11- From 7 Billion People To 500 Million People – The Sick Population Control Agenda Of The Global Elite



The United Nations has officially designated October 31st as 7 Billion Day.  On that day, the United Nations estimates that the population of the earth will hit 7 billion for the very first time.  But instead of celebrating what a milestone 7 billion people represents, the UNPF is focusing instead on using October 31st to raise awareness about "sustainability" and "sustainable development".  In other words, the United Nations is once again declaring that there are way too many people on the planet and that we need to take more direct measures to reduce fertility.  In recent years, the UN and other international organizations have become bolder about trying to push the sick population control agenda of the global elite.  Most of the time organizations such as the UN will simply talk about "stabilizing" the global population, but as you will see in this article, there are many among the global elite that are not afraid to openly talk about a goal of reducing the population of the world to 500 million (or less).  To you and I it may seem like insanity to want to get rid of more than 90 percent of the global population, but there is a growing consensus among the global elite that this is absolutely necessary for the good of the planet.
As we approach October 31st, dozens of articles are appearing in newspapers all over the globe that are declaring what a horrible thing it is that we are up to 7 billion people.
In fact, it surely is no accident that the United Nations put 7 Billion Day on the exact same day as Halloween.  Perhaps they want to highlight how "scary" it is that we have 7 billion people on the planet, or perhaps they are trying to send us a message by having 7 Billion Day occur on the same day as "the festival of death".
In any event, it seems like way too much of a coincidence that 7 Billion Day just happens to fall on the same day as Halloween.
Today, "sustainable development" has become one of the key buzzwords that those in the radical environmental movement love to use, but most Americans have no idea that one of the key elements of "sustainable development" is population control.
So what precisely is considered to be an ideal population for the earth by those pushing "sustainable development"?
Well, of course there is much disagreement on this issue, but many are very open about the fact that they believe that the earth should only have 500 million people (or less) on it.
For example, the first of the "new 10 commandments" on the infamous Georgia Guidestones states the following....
"Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature."
CNN Founder Ted Turner would go even farther....
"A total population of 250-300 million people, a 95% decline from present levels, would be ideal."
Dave Foreman, the co-founder of Earth First, says that reducing our population down to 100 million is one of his three main goals....
"My three main goals would be to reduce human population to about 100 million worldwide, destroy the industrial infrastructure and see wilderness, with it’s full complement of species, returning throughout the world."
Sadly, this kind of garbage is even being taught at major U.S. universities.  For example, Professor of Biology at the University of Texas at Austin Eric R. Piankaonce wrote the following....
I do not bear any ill will toward people. However, I am convinced that the world, including all humanity, WOULD clearly be much better off without so many of us.
Mikhail Gorbachev thinks that reducing the global population by 90 percent would be just about right....
"We must speak more clearly about sexuality, contraception, about abortion, about values that control population, because the ecological crisis, in short, is the population crisis. Cut the population by 90% and there aren't enough people left to do a great deal of ecological damage."
But most of the time, the way that the global elite speak of population control is much more "politically correct".  They tend to use terms such as "sustainable development" and "reduction of fertility rates" and "quality of life" when discussing the need to reduce our population.
As 7 Billion Day has approached, there have been articles popping up in major publications all over the globe that are advocating increased population control measures.  Of course in the western world such measures are always framed as being "voluntary", but that is the way that they always introduce things like this.  Once enough people get on board with the "voluntary" population control measures they will become "mandatory".
So now that you are aware of some of the buzzwords that are used, check out what has been written on some of the biggest news websites in the world recently....
Jeffrey D. Sachs, the director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University, recently said the following in an article for CNN....
"The arrival of the 7 billionth person is cause for profound global concern. It carries a challenge: What will it take to maintain a planet in which each person has a chance for a full, productive and prosperous life, and in which the planet's resources are sustained for future generations?
"How, in short, can we enjoy 'sustainable development' on a very crowded planet?"
For Sachs, one of the "keys" to sustainable development is the "stabilization" of the global population....
"The second key to sustainable development is the stabilization of the global population. This is already occurring in high-income and even some middle-income countries, as families choose to have one or two children on average. The reduction of fertility rates should be encouraged in the poorer countries as well."
In a recent article for the Guardian, Roger Martin stated that all of the problems that humanity is facing would be easier to solve if less people were running around the planet....
"...all environmental (and many economic and social) problems are easier to solve with fewer people, and ultimately impossible with ever more."
He also says that if we reduce the population, it will mean better lives for all the rest of us....
