Confession of an Anti-Plastic Activist Caught Red-Handed With a BPA-Lined Can
I just got back from a week on the East Coast doing book promos and visiting family, and all I got was this stupid Facebook photo…
Two days ago, my sister Ellen posted that photo and caption and tagged me. It would have been funny, if it weren’t my Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup can. My first reaction was utter embarrassment (for being caught eating out of a can lined with BPA or some other mystery chemical and even more, for eating Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup in the first place), and I asked her to untag me. Instead, she posted a comment: Just kidding! That’s my soup.
But it wasn’t her soup, it was mine. Granted, I didn’t buy it — I found it in a cupboard in my dad’s house — but still… how can I go around advising people to avoid BPA-lined cans if I can’t always resist them myself? So, after untagging myself and then feeling all weird and guilty, I suddenly realized… or maybe I should say remembered… that it’s precisely those times when I feel weird and guilty that I can learn the most about myself and human behavior and motivation.
See, anyone who has read this blog for a while or who has read my book knows that I never claim to be perfect. I’ve confessed all kinds of eco-“sins” along the way. Binging on flamin’ hot cheetos during a road trip with my dad. Taking long, hot showers. Eating too much bread. Craving fast food. Buying new stuff. (Hmm… I just realized that many of the items on that list involve food. Interesting.) And I’m nothing if not honest about my short-comings because pretending to be “perfect” doesn’t help. In fact, I think it’s counterproductive.
But somehow, with the publication of my book this year and subsequent media attention, I fell into the frame of mind that I have to be the expert and that I have to be perfect — or at least appear to be perfect — at living without plastic. Even while I’m assuring other people that they don’t have to be. Even while writing that guilt doesn’t help because it creates the illusion that we are separate from the rest of the world, wrong, at fault. That guilt can subdue us into inaction, causing us to hide our perceived faults instead of trying to figure out the root causes of our actions.
So here’s my confession: My childhood comfort food — which I still occasionally indulge in when I feel stressed out or depressed — is this trashy combination: Pasta or rice covered in a mixture of tuna, cream of mushroom soup, and American cheese. My siblings think it looks like vomit and have teased me about it since I was a kid, but it’s just an easy version of my mom’s tuna casserole that made me feel safe and loved. Nowadays, I use plastic-free cheese and grains or pasta from the bulk bins. But the tuna and soup come in cans, and the soup has to be Campbell’s. (Yes, the same company that refuses to reveal what chemical they are going to use to replace BPA.)
My primary solution is meditation. On the days when I sit and meditate for at last 15 minutes in the morning, I’m much more mindful during the day, less likely to get stressed out, and less likely to do things that really don’t match my values. But on the days when I skip meditation… like every day I was in Maryland with my family… I’m more likely to forget who I am and fall back into old patterns. Throw a hurricane threat on top, and anything could happen.
Good thing I’m leaving tonight for my semi-annual meditation retreat. Three days of silence, stillness, and noticing my own breath. And being as honest as I can possibly be.
Do you have any secret vices you’d like to share? Go on. It’ll feel good to unburden yourself. Or at least make me feel better. 🙂
My apologies for any typos. Also, I suppose I should mention, I live in Pennsylvania, USA.
Hello, I’m just a new guest to this site; but I felt I had something to add to the comments. edenfoods.com for Eden Organic products. They’re the company my family and I use for our canned materials. They’re very transparent in their business practices and products, compared to most other companies. I buy some of their items in bulk, as they can be hard to find locally. They do not use BPA in their linings; and they explain the vegetable based substitute they use. It was something used widely some time ago; but BPA, being cheaper, became the replacement for, obviously, many companies. The ingredients are amazingly better than mainstream choices like Bush’s or Campbell’s (I’ve found). Compare nutritional information from three cans: EdenOrganic Garbanzo Beans–Bush’s Garbanzo Beans–Bush’s low sodium Garbanzo beans; and you’ll see what I mean. Are Eden Food’s products more expensive? Yes. Most definitely. Is paying a few extra cents worth it? YES! For the health of my family, esp. my children; and to stretch the muscle of my purchasing power. I refuse to by Campbell’s (at the very least) canned products, or any other canned goods that do not specifically state BPA free lining, and explain. I’m just a tiny voice in an enormous consumer/marketing concert. But, perhaps, more and more tiny voices will join me; and the big companies will truly hear. We’d rather know what we’re buying; and we’d rather choose the most natural options. There is a company that cans tuna with BPA free lining. I can’t recall the name; and I don’t have any in the cupboard at this time. The white albacore is like 3.50 a can. I usually only buy small quantities of this for my kids’ lunches on occasion. But, generally, I prefer to purchase frozen seafood items, or catch fresh fish locally and freeze them. If you hadn’t already, edenfoods.com might be a web site worth a little exploration. (No, I’m not some spokesperson for them. They’re canned options just happen to be the best I’ve found, aside from my own veggie garden canning. And I thought I’d share after reading the above.) BTW, don’t feel guilty. My grandparents house is stocked with food items and containers that make me cringe (she esp. likes to reuse plastic food containers—like coolwhip tubs—as her “reusable” storage stuff for fridge and freezer!). Sometimes, it’s just everywhere.
