Solutions for a Toxic-Free Tomorrow Toxic chemicals in our food, water, and products are threatening our families, our climate, and our communities. But we have a vision and proven strategy for change. For the past two decades, we’ve empowered a grassroots movement and won major victories to protect environmental public health. Today, with your help,… Read more »| Defend Our Health
Have you ever noticed how a lot more of our clothes are made of polyester these days? Or wondered if the clothes your kids wear are free from potentially harmful chemicals? We’ve been curious about these things ourselves, and this motivated us to analyze the policies and practices of ten leading kids’ clothing brands. The… Read more »| Defend Our Health
We are proud to be one of 36 organizations to receive a grant from Environmental Justice for New England (EJforNE), but unfortunately, the EPA terminated the program. Last week, Earth Justice, Southern Environmental Law Center, Public Rights Project, and Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG) filed a class action lawsuit against the EPA for unlawfully terminating the Environment… Read more » The post EPA Termination of Environmental Justice for New England Program appeared first on Defend ...| Defend Our Health
You’re invited to join Defend Our Health and Island Press for our webinar Defend Our Health: Authors & Friends on Wednesday, July 15th, at 1 PM ET. Our second conversation will feature reporter Kristina Marusic, author of A New War on Cancer: The Unlikely Heroes Revolutionizing Prevention. An award-winning journalist, Marusic, shows that, collectively, we have the power to… Read more » The post Upcoming Event appeared first on Defend Our Health.| Defend Our Health
We were thrilled to be joined by author Sharon Udasin last week for a conversation on PFAS in the context of her book Poisoning the Well: How Forever Chemicals Contaminated America. She was joined by Adam Nordell, our farmland contamination campaign manager, who joined our organization as a PFAS-impacted farmer. If you missed the webinar or… Read more »| Defend Our Health
Summary An alarming new study published last month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science revealed that microplastics disrupt photosynthesis, the process plants use to make energy. This disruption could reduce the global food supply by up to 14% and put millions more people at risk of starvation. BackgroundMicroplastics are tiny pieces of plastic, even as small as… Read more » The post Microplastics are disrupting photosynthesis and threatening our food supply appeare...| Defend Our Health
Our food system is riddled with plastic, which is nowhere more prevalent than in food packaging. The FDA should rein in plastics and phthalates in the packaging that touches our food. That’s why we’re urging Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy to do just that in his role as the head of the department that… Read more »| Defend Our Health
Defend Our Health has joined forces with dozens of organizations supporting the Farewell to Foam Act. This national legislation was introduced by U.S. Representative Llyod Doggett (D-Texas) and U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland). The Act would phase out polystyrene single-use food service products, loose fill (such as packing peanuts), and non-medical disposable coolers. It would prohibit… Read more »| Defend Our Health
We have brought our concerns about toxic plastic packaging to the doorstep of one of the world’s biggest beverage companies. Today, we delivered our petition, “Tell Coca-Cola: Get rid of any toxic plastic bottles,” to The Coca-Cola Company headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Thousands of us took the time to implore the behemoth beverage brand to start… Read more »| Defend Our Health
Last week, California sued ExxonMobil for its decades-long lie about plastic recycling promises. Plastic waste is a major pollution issue, and it is increasingly evident that we cannot recycle our way out of this crisis. Indeed, experts agree that the only way to combat plastic pollution is by “turning off the tap” of plastic production. Plastic is produced… Read more » The post ExxonMobil Plastic Production appeared first on Defend Our Health.| Defend Our Health
Chances are, every one of us has encountered a chemical compound in the PFAS class today. Probably, in the last hour. PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, is a class of chemicals commonly used in consumer goods to waterproof or repel stains, grease, and dirt. Not only have we encountered them, but the CDC reports… Read more » The post What is PFAS? appeared first on Defend Our Health.| Defend Our Health
PFAS contamination is an issue that is impacting farmlands all across the nation. From Maine to New Mexico, the rise in PFAS contamination has reached a crisis level and is impacting U.S. citizens from all backgrounds of life. Today, we are focusing our sights on South Carolina. According to The State, recent testing in South… Read more »| Defend Our Health
In Defend Our Health’s scathing report titled Hidden Hazards: The Chemical Footprint of a Plastic Bottle we found that 64% of residents who face serious cancer risks from ethylene oxide omissions (a toxic chemical used in the production of plastic) are people of color. Many of these communities are located along the Gulf Coast, infamously… Read more »| Defend Our Health
This week is Air Quality Awareness Week. In alignment, we are highlighting the impact of plastic bottle production on air quality. In 2019, The World Health Organization found that 99% of the world’s population lived where the WHO air quality guidelines were unmet. They also estimated that 4.2 million premature deaths were caused by outdoor air pollution. … Read more »| Defend Our Health
Plastic production, use, and disposal threaten Earth’s communities, air, water, biodiversity, and soils. The Global Plastics Treaty seeks to address the issue of plastic pollution and course-correct our society for generations to come. One area of human life that can benefit significantly from robust global action is respiratory health. Microplastics in the air are detrimental… Read more »| Defend Our Health
Breathing is so second nature to many of us that you may think less about how your respiratory system works and what constitutes a threat to your health. In honor of Respiratory Care Week, we are diving into the impact of toxic emissions on respiratory health! Respiratory Care Week takes place from April 7th to… Read more »| Defend Our Health
Diane Wilson is an award-winning environmental activist and author. She has won numerous awards for her work in environmentalism, but initially, this was something she never envisioned herself doing. In 1989, Diane Wilson was a shrimp boat captain at a fish house in Calhoun County, Texas, when a co-worker approached her with an article in their hand. What… Read more »| Defend Our Health
Today, we focus our sights on Tennessee in our ongoing series highlighting PFAS contamination issues nationwide. In 2019, the company 3M admitted that it had illegally released toxic chemicals into the Tennessee River from its Decatur, AL manufacturing plant. 3M did this, although it had been barred from doing so under the US Toxic Substances… Read more »| Defend Our Health
As we inch closer to the fourth session of the Global Plastic Treaty negotiations, it is important to understand our current relationship with plastic, how we got here, and how the Global Plastics Treaty can improve our relationship with plastic. Our dependence on plastic production from fossil fuels began in the 1960s, and for the… Read more »| Defend Our Health
Over the past five years, Defend Our Health has lived up to its name by consistently advocating for the right to equal access to safe food and drinking water. Defend has led the nation in effectively protecting public health and ensuring justice for people harmed by ‘forever chemicals’ known as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl) for… Read more »| Defend Our Health