"On a finite planet, the optimum population providing the best quality of life for all, is clearly much smaller than the maximum, permitting bare survival. The more we are, the less for each; fewer people mean better lives."
But is that really the case?
Of course not.
There has been tremendous human suffering all throughout history.  If we eliminated 90 percent of the global population it would not suddenly usher in some kind of "golden age".
But many among the global elite are truly convinced that we are spoiling "their planet" and they don't want so many of us around anymore.  Thanks to technology, they only need a few hundred million people to run their system, and they view the rest of us as "useless eaters".
This all may sound quite bizarre to many of you, but this is the kind of stuff that is being taught in colleges and universities across the western world.
In fact, you are starting to see an increasing number of people in the western world actually suggest that we adopt a "one-child policy" such as China has.  For example, the following is from an opinion piece that appeared in the National Post....
A planetary law, such as China's one-child policy, is the only way to reverse the disastrous global birthrate currently, which is one million births every four days.
The author of the opinion piece believes that such a "one-child policy" would reduce the global population to 3.43 billion by 2075....
The intelligence behind this is the following:
-If only one child per female was born as of now, the world's population would drop from its current 6.5 billion to 5.5 billion by 2050, according to a study done for scientific academy Vienna Institute of Demography.
-By 2075, there would be 3.43 billion humans on the planet. This would have immediate positive effects on the world's forests, other species, the oceans, atmospheric quality and living standards.
This is the kind of stuff that a lot of these people sit around and think about all day long.
They are obsessed with death and with reducing the population as rapidly as possible.  They see us as a "plague" that is ravaging the planet, and they believe that by getting rid of us they would actually be saving the earth.
Due to public opinion, population control advocates have to tread lightly in the western world.  But where they can get away with it, they are not afraid to be very forceful.
I have already discussed the horrific one-child policy in China.  As the Epoch Times recently noted, enforcement of this policy can be absolutely brutal....
"Pregnant women lacking birth permits are hunted down like criminals by population planning police in China and forcibly aborted."
If you don't believe something like this can ever happen in the western world, you might want to think again.
Limitations on child births are already showing up in popular television shows.  For example, a new show on Fox called Terra Nova portrays the future of the earth as a living hell due to overpopulation.  People in the future can hardly breathe the air due to overwhelming pollution and a strict "two-child policy" is rigidly enforced.
The family featured in Terra Nova is able to go through a portal to a prehistoric world that is 85 million years in the past.  In this "new world", humans have set up a wonderful new socialist society where everyone is provided for and where "green technology" is helping them to avoid making the "mistakes" of the past.
Unfortunately, socialist utopias such as the one portrayed on Terra Nova only exist in works of fiction.
Instead, what happens most of the time in real life is that the "good intentions" of social planners devolve into absolute tyranny when put into practice.
For example, just check out what a recent National Geographic article said happened when social planners in India tried to aggressively reduce birth rates in India in the 1970s....
The Indian government tried once before to push vasectomies, in the 1970s, when anxiety about the population bomb was at its height. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her son Sanjay used state-of-emergency powers to force a dramatic increase in sterilizations. From 1976 to 1977 the number of operations tripled, to more than eight million. Over six million of those were vasectomies. Family planning workers were pressured to meet quotas; in a few states, sterilization became a condition for receiving new housing or other government benefits. In some cases the police simply rounded up poor people and hauled them to sterilization camps.
How would you feel if you were rounded up and hauled off to a sterilization camp?
Sterilization programs (most of the time they are "voluntary") are in full force all over the globe.  Much of the time they are sponsored and funded by the United Nations.  The global elite are absolutely obsessed with getting women to have less babies.
That is one reason why abortion is so very important to them.
Recently, Al Gore made the following statement regarding population control....
"One of the things we could do about it is to change the technologies, to put out less of this pollution, to stabilize the population, and one of the principle ways of doing that is to empower and educate girls and women. You have to have ubiquitous availability of fertility management so women can choose how many children have, the spacing of the children.
The elite love to use terms such as "fertility management" and "family planning", but what they really intend is for there to be less pregnancies and more abortions so that the population will not grow as quickly.
They certainly do not intend to empower women to have more children.
This agenda was also very much reflected when the March 2009 U.N. Population Division policy brief asked this shocking question....
"What would it take to accelerate fertility decline in the least developed countries?"
Now who in the world gave the UN the right to be trying to "accelerate fertility decline" for women in poor countries?
But to many in the global elite, trying to get women to have less babies makes all the sense in the world.  In a recent editorial for the New York Times entitled "The Earth Is Full", Thomas L. Friedman made the following statement....
