7 ms·

Tasty! That's a lot indeed. Which types of diet contain more plastic than others? I'm a vegan for example. Does this mean more or less plastic than average?

Tasty! That's a lot indeed. Which types of diet contain more plastic than others? I'm a vegan for example. Does this mean more or less plastic than average? Which materials do not end up as microplastic? I assume natural fibres don't but besides them?

DiabloD3 7y ago
Are you a vegan that eats an exceedingly safe and clean diet? Like, I'm pretty strictly Paleo, which means heavy on the whole foods, heavy on the real ingredients from organic and safe sources, local if possible, the only major difference between us should be just that I eat meat and you don't. Reason I say this is, I know vegans out there who eat fake food because its vegan... but its still fake food. If you are one of the vegans that eats like me, people like us should be avoiding most of the plastic in the diet just by our choices in where the food comes from. You can't escape it due to the whole "biodegradable/recyclable plastic will save the world" bullshit movement (which is where most of the microplastic is coming from, sadly), but we should be avoiding most of it.
- onreact 7y ago
  I guess by fake foods you refer to processed foods etc. but I'm not sure you are right. As far as I understand organic fruits and vegetables growing exposed to air and rain would end up polluted a lot more than indoor farming products for example. Eating local also depends on where you live. Apparently most of the microplastic that is around stems from car tires so that produce farmed near highways or cities will be more polluted with microplastic than the one they transport by plane from New Zealand.
- DanBC 7y ago
  > should be avoiding most of the plastic in the diet just by our choices in where the food comes from. We used to put microplastics into cosmetic products. Microbeads are caught in sewage treatment plants, and the sludge is used as fertilizer which is how these microbeads end up in food. https://echa.europa.eu/-/echa-proposes-to-restrict-intentionally-added-microplastics https://echa.europa.eu/-/echa-proposes-to-restrict-intention... > ECHA’s assessment found that intentionally added microplastics are most likely to accumulate in terrestrial environments, as the particles concentrate in sewage sludge that is frequently applied as fertiliser. A much smaller proportion of these microplastics is released directly to the aquatic environment. Some microplastic (mostly fibres from clothing) is so fine it's blown into the sky by wind, and brought down by rain.

DiabloD3 7y ago

Are you a vegan that eats an exceedingly safe and clean diet? Like, I'm pretty strictly Paleo, which means heavy on the whole foods, heavy on the real ingredients from organic and safe sources, local if possible, the only major difference between us should be just that I eat meat and you don't. Reason I say this is, I know vegans out there who eat fake food because its vegan... but its still fake food. If you are one of the vegans that eats like me, people like us should be avoiding most of the plastic in the diet just by our choices in where the food comes from. You can't escape it due to the whole "biodegradable/recyclable plastic will save the world" bullshit movement (which is where most of the microplastic is coming from, sadly), but we should be avoiding most of it.

onreact 7y ago
I guess by fake foods you refer to processed foods etc. but I'm not sure you are right. As far as I understand organic fruits and vegetables growing exposed to air and rain would end up polluted a lot more than indoor farming products for example. Eating local also depends on where you live. Apparently most of the microplastic that is around stems from car tires so that produce farmed near highways or cities will be more polluted with microplastic than the one they transport by plane from New Zealand.
DanBC 7y ago
> should be avoiding most of the plastic in the diet just by our choices in where the food comes from. We used to put microplastics into cosmetic products. Microbeads are caught in sewage treatment plants, and the sludge is used as fertilizer which is how these microbeads end up in food. https://echa.europa.eu/-/echa-proposes-to-restrict-intentionally-added-microplastics https://echa.europa.eu/-/echa-proposes-to-restrict-intention... > ECHA’s assessment found that intentionally added microplastics are most likely to accumulate in terrestrial environments, as the particles concentrate in sewage sludge that is frequently applied as fertiliser. A much smaller proportion of these microplastics is released directly to the aquatic environment. Some microplastic (mostly fibres from clothing) is so fine it's blown into the sky by wind, and brought down by rain.