Un-canny

Early in Thom Hartman’s fascinating Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight, Thom hypothesizes that if on Monday we humans discovered how to preserve food (drying, salting etc.), then on Tuesday we discovered conquering. Thom’s theory is that once we learned how to store food to consume at a later date, rather than immediately eating what we harvested or killed, we then felt the need to accumulate as much as possible, by whatever means.

Ah, the dawn of pillaging.

Jump ahead thousands of years and we’re now so removed from our food that most of what we eat has been “stored” by someone else. This is not only because we no longer grow our own food; we’re also accustomed to eating whatever we want, whenever we have the hankering. Waiting for a food to “come into season” before purchasing simply isn’t good for food business. The reality is most people don't think twice about buying fresh summer fruit in the winter months - I'm just now attempting to be more diligent, making a shift in my consciousness.

It’s a tough habit to undo, our habit of convenience, especially when you want something sunny in the depths of winter. Some might call it devolution but I think of it more as righting a wrong.

And so, Robin and I have gradually un-canned our lives, one food at a time until we've found ourselves with three remaining, canned items; Utopia organic tomato paste, Heinz brown beans and Ontario Natural organic tomatoes.

Facing the realization that we likely can’t shake our dependence on these last three, I’ve contacted the manufacturers to inquire as to the safety of their canning procedures …..

Thomas Canning, the canners of our Utopia Organic Tomato Paste, though quick to let me know where we could find their product locally (I had asked that as well), would not speak to their processes.

Heinz, whom I expected would not respond at all, were quick to explain “BPA is a necessary component of the coating of cans to ensure adequate package integrity”, “it has been used safely for over 60 years” and “we regularly request updates on the research analysis of this component”. Not surprising but fair.

By far the best, most comprehensive response came from Ontario Natural / Ontario Natural Food Co-Op. I’m somewhat biased towards this organization as they are quite transparent in their concern for the health of all of us, and of the earth. They provided a fairly comprehensive, 3 page discussion of BPA, specifically with regards to its use in cans. It stated that though the highest levels of BPA were detected in cans of peas (with an average of 23 ug per can) and there was no detectable BPA found in cans of palm hearts, asparagus, peppers or tomatoes, there was in those of artichokes, mixed vegetables, corn, mushrooms and, yep, beans.
Drat.
And since I’m no gambler, as when I was a smoker kicking the habit, I’m watching our cans of brown beans dwindle, like the last few cigarettes in my last pack.

And yes, home made baked beans are in my future. Anyone care to share grandma's recipe?