You really do have to wonder whether a few years from now we’ll look back at the first decade of the 21st century — when food prices spiked, energy prices soared, world population surged, tornados plowed through cities, floods and droughts set records, populations were displaced and governments were threatened by the confluence of it all — and ask ourselves: What were we thinking? How did we not panic when the evidence was so obvious that we’d crossed some growth/climate/natural resource/population redlines all at once?
These people honestly and truly believe this stuff.
Unfortunately, this agenda is even represented in the highest levels of our own government.
Barack Obama's top science advisor, John P. Holdren, once wrote the following....
"A program of sterilizing women after their second or third child, despite the relatively greater difficulty of the operation than vasectomy, might be easier to implement than trying to sterilize men.
The development of a long-term sterilizing capsule that could be implanted under the skin and removed when pregnancy is desired opens additional possibilities for coercive fertility control. The capsule could be implanted at puberty and might be removable, with official permission, for a limited number of births."
Holdren also believes that compulsory abortion would be perfectly legal under the U.S. Constitution....
“Indeed, it has been concluded that compulsory population-control laws, even including laws requiring compulsory abortion, could be sustained under the existing Constitution if the population crisis became sufficiently severe to endanger the society.”
The following are 8 more quotes that show the mindset that a lot of these population control advocates have....
"The world today has 6.8 billion people. That's heading up to about nine billion. Now if we do a really great job on new vaccines, health care, reproductive health services, we could lower that by perhaps 10 or 15 percent."
#2 U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg....
"Frankly I had thought that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don’t want to have too many of."
"The negative impact of population growth on all of our planetary ecosystems is becoming appallingly evident."
#4 Jacques Cousteau....
"In order to stabilize world population, we must eliminate 350,000 people per day."
#5 Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh....
"If I were reincarnated I would wish to be returned to earth as a killer virus to lower human population levels."
#6 David Brower, first Executive Director of the Sierra Club....
"Childbearing [should be] a punishable crime against society, unless the parents hold a government license ... All potential parents [should be] required to use contraceptive chemicals, the government issuing antidotes to citizens chosen for childbearing."
#7 Planned Parenthood Founder Margaret Sanger....
"The most merciful thing that a family does to one of its infant members is to kill it."
#8 Planned Parenthood Founder Margaret Sanger. Woman, Morality, and Birth Control. New York: New York Publishing Company, 1922. Page 12....
"Birth control must lead ultimately to a cleaner race."
When you believe that the earth has way too many people, human life becomes cheap, and abortion becomes a way to get rid of undesirables.
According to a recent article in the Daily Mail, thousands of "abnormal" babies are now being selectively aborted in the UK each year....
Thousands of pregnancies were aborted last year for ‘abnormalities’ including 500 for Down’s syndrome, new figures reveal.
In total, there were 2,290 abortions for medical problems with the foetus, with 147 performed after 24 weeks.
In a world that is "overpopulated", babies that are not "perfect" become more "disposable" than ever.
In fact, the truth is that the population control agenda and the "abortion rights movement" have been inseparably linked for decades.  Those that are obsessed with "overpopulation" view abortion as a very necessary method of birth control, and one of their main goals is to expand access to "reproductive health care" to as many women around the globe as possible.
But in the end, our "voluntary" actions are not going to be nearly enough to reduce the population and most population control advocates realize that.  Many of them are openly calling for a "benevolent" global authority to take charge to lead us through the "necessary" transition that is ahead.
In a previous article, I described the type of world that the radical population control advocates see for our future....
Imagine going to sleep one night and waking up many years later in a totally different world.  In this futuristic world, literally everything you do is tightly monitored and controlled by control freak bureaucrats in the name of "sustainable development" and with the goal of promoting "the green agenda".  An international ruling body has centralized global control over all human activity.  What you eat, what you drink, where you live, how warm or cold your home can be and how much fuel you can use is determined by them.  Anyone that dissents or that tries to rebel against the system is sent off for "re-education".  The human population is 90 percent lower than it is today in this futuristic society, and all remaining humans have been herded into tightly constricted cities which are run much like prisons.
This is the endgame for the radical green agenda.  In order to save the earth, they feel as though they must dramatically reduce our numbers and very tightly control our activities.
But is that the kind of a future that anyone would actually want to live in?  Would anyone actually choose to live in a future where bureaucrats micromanage our lives for the good of the environment?
Personally, I think that the 7 billion people on earth would do just fine if they were given a lot more liberty and freedom to live their own lives as they see fit.
But letting people decide how to run their own lives is anathema to those that have bought into the population control agenda of the global elite.
They actually believe that they are smarter than all of the rest of us and that they need to tell us what to do for the good of humanity and for the good of the planet.
This patronizing approach should truly sicken all freedom-loving Americans.
So what do you think of the population control agenda of the global elite?
Please feel free to leave a comment with your opinion below....