Thanks for your honesty! I’m actually ‘coming out’ with my dirty not-so-green habits post soon! But yes, it’s definitely impossible to be perfectly green/plastic free and I’m glad you wrote about your experience! (and if everyone tried being green “most” of the time, we’d be a LOT better off!
I have read, but do not have proof, that there are plasticizers even in glass. I bought some new Ball canning jars, and have noticed that when I have something that is semi-hard in there, like lard, which I try to get out with a spoon, that the side of the jar “gives” when I press against it with the spoon. I’m thinking glass doesn’t normally do that . . . which makes me think that there might actually be plasticizers in the glass. Which is disappointing, because my main reason for using glass is to avoid the plastic.
Hi Karen. I haven’t heard of plasticizers in glass. Do you remember where you read it? Could you please send me a link?
I am so glad you posted this! I think we all have these guilty little secrets that are in our lives and let’s face it, we live in a modern world and were brought up in one. There are things from our “former lives” (before we became, minimalists, green, plastic-free, whatever) that we have already been tainted with and there is no going back. We can’t miss what we have never had, but that is the problem, we have already had them. So, we do our best, but no one is perfect. When I was studying to be a yoga instructor my teacher told me a story about the Swami who taught her and how she found him one day sitting on the beach eating a bag of Doritos! I love that story and it reminds me of yours. We learned how healthy being a vegetarian is, junk food is bad, etc. etc. and he was eating Doritos. We are all human and it is good to be able to admit it.
MarieG LifeSImplyBalanced.com
HI. The problem is that every can is going to be lined with something. Tomatoes are corrosive, so there must be a lining. Some companies are finding alternatives to BPA, but there is not enough information to know if the new linings are any safer. Can you find tomatoes in glass?
As long as we keep trying and keep motivating other to try.
I’m new to this blog and so glad found it too. Know exactly what you mean about about trying, and failing, sometimes spectacularly, at becoming plastic free eg forgetting my cloth bags when I go supermarket shopping.
Question: I am trying to find canned tomatoes that are BPA free (in Australia). So far no luck. Every time I open a can I’m greeted with that white lining – so disappointing and unnecessary. Any advice would be appreciated.
you should try this recipe for cream of mushroom soup (vegan cream of mushroom soup recipe from The Wicked Good Vegan has been removed because the site is broken 2017-08-05). it’s amazing, much better for you, and it tastes SOO freaking good. and best yet, the only ingredients i can’t find in bulk for it (you probably could in northern cali) are the fat (i use coconut oil) and the wine. oh, and wild planet foods sells tuna in a glass jar. the jar looks small, but it actually packs a lot of tuna in it, probably because they don’t bother packing it with all the other crap that’s in the can.
Cheese, it’s hard to find cheese in Duluth MN that isn’t surrounded in plastic. Also, sour cream – my husband can eat it like ice cream!
If you acted like you were 100% plastic free I don’t think I could read your blog.
You are an inspiration and a reminder to be mindful & forgiving.
You can make that casserole from scratch– I think it’s in the Best Recipe American Classics. It is so worth it. I haven’t been able to have the version with canned goods since.
I completely appreciate this blog. Sometimes it is hard to be 100% perfect. My family is on a journey to zero-waste, and it is HARD. The deck is stacked against you. I admire your dedication AND honesty!
Yeah, totally guilt ridden when my friend brings home a Sweet Frog’s frozen yogurt, peanut butter flavor, home just for me in a (ugh) styrofoam cup. But I eat every spoonful anyway! Trying to get her to switch to another shop that uses paper cups.
