Did you know that you could possibly be consuming a credit cards worth of plastic a week? There are particles called micro plastics that are in our food and water. According to How Much Microplastic Am I Eating? And Is There Any Way to Avoid It?, “Some scientists have estimated the average person might eat 5 grams of microplastics in a week — about the weight of a credit card”
What qualifies as a micro plastic? A micro plastic is a piece of plastic that is less than five millimeters in length. That is around the size of a sesame seed.
How can that be possible, people don’t go out eating plastic for fun. Well surprisingly people are, just not in a way you would think. There are small pieces of plastic in our water, fruit, and vegetables called micro plastics.
How do the micro plastics get into my food and water?
Micro plastics get into meat in many different ways. According to Plastic Soup, “Nearly 80 percent of meat and dairy products from farm animals tested by scientists contain micro plastics”. These micro plastics can come from what the farmers feed their animals. The animals can absorb plastic partials that they eat and are exposed to in their environment. Micro plastics can also get into the meat when the meat is being packaged. Clear wrap and styrofoam are often used in packaging meat. During that packaging stage micro plastics can fall into the meat, the meat then absorbs those micro plastics.
Micro plastics can also get into our fruits and vegetables. There can be micro plastics in water. If plants are watered with water containing micro plastics, the plants will suck up the water and the micro plastics. Then the plant will have micro plastics inside of it.
Now how does micro plastics get into water? Well pollution is the easiest way to put it. Pollution dumped into our water sources is what contaminates all of our drinking water. When plastic is put into water, after some time it starts to dissolve.
Plastic breaking up into micro plastics, then the water will travel. Maybe a wild animal will drink a polluted lake, maybe the water from the lake is used to water a farmers field, maybe the water is home to some fish and the fish are often caught and eaten for dinner.
Another way that micro plastic ends up in water is because of water bottles. Yes water bottles can cause pollution. But another way the micro plastics get into our daily diet, is because most people let water sit in water bottles. When you leave a water bottle in your hot car all day, then drink out of it. There is a good chance that there could be micro plastics in the water. If you re-use water bottles, and run them through the hot dishwasher. The next time you use the water bottle, you could be drinking micro plastics.
Now, how can I avoid micro plastics? Well here are a few ways you can avoid micro plastics and have a micro plastic free diet!
- Get Meat Locally
If you get your meat locally you can have a better understanding of what you meat goes through. You can also avoid getting meat that has been processed and sitting in plastic trays and covered in plastic wrap. If you do go shopping for meat. Try to look for meat that is wrapped in wax paper instead of plastic.
2. Get Your Veggies and Fruits Locally
Again, if you shop locally you will have a better understanding of how and where they were grown. Straight from the grown to your table is the healthiest way to eat any fruits or vegetables you may eat. Also look out for eco-friendly packaging, eco friendly packaging is a good alternative packaging. Often times eco-friendly packaging means that another material instead of plastic is used for packaging. Usually they use paper instead of plastic.
3. Eco-friendly Water Bottles
Buy glass or stainless steel water bottles instead of plastic water bottles. Glass or stainless steel is a good way to have a eco-friendly water bottle. These water bottles you can re-use and wash without having to worry about micro plastics seeping into your drinking water.
Another way to avoid getting micro plastics in your water is to get some sort of filter for your water. Weather it is a filter that goes on your kitchen sink, or a filter that goes on your pitcher in your fridge, its good to have a reliable filter in your home.