Monday 31 October 2011

31/10/11 - Concerns Are Raised About Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes

Researchers on Sunday reported initial signs of success from the first release into the environment of mosquitoes engineered to pass a lethal gene to their offspring, killing them before they reach adulthood.

The results, and other work elsewhere, could herald an age in which genetically modified insects will be used to help control agricultural pests and insect-borne diseases like dengue fever and malaria.

But the research is arousing concern about possible unintended effects on public health and the environment, because once genetically modified insects are released, they cannot be recalled.

Authorities in the Florida Keys, which in 2009 experienced its first cases of dengue fever in decades, hope to conduct an open-air test of the modified mosquitoes as early as December, pending approval from the Agriculture Department.

“It’s a more ecologically friendly way to control mosquitoes than spraying insecticides,” said Coleen Fitzsimmons, a spokeswoman for the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District.

The Agriculture Department, meanwhile, is looking at using genetic engineering to help control farm pests like the Mediterranean fruit fly, or medfly, and the cotton-munching pink bollworm, according to an environmental impact statement it published in 2008. Millions of genetically engineered bollworms have been released over cotton fields in Yuma County, Ariz.

Yet even supporters of the research worry it could provoke a public reaction similar to the one that has limited the acceptance of genetically modified crops. In particular, critics say that Oxitec, the British biotechnology company that developed the dengue-fighting mosquito, has rushed into field testing without sufficient review and public consultation, sometimes in countries with weak regulations.

“Even if the harms don’t materialize, this will undermine the credibility and legitimacy of the research enterprise,” said Lawrence O. Gostin, professor of international health law at Georgetown University.

The first release, which was discussed in a scientific paper published online on Sunday by the journal Nature Biotechnology, took place in the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean in 2009 and caught the international scientific community by surprise. Oxitec has subsequently released the modified mosquitoes in Malaysia and Brazil.

Luke Alphey, the chief scientist at Oxitec, said the company had left the review and community outreach to authorities in the host countries.

“They know much better how to communicate with people in those communities than we do coming in from the U.K.” he said.

Dr. Alphey was a zoology researcher at Oxford before co-founding Oxitec in 2002. The company has raised about $24 million from investors, including Oxford, he said. A major backer is East Hill Advisors, which is run by the New England businessman Landon T. Clay, former chief executive of Eaton Vance, an investment management firm.

Oxitec says its approach is an extension of a technique used successfully for decades to suppress or even eradicate pests, which involves the release of millions of sterile insects that mate with wild ones, producing no offspring.

But the technique has not been successfully used for mosquitoes, in part because the radiation usually used to sterilize the insects also injures them, making it difficult for them to compete for mates against wild counterparts.