I totally appreciate your honesty!!! It’s so much better than trying to live a fake life!! I just wanted to add that Campbell’s soup has recently donated nearly $800,000 to the NO on 37 campaign in CA…. I’ve been working for months on the YES on 37 campaign to get labeling on all GMO foods!! Not only did Campbell’s donate in order to maintain secrecy in their cans while they feed Americas families toxic swill, they also closed their plant in my town of Sacramento. They laid off nealy 800 people into an economy that is still at nearly 12% unemployment!! It is so unbelievably easy to make your own soup, even Cream of Mushroom. Make your own! Boycot Campells!
Thanks for posting this. Every dollar we spend to junk food companies, they will use against us. For many years I never buy/eat junk and GMO and it does not make my life fake.
Thanks for your honesty 🙂 We are just starting to go plastic-less and already I am struggling. My biggest area of conflict is my hobby. I make cards and I really really love it. The bulk of the stuff I like to use to make them is plastic related – both through their packaging and in their content; Glitter, punches, stamps, glue, ink, and I imagine even the cutting dies probably have coating on them since they don’t really look like metal. Even the paper is not good, although I could get creative their with reusing. I hate to give it up but I hate to keep doing something that I know is not good environmentally.
Hi Beth, it does make all of us feel better when ‘the expert’ not only trips up but comes clean! It is such an overwhelming journey, being mindful about everything we use. I know a lot of it is second nature to you now, but I wonder if you could maybe do a run through of your average day in a future post, highlighting your plastic-free solutions to daily living? That would be a real help for a novice like me..
Ok, Beth, so now I have to tell you about the most ridiculous plastic “FAIL” of my past year. Out running around going from event to event with my homeschool kids (some days just end up stacked too full, even with careful planning). We wanted to try to meet some friends at the park, since it was during the rainy season and this one non-rainy day needed to be taken advantage of. I can’t remember what happened that kept me from making food to take with us, but I ended up needing to pick up food while we were out and about. I had full intentions of getting something fairly healthy and low-plastic–but then a massive low-blood sugar attack hit me, and when that happens, I can barely think straight, and need to get food ASAP or I am not a safe driver. In my befuddled state, I tried to think of what worthwhile food was on the way to the park. . . could not come up with anything, and ended up stopping at Taco Bell. I bought food for myself and my kids, realized I did not even have a cloth bag or anything to hold it all, so had to take plastic bags. I bought a Coke because I wanted some immediate sugar to hit my bloodstream, and realized I did not have my travel mug with me either, so had to take their plastic cup and plastic lid. I refused the straw, however, because I did have my own with me. So I get to the park at set on the table (in front of my friends–how embarassing!!!) several small bags of Taco Bell and a big plastic cup of Coke–with a Dharma glass straw stuck in it.
Talk about incongruity! My friends had the decency to laugh with me, not at me, and easily forgive my poor planning and eco-health fail. : )
Ha! I used to have a “green blog” but I had to give it up because it was making me totally crazy! (Well, that plus the fact that a group of Realtors in Florida tried to sue me because they had trademarked one of the words I used in my blog name – not kidding.) Anyhow, I started to feel guilty for EVERYTHING I did! Even exhaling CO2 felt like an eco-crime!
I fear the swath of eco-sins in my wake is deep and wide. Where to start? Well… I caved in and bought chocolate for the trick-or-treaters… Hershey’s kisses & Reese’s peanut butter cups – pretty sure they weren’t made with ethical chocolate. But they were wrapped in foil instead of plastic – does that make up for the dozen of them that I scarfed? Didn’t think so…
My comfort food of choice is SpaghettiOs – terrible, I know. It’s funny, most people’s comfort foods are things their mom’s made, mine is the only food I could prepare for myself as a child. Wonder what that says about me…
But the worst is probably the Finish Powerball Tabs. They’re terrible… each one individually wrapped in plastic. But here’s the thing… they WORK! I get to just toss the dishes into the dishwasher with NO pre-rinsing (even baked on cheese) and my life-long battle with the dishes has finally come to an end. It’s been months and I still do a “happy dance” in the kitchen each time I pop one of them in the dishwasher.
I guess on some level I think it’s all a balancing act. We each do what we can, and work to “move the center” more to the green side.
The fact that you are 99% perfectly plastic-free is the charm. Don’t sweat the occasional can.
Hallowe’en has burdened my household with two 6-year old’s worth of plastic candy horrors. I don’t want to stop my child from tick or treating. I just don’t. My kids already feel that I make them live like freaks by with holding normalcy in the form of plastic toys, plastic wrapped crackers, store bough granola bards etc. So while I’d love to get invited to some fabulous all-inclusive plastic-free Hallowe’en party, it hasn’t happened yet. Maybe never.
