© Yann Poirier | Dreamstime.com
It looks like California Senate Bill 797 — which, if passed would restrict the use of toxic chemical bisphenol A (BPA) from food and beverage containers designed for children 3 and under — is about to be the targeted by Washington lobbyists. According to internal emails obtained by the Washington Post, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and Environmental Working Group, chemical and food industry lobbyists convened last Thursday in an emergency brainstorming session to devise a plan of attack against the California legislation.
The meeting, which was held at Washington’s exclusive Cosmos Club, was attended by representatives of Coca-Cola, Alcoa, Del Monte, Crown, the American Chemistry Council, the North American Metal Packing Alliance, and the Grocery Manufacturers Association, who committed $500,000 to an effort to “prolong the life of BPA.” The chemical, which is used to harden polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins used as food linings (among other things), is estimated to generate more than $6 billion a year in worldwide sales.
Recent research has shown that BPA acts as a synthetic estrogen, disrupting the endocrine system as well as brain and reproductive system development and functioning, and is linked to cancer, behavioral and learning problems, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity.
According to the emails, the group of lobbyists, calling themselves the BPA Joint Trade Association, discussed “focusing the impact of BPA bans on minorities (African American and Hispanic) and poor” by saying that without BPA, food prices would rise.
The California legislation, which was written by State Senator Fran Pavley, is not the first such measure in the country; last month, Minnesota and the city of Chicago banned BPA from certain children’s products, including baby bottles and sippy cups.
Read the whole story here.
Californians: A hearing/vote on the bill is scheduled for today. Click here to get the contact information for the state senator in your district, and call to express your support for the bill.
–Jennifer Grayson
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