Oxitec has created Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, the species that is the main transmitter of the dengue and yellow fever viruses, containing a gene that will kill them unless they are given tetracycline, a common antibiotic.

In the lab, with tetracycline provided, the mosquitoes can be bred for generations and multiplied. Males are then released into the wild, where tetracycline is not available. They live long enough to mate but their progeny will die before adulthood.

The study published on Sunday looked at how successfully the lab-reared, genetically modified insects could mate. About 19,000 engineered mosquitoes were released over four weeks in 2009 in a 25-acre area on Grand Cayman island.

Based on data from traps, the genetically engineered males accounted for 16 percent of the overall male population in the test zone, and the lethal gene was found in almost 10 percent of larvae. Those figures suggest the genetically engineered males were about half as successful in mating as wild ones, a rate sufficient to suppress the population.

Oxitec has already said a larger trial on Grand Cayman island in 2010 reduced the population of the targeted mosquito by 80 percent for three months. That work has not yet been published.

Friday 28 October 2011

28/10/11 - The Dangers of Using Plastic Bottles


Most types of plastic bottles are safe to reuse at least a few times if properly washed with hot soapy water. But recent revelations about chemicals in Lexan (plastic #7) bottles are enough to scare even the most committed environmentalists from reusing them (or buying them in the first place). Studies have indicated that food and drinks stored in such containers—including those ubiquitous clear Nalgene water bottles hanging from just about every hiker’s backpack—can contain trace amount of Bisphenol A (BPA), a synthetic chemical that interferes with the body’s natural hormonal messaging system.

The same studies found that repeated re-use of such bottles—which get dinged up through normal wear and tear and while being washed—increases the chance that chemicals will leak out of the tiny cracks and crevices that develop over time. According to the Environment California Research & Policy Center, which reviewed 130 studies on the topic, BPA has been linked to breast and uterine cancer, an increased risk of miscarriage, and decreased testosterone levels. BPA can also wreak havoc on children’s developing systems. (Parents beware: Most baby bottles and sippy cups are made with plastics containing BPA.) Most experts agree that the amount of BPA that could leach into food and drinks through normal handling is probably very small, but there are concerns about the cumulative effect of small doses.

Health advocates also recommend not reusing bottles made from plastic #1 (polyethylene terephthalate, also known as PET or PETE), including most disposable water, soda and juice bottles. According to The Green Guide, such bottles may be safe for one-time use, but reuse should be avoided because studies indicate they may leach DEHP—another probable human carcinogen—when they are in less than perfect condition. The good news is that such bottles are easy to recycle; just about every municipal recycling system will take them back. But using them is nonetheless far from environmentally responsible: The nonprofit Berkeley Ecology Center found that the manufacture of plastic #1 uses large amounts of energy and resources and generates toxic emissions and pollutants that contribute to global warming. And even though PET bottles can be recycled, millions find their way into landfills every day in the U.S. alone.

Another bad choice for water bottles, reusable or otherwise, is plastic #3 (polyvinyl chloride/PVC), which can leach hormone-disrupting chemicals into the liquids they are storing and will release synthetic carcinogens into the environment when incinerated. Plastic #6 (polystyrene/PS), has been shown to leach styrene, a probable human carcinogen, into food and drinks as well.

Safer choices include bottles crafted from safer HDPE (plastic #2), low-density polyethylene (LDPE, AKA plastic #4) or polypropylene (PP, or plastic #5). Consumers may have a hard time finding water bottles made out of #4 or #5, however. Aluminum bottles, such as those made by SIGG and sold in many natural food and product markets, and stainless steel water bottles are also safe choices and can be reused repeatedly and eventually recycled.


How is plastic made and identified?