Speaking of parties, how’s this for plastic-free failure? I offer to provide the plates and cups for a party at my daughter’s daycare where they serve snacks in styrofoam disposables. I bring my stainless steel cups, mugs bowls and plates. I am prepared to bring them home dirty to wash. The principal breaks open a plastic bag of plastic cups and for some strange reason offers the people asking for juice a choice. ALL BUT TWO PEOPLE ALL NIGHT CHOSE PLASTIC!!! I went home with two cups and two bowls to wash. The bowls were used by Xana and Bram – I was in charge of them so they had no choice. And everything went in the garbage. Food, Recyclables. Trash.
Ugh.
You think that’s trash? You don’t know trash! I’ll show you trash… 😉
https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/27/world/asia/indias-plague-trash-drowns-bangalore-its-garden-city.html?pagewanted=all
Vade in pace.
@opaque4 Good point. It’s all relative.
No one is perfect even the best choices have trade offs that have consequences. I think it is great you let us in on your secret. We all need to remember this is a long road but it is worth the journey even if includes some BPA along the way.
I read this post about an hour ago, and just heard this on NPR. I just had to share! https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2012/11/01/164117125/tuna-noodle-casserole-a-hot-dish-in-need-of-an-update-gets-one
Too funny. But I doubt my little 7-year old inner child would appreciate dried porcini mushrooms. 🙂
thank goodness you are not perfect.. nothing as intimidating to someone trying to reduce gradually than a role model who is judging and perfect.If people think ” i could never do what she does “the next thought is often” so i might as well not bother trying “..keep sharing your doubts and human failings as much as possible… <3
OK, OK, here it is . . . pasta, real Italian pasta NOT whole wheat, glutton free stuff, smothered in Campbell’s tomato soup. Mmmm, mmmm good! And I’m vegan for crying out loud.
I haven’t indulged in this junky concoction for a few years but I have used Amy’s Cream of Tomato soup which does have cream and probably in a BPA lined can. I haven’t done this in a couple years only because I mostly steer clear of grocery stores especially in moments/days of weakness.
Personally I’m not striving for perfection, I don’t even know what that might look like. What I do appreciate and strive for is always looking for ways to move forward and do better. If I falter along the way I confess (mostly to my husband) ask for help/support where I need it and move on.
What I enjoy most about you Beth, is your passion, curiosity, honesty, and imperfection. You’re human.
I confess a lot to Michael too. I’m so grateful to be in a relationship where I don’t hide anything. He knows all my faults and somehow accepts me anyway. 🙂
@Beth Terry We are truly blessed to be in a relationship with imperfect, supportive, loving people ; )
Thank You Beth. I love you for what you do. And now even more so. Thank you for your honesty.
A technical question – can you tell by looking at the interior of a can whether it is lined with BPA or not? I’ve seen cans that have a whitish obviously plastic lining and others that appear to be bare metal. Since they aren’t going to tell you if there is a BPA lining is there a visual rule of thumb?
No, you can’t tell by looking. All cans contain some kind of lining. Either BPA or something else. The problem these days is that many companies will not reveal the alternative chemicals they are using, and those chemicals may be just as bad or worse.
Thank you for sharing this with us, Beth. It just reconfirms that you are human. My vice is savory snacks, I allow myself to cheat on these occasionally.
I am currently reading your book and am awed by the amount of research you have put into it, kudos to you!
Heroes are real people and real people make mistakes – we can’t aspire to be more like someone we admire if we think they are perfect since perfection isn’t attainable.
I’m sure you have, but just in case, have you tried Lisa & Henry’s tuna? It’s in BPA free cans.
Henry & Lisa’s!! Can you believe I didn’t include a link?!
http://www.ecofish.com/products/consumers_products.htm
Good to know. I’ll contact them and find out what they are using instead of BPA. Unfortunately, all cans are lined with something, and it turns out that some of the alternatives are just as problematic. I’ll see what they say. Thanks for the recommendation. But honestly, tuna is so wrong that I really need to just stay away from it entirely. I mostly eat vegetarian… except when I can’t resist. 🙂
I too have my vices – though I purposely don’t keep them secret. I am known to most of my family and friends as the most devoted environmentalist and social activist they know….yet….I am ‘addicted’ to McDonald’s french fries! Granted I only eat them a few times a year, but I love them. Years ago (before I knew as much as I do now) I found I could replicate the fries with a certain mix of spices and McCains skinny fries — but McCains is at least equally as shameful a company as McDonalds and of course the fries come in plastic. I stick to eating the fries at McD’s a few time a year. Most of my friends and family know of this addiction — however, I only ever indulge in them while alone 🙂 and always hope I won’t run into someone I know while in McDonalds – which is why I am more likely to buy them when I am in a different town. I think it is funny that I don’t mind people knowing, but still go out of my way to be sure no one catches me while doing it.
