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Who could look away from a headline that read: 8 Things We Found Out Were Linked to Cancer in 2021? Especially when one of the summarizing bullets screamed: “Scientists linked several everyday habits and items to cancer in 2021….”
I’m sorry, what? Everyday habits? Holy cow!
Before reading, I did a quick inventory of what I do on a daily basis. Running and walking twice a day with the dogs; drinking six to eight glasses of water; packing my lunch. Drinking two to three cups of coffee. Scooping the cat box. Sleeping, usually at least seven hours. Alright, not so bad. I figured those actions should be okay.
And, spoiler alert, they are. At least according to this article. But two other habits I have use products that were included in this piece. At least eight brands of deodorants and “40 batches” of sunscreens contained benzene, according to a report cited in the article. Valisure, an independent pharmaceutical testing company, examined the products and asked the Food and Drug Administration “to recall 40 batches from 10 different brands including Neutrogena, Banana Boat, and CVS Health.”
I don’t use any of those brands but those same manufacturers might very well produce the generic items I do buy. How would anyone know they were rubbing poison on themselves if they didn’t happen to see this article? The recall was voluntary and it did make some news at the time (here, here, and here), but what if you missed it, right? Hey, let’s go to the beach, kids. Here’s some carcinogenic industrial goo to spread all over your precious little bodies!
Reading the ingredients of food, medical, and personal products like shampoo or lotions is another habit of mine. I do the same with clothes and other fabrics I buy: sheets and towels, the pillows on my bed, even the upholstery on my furniture. Natural textiles like cotton or silk are preferable along with the fewest ingredients of any kind in any product.
Ever picked up a new flavor of ice cream or snack crackers and noted the ingredients list covers the entire side of the box or carton? Yep; me, too. Those items go back on the shelf. Any more than five or six ingredients usually turns me off (although I do buy some snacks that have more, but only if those ingredients are real food like multiple spices or grains.)
The problem with this situation is that the benzene was a contaminant. Consumers didn’t overlook ingredients or fail to read the labels carefully; they were simply unlucky. It’s not like people used those products after deciding the risk was miniscule.
Situations like that are jarring because they highlight how little control we often have over our world. We can read, learn, pay attention to reputable professionals about health, medicine, and safety. Then all of that is undone by someone not cleaning the equipment properly in the hand lotion factory. Oops, some of that greasy sludgy stuff leaked out again. Better get a tissue.
Don’t misunderstand me, I know the amounts they found were small. I don’t freak out over such things. But it does raise the question: who do you believe? Who do you trust? And am I really living as clean as I think I am? What else do I not know?
Living in the twenty first century is complicated. We are so far removed from taking care of our needs and almost entirely dependent on industry. Sure, some of us grow vegetables, sew fabric into clothing, make our own bread. I’ve done all that myself. But not all at once, and certainly not for very long. One or two skirts or dresses and I’m done with the sewing machine for a while.
Same thing with gardening. It’s cool to bring forth nourishment from our beautiful life-giving earth, but I’ve got to go to work everyday. I’ve got errands to run. The grocery store is on my way to everything. Besides even if I did have the time to farm all day, I couldn’t provide for my entire diet. There’s no way I could raise and slaughter livestock (although I’d love some cute little Rhode Island Reds for companionship and eggs.)
I don’t necessarily believe that our dependence on industry and civilization is bad. Humans, like other species, have always had to rely on one another to survive. Our giant, highly mechanized nations are really just hunter-gatherer societies scaled up. Our foraging predecessors kept inventing better ways to meet their needs. One slingshot or spear at a time. Was the development of today’s urban jungles and technology dependent lifestyle inevitable?
Perhaps yes. As such societies evolved, they developed more complex tools and weapons. Those allowed them to hunt bigger game and eventually to cook meat. Better nutrition led to bigger brains, bodies, and societies. As they created more tools and technology they became more specialized. Now, a million years later (more or less), here we are: nearly eight billion of us on a planet crusted with asphalt and cement, haloed in noxious gases, and blanketed in plastic debris. Any or all of which is not only ugly, but often destructive. Even carcinogenic. And usually smelly, too. Did we have to end up like this?
Reading the article about cancer-causing habits was unnerving because it made me realize how complex my single existence on this planet really is. I use paper bags, opt for organic produce, and choose dental floss made of natural fibers. None of that changes the fact that I’m fed from and contribute to a massive machine. One slouching toward the singularity to be reborn (my apologies to Yeats.) Here I think I’m skipping along conscientiously in my simple cotton fabrics, living and letting live. But in fact I’m just a cog in that machine.
A machine that employs multiple, massive parts requiring highly skilled maintenance. That usurps tons of energy and creates as much waste. We all depend on these technologies but their by-products are contaminating our world and our individual bodies. We don’t even know half of half of the toxic substances we’re in contact with every day. Is the risk of multiple cancers and other chronic diseases (not to mention the decimation of wildlife and natural resources) worth the cost of the convenience?
That’s not easy to answer, is it? Because on the one hand, factories (jets, hospitals, even farms) create water and air pollution that can be physically devastating to animals and humans. On the other hand, our technological capacity drives advances in these fields that foster longer and more comfortable lives for (most) people. If managed properly it could even solve the very problems it creates. But our species is just not very good at the long game. The wrappers from today’s candy bars live longer than their infamous immortal predecessor, the Twinkie. It’s a conundrum for sure (even for Ghostbusters.)
Years ago I ran into a blog called Zero Waste Home. It was very inspirational because the writer, Bea Johnson, had done the research and practiced the lifestyle of uber simple living herself. She’s still there, going strong. This chick is thee most minimalist person I’ve ever come across. And completely genuine. Some of her practices are too extreme for me, but I admire her. She gets the whole family in on the lifestyle and they travel all over the world with an impressively small waste trail.
But is she any better off physically or spiritually than those of us living in the thick of civilization? Is our world, steeped as it is in disposable coffee pods, plastic trinkets, and paper towels, really that much worse than hers? Of course I’m not an epidemiologist or oncologist but I’m still willing to bet the short answer is yes.
She doesn’t buy commercial health and beauty supplies so that whole benzene thing is off the table. Heavy duty cleaning products are not part of her housekeeping routine. Bea doesn’t own clothes that require dry cleaning and there are no weed killers, fertilizers, or noxious insect killing agents on her property (which, no surprise, is small and easily maintained.)
Since she doesn’t purchase any plastic products or processed food (and has reduced meat consumption to less than once a week), she and her family escape the scourge of added colors, preservatives, and other ingredients classified GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) which sometimes don’t even have to be included on labels. And which are not necessarily safe at all. Generally or otherwise.
Reducing my contact with synthetic fibers, foods, and chemicals is certainly appealing and most definitely possible. I’m no Bea Johnson, but I can take steps that will clean up my act rather satisfactorily. Without necessitating a move to a cave or resorting to homemade deodorant (newsflash to those who use it: we know.)
My first step is to read her book (the electronic version from my local library). Then some serious reorganizing. I’m sure my actions will lead to a healthier life for me. Maybe the planet, too.
And give me a handy excuse for procuring those Rhode Island Reds.