How many times a day do you use something made from plastic? I can guarantee that it's more than you think. Plastic has been a part of our lives for over 100 years, and its use continues to grow. In 2002, about 107 billion pounds of plastic were produced in North America. Recently, claims have been made about certain types of plastic being unsafe. Are we getting more than just storage when it comes to using plastic?
The process of making plastic is a complicated one. It begins with carbon from petroleum, natural gas, coal, or biological sources. The elements can be combined in various combinations in order to achieve a desired property and characteristic. The final product can be hard like the siding on your house or soft and flexible like shrink wrap.
Have you ever noticed the number with the arrows surrounding it on your plastic bottles? Many people use these numbers to determine how the product is to be recycled. These numbers are called the plastic packaging resin identification codes. They indicate the type of plastic that the item was made from and are used to help consumers know whether and how the item is to be recycled. According to the American Chemistry Council, the resin identification numbers are as follows:
  • No. 1: Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET, PETE)
  • No. 2: High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE)
  • No. 3: Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC, vinyl)
  • No. 4: Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE)
  • No. 5: Polypropylene (PP)
  • No. 6: Polystyrene (PS)
  • No. 7: Other: when package is made with a resin other than the six listed above, or is made of more than one resin and used in a multi-layer combination
Before a product made of plastic is allowed to hold any of your food, it needs to be tested for its intended purpose. For example, the plastic that is approved for use in your microwave has been approved for that purpose, while the plastic that carries your water was approved for that use. The U.S.Food and Drug Administration (FDA) admits that something will always "leach out of the container and into the food," so they try to determine the amount that someone will ingest over a lifetime versus the levels of a given substance that are known to be toxic. Their goal is to make sure that during our lifetime the amount that we consume will not pose any risk to our health. But what if their estimate of how much we consume is incorrect? What if the product containing plastic is not used according to the directions? These questions could be lifesaving ones. The first step is to know what kind of plastic is in your cabinets.


#1. What is polyethylene terephthalate (PET, PETE)?

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is clear, tough, and shatterproof. It provides a barrier to oxygen, water, and carbon dioxide and is identified with the number 1. PET's ability to contain carbon dioxide (carbonation) makes it ideal for use in carbonated soft drink bottles. Take a look at the bottom of your soft drink bottle and you will most likely find a number 1 there. PET is also used to make bottles for water, juice, sports drinks, beer, mouthwash, catsup, and salad dressing. You can also find it on your food jars for peanut butter, jam, jelly, and pickles as well as in microwavable food trays.
According to the American Chemistry Council, PET has been approved as safe by the FDA and the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI). In 1994, ILSI stated that "PET polymer has a long history of safe consumer use, which is supported by human experience and numerous toxicity studies." The American Chemistry Council cautions that products made with PET be used only as indicated by the manufacturer. For example, the microwavable trays are only to be used one time and not to store or prepare foods other than those for which they are intended.
Recent studies have shown that reusing bottles made of PET can in fact be dangerous. PET was found to break down over time and leach into the beverage when the bottles were reused. The toxin DEHA also appeared in the water sample from reused water bottles. DEHA has been shown to cause liver problems, other possible reproductive difficulties, and is suspected to cause cancer in humans. Therefore, it's best to recycle these bottles without reusing them.

#2. What is high-density polyethylene (HDPE)?

High-density polyethylene (HDPE) is used to make many types of bottles. HDPE has good barrier properties; it's well suited for packaging products with a short shelf life and has good chemical resistance. It is identified with the number 2. HDPE is used in milk, juice, and water bottles along with household items such as shampoo, conditioner, detergent, cleaners, motor oil, and antifreeze. It can also be found in pipe, tiles, plastic film and sheeting, buckets, crates, and recycling bins.


#3. What is polyvinyl chloride (PVC, vinyl)?
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC or vinyl) can be manufactured to be either rigid or flexible and is identified with the number 3. When flexible, PVC is used for medical bags, shower curtains, shrink wrap, and deli and meat wrap. The rigid PVC comprises 70% of all manufactured PVC. This is used to make construction materials such as pipe, siding, window frames, railing, fencing, and decking. PVC has been said to have had a major impact on improving life around the world.
There are claims that PVC poses serious environmental health threats. According to the Center for Health, Environment, and Justice, the production of PVC requires chemicals like the "highly polluting chlorine," the "cancer-causing" vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), and ethylene dichloride (EDC). They also claim that PVC plastic requires large amounts of toxic additives to make it stable and usable. These additives are released during use and disposal, resulting in "elevated human exposures to phthalates, lead, cadmium, tin, and other toxic chemicals." In 2000, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed national standards to limit air toxic emissions from polyvinyl chloride production plants.
The FDA acknowledges that the building block of PVC, vinyl chloride, is a human carcinogen. They conclude that the amount contained in the PVC food packaging is within safe limits. In 2002, the FDA recommended that a specific compound used as a plasticizer in PVC either be labeled or removed from the medical bags in which it was being used. This compound, DEHP, had shown some toxic and carcinogenic effects in lab animals, but the effects on humans were unknown. The invasive medical procedures in which this was being used may have exposed people to DEHP levels that would exceed the amount determined to be safe in humans.