Too funny. I totally understand the impulse to hide. I think there’s a line between sneaking around not wanting people to see us doing things we think are wrong, and doing them openly in such a way that people think we endorse those things. There must be a way to be honest about both our aspirations and the reality of our actions.
Do you read INGREDIENTS? It is full of GMO, Bovid mammary gland secretions, pesticides. How somebody educated can have cravings for this stuff? I thought people who can not read and write eat this stuff.
I guess you too have now learned something… even people who read and write can have cravings for foods they know are unhealthy. Cravings have nothing to do with intelligence but emotion. Have you never met a highly intelligent obese person? I know plenty of them.
Obese persons are not intelligent about their body, health, environment. But it depends what you consider intelligence. It was joke about read and write, I guess my humor is not so funny. But I find GMO, Bovid mammary gland secretions, pesticides cravings very funny . LOL. It so funny, so I am not sure should laugh or cry.
I think you might be missing the point of the post. It’s not to defend Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup, but to say that when we fall short of our goals, we should be honest about it. Do you agree?
It seems to you I am not understanding your post and cravings, so I going take advise of GGirlGGreen and “go somewhere else”
your response claiming that obese people are not intelligent about their bodies, health or environment reminds me of the GOP claiming that women are not intelligent enough to take care of their own bodies.
”Stupid is as Stupid does” Forrest Gump.
We are not all perfect, and we are not all vegan or vegetarian. Would I eat Campbell’s soup? No? But that doesn’t mean that I am better than Beth! She is just being honest, and showing us that even the most eco-friendly, non-toxic living people sometimes stumble, and are not perfect. My vice is all-dressed chips (it’s a Quebec thing). I have read the ingredients and know they are far from good for me, but sometimes I just want them. Does this make me stupid and uneducated? No, actually I am making an educated decision based on the knowledge I have, just like Beth. So how about you take your negative energy and judgement and go somewhere else!
@EcoPeaceful going green and getting healthy does not have to be an all or nothing endeavor. We all have our vices and I would rather admit to them than lie and pretend perfection. I have a weakness for neon orange Cheetos that I give into occasionally. Woman cannot live by organic bean sprouts alone.
Every dollar we/you spend to junk food companies, they will use it against us . I also can not live by organic bean sprouts alone, but i am also do not live by junk food propaganda. I do not even know what is Cheetos is. For many years I never buy/eat junk and GMO and still i am alive.
I wish we were all perfect but humans are bot perfect. I love Beth for her honesty because it is real. Show me a green blogger who professes to be perfect, and I will show you a fake.
So here is my confession Beth… http://www.shaneshirley.com/2012/10/wordless-wednesday-10-31-12-find-3.html
Stephanie and I were trying to hide it from you but let’s put it all on the table! EcoPeaceful, care to join us in this confession fest?
LOL! Wow. Plastic Ross bag and McDonad’s food and plastic McDonald’s bucket. You win. 😉 Nope. None of us is perfect. If people think you have to be perfect to care for the planet, they might not even try.
if somebody never buy/eat junk and GMO than they are fake, did i understand you right?
I absolutely commend you imperfection. It is more welcoming to those who balk at the immensity of living eco-consciously. Don’t punish yourself overly, and yes, tend toward 100%, but absolutely no one is 100%. Thank you for this post. 🙂
Thank you!
I bet a lot of East cost eco folks are using not so eco stuff right now either by need or by (stress induced) choice. On the night of the hurricane, I remembered to buy a manual can opener so we could open a can of refried beans to make burritos with chicken and produce that may spoil if we had a blackout instead of making them from dried beans. I keep an “emergency” can of refried, black, and garbanzo beans in the back of the cupboard for those rare times I can make dried. I haven’t posted the recipe that helps clean out the fridge/avoid fast food on my food blog because it isn’t perfectly healthy from scratch. Maybe I should.
@condoblues Yes, I think you should. Wasting food is not eco-friendly either.