#4. What is low-density polyethylene (LDPE)?

Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) is used for its toughness, flexibility, and relative transparency. LDPE is used to make bottles that require extra flexibility. To take advantage of its strength and toughness, it is used to produce grocery bags and garbage bags, squeezable bottles, shrink wrap, stretch films, and coating for milk cartons. It can also be found in toys, container lids, and packaging. It is identified as number 4.

#5. What is polypropylene (PP)?

Polypropylene (PP) is known for its high melting point, which makes it ideal for holding hot liquids that cool in the bottles (for example, ketchup and syrup). It can be manufactured to be flexible or rigid. PP is used to make containers for yogurt, margarine, takeout meals, and deli foods. It is also use for medicine bottles, bottle caps, and some household items. It is identified as number 5.

#6. What is polystyrene (PS)?

Polystyrene (PS) can be rigid or foamed. It is most commonly used for protective packaging (for example, foam packaging for furniture, electronics, and other delicate items), food serving packaging (for example, cups, plates, bowls, cutlery, meat and poultry trays, and rigid food containers), bottles, and food containers. It is identified as number 6.

#7. What is bisphenol A?


Bisphenol A (BPA) is a widely produced chemical used primarily for the production of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. More than 6 billion pounds of BPA are produced and used each year for this purpose. The use of this chemical is so profound that it was detected in the urine in 93% of the population over 6 years of age. The study did not include anyone under 6 years of age, so the level in their urine is unknown. Bisphenol A (or BPA) is a high-volume industrial chemical used as a monomer (or chemical backbone) to make polycarbonate plastic, which is widely used in reusable water bottles, baby bottles, pacifiers, plastic utensils, children’s toys, compact discs, and certain microwaveable and reusable plastic containers. BPA is also used in some dyes, enamels, varnishes, flooring, adhesive, fungicides, antioxidants, dental sealants and artificial teeth. A chemical derivative of BPA called bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE) is used to make epoxy resins which are widely used in many applications. Human exposure to bisphenol A (and BADGE) results from the use of BADGE in the clear lining of metal food and drink cans, and from some dental sealants and composite dental fillings.
The health risks of BPA have been receiving considerable attention. It has long been known that previous studies done on lab animals showed that BPA can cause genetic damage. BPA was approved for use with humans because the amount given to the animals was not comparable to what humans consume. For example, the intake of BPA is expressed in milligrams (mg) per kilogram (kg) of body weight (bw) per day. The highest estimated daily intake (exposure) for humans is

Polycarbonate plastics are typically hard and clear and are marked with the resin identification code number 7. As mentioned previously, the number 7 is considered the "other" category and includes chemicals other than bisphenol A. Nalgene water bottles were made with BPA until recently. They are being voluntarily pulled from the shelves and replaced by bottles that are BPA-free made with a relatively new plastic called Tritan copolyester. Other sources of polycarbonate are food and drink packaging, including infant bottles, toddler sipping cups, tableware, and food containers. Epoxy resins are used to line metal products such as canned foods, bottle tops, and water supply pipes.

  • less than 0.0147 mg/kg bw/day for children;
  • less than 0.0015 mg/kg bw/day for adults; and
  • 0.0100 mg/kg bw/day for workers exposed to this chemical.
Studies done on laboratory rodents have shown that high doses of BPA during pregnancy and lactation can reduce survival, birth weight, and growth of offspring early in life, and delay the onset of puberty. The doses given were significantly higher than the estimated human exposures:
  • Delayed puberty: greater than 50 mg/kg bw/day
  • Growth retardation: greater than 300 mg/kg bw/day
  • Survival: greater than 500 mg/kg bw/day
BPA has also been linked to cancer, diabetes, and obesity in animals. The American Chemistry Council states that "consumers would have to eat more than 500 pounds of food and beverages in contact with polycarbonate plastic or epoxy resins every day of their lives to exceed exposure levels determined to be safe by the European Food Safety Authority and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency." There is no way to know for sure if humans would have the same reaction that the animals have had, but there is enough evidence to be concerned and warrant further studies.
The highest estimated intakes of bisphenol A occur in infants and children. Their intake is greatest because pound for pound they eat, drink, and breathe more than adults. BPA is found in the plastic baby bottles and the linings of cans of powdered and liquid formula. Their exposure is also increased by the objects that they put in their mouth. It's important to note that bisphenol A has been detected in the blood of pregnant women and in the breast milk of lactating women.
One thing that many people seem to agree on is that high temperatures can cause BPA to leach into the food or beverage. In one study, boiling water was placed in hard plastic water bottles. The rate of release of BPA with the boiling water was compared with room-temperature water. With room-temperature water, BPA was released at a rate of 0.2 to 0.8 nanograms per hour. The BPA was released 15 to 55 times faster with the boiling water, with a rate of 8 to 32 nanograms per hour. The concern about this has led Canadian retailers to pull all baby bottles made with BPA from the shelves. In the United States, many manufacturers and retailers are beginning to do the same.




Other BPA Health Risks


No one is immune to the health risks of BPA. Research has linked BPA to:




    BPA Alternatives:

    Tips to Reduce Your Exposure to BPA
    To be fair, you probably can no longer completely eliminate your exposure to BPA (since it's likely in our air, water, and food, too) but you can certainly reduce your exposure dramatically.

    The following tips will not only reduce your exposure to BPA, but also to many of the other dangerous plastics chemicals as well.

    1. Only use glass baby bottles and dishes for your baby








    2. Give your baby natural fabric toys instead of plastic ones


    3. Store your food and beverages in glass - NOT plastic - containers. Do not use  polycarbonate - BPA plastic containers (Tupperware for example).


    4. IF you choose to use a microwave, don't microwave food in a plastic container, use glass or ceramic


    5. Stop buying and consuming canned foods and canned soft drinks


    6. Avoid using plastic wrap (and never microwave anything covered in it)


    7. Get rid of your plastic dishes and cups, and replace them with glass


    8. If you opt to use plastic kitchenware, at least get rid of the older, scratched-up varieties, avoid putting them in the dishwasher, and don't wash them with harsh detergents

    9. Avoid using bottled water; filter your own using a reverse osmosis or other type of water filter. Use Stainless steel water bottles.


    10. Before allowing a dental sealant to be applied to you, or your children's, teeth, ask your dentist to verify that it does not contain BPAIn the event that you do opt to use plastic containers for your food, be sure to avoid those marked on the bottom with the recycling label No. 7, or the letters PC, as these varieties are most likely to contain BPA.



    Dr. Mercola's comments

    You would think labeling a product "BPA-Free" would be some measure of protection against ingesting this toxic plastic by-product, but it turns out that tests on plastics using this label have not been conducted under real-world conditions like running the plastics through a dishwasher or heating them in a microwave.

    In the "real-world", 95 percent of all plastic products in the study above tested positive for estrogenic activity, meaning they can still disrupt your hormones even if they carry a BPA-Free label. Even more disconcerting is the finding that BPA-Free plastics in some cases leached more BPA than the non-BPA free plastics.

    Does this mean there is no safe plastic when it comes to storing or serving your food or drinks?

    In a word, yes, that's what it means.

    I suppose you could research exactly which five percent of commercial plastic products did not leach BPA in the study mentioned above, but my guess is you'll never be able to identify which products contain this very specific variation of plastic, because commercial products are not required to list details like that on their labels.

    This is another study in a long line of scientific studies that highlight the fact that eating or drinking out of plastic containers will deposit residual BPA into your body, potentially causing a whole host of health problems that I will list in more detail below.