The Achievement GAP: Are too Many Carbs Eaten off Styrofoam Plates Causing Neurological damage in Your Child?

We are what we eat?

It really is time to OCCUPY your child's school lunch program. Styrofoam plates have been outlawed in many school districts across the country. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have both stated that styrene is possibly carcinogenic and harmful to humans and aquatic life. (carcinogenic=cancer causing) One of the risks is to the central nervous system. Depression, headaches, dizziness and neurological problems has been indicated after prolonged use. Harmful chemicals leach out into the hot food when it is served on these plates. If you lift up the hot macaroni and cheese you find the shape or imprint on the plate beneath. In the past, I have refused to eat at Boston Market, because the one time I did eat there the styrofoam plate melted and blended with my roasted chicken. It was quite disgusting. I notice that the food is not served on those crazy cheap trays anymore. 

Don't we have more than enough problems with behavior and inattentiveness to risk that the school lunch tray may be contributing to neurological problems in our children? A child eats a hot breakfast and a hot lunch off styrofoam from pre-k to high school. Is that what we call prolonged exposure? Is styrene a factor entangled in the Achievement GAP in America? Are our children being addicted to carbohydrate filled lunches and poisoned by their lunch trays? 

WebMD - 8 New Cancer Causes - Notice that the first new agent determined to cause cancer is styrene.

 http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2011/01/portland_students_push_distric.html

Portland students push district to abandon styrofoam lunch trays


STYRENE: Increase your knowledge of this potentially dangerous product on which your child's food is served daily. Use the resources below to determine the dangers of your child's lunch plate and your styrofoam coffee cup.

• Styrene
• Earth Resource Foundation
• Waste Reduction: The Facts About Styrofoam
• Styrofoam Products
• Bad Things About Styrofoam
• Bad Things About Styrofoam Trays and What you can do To Eliminate Them
• One Mom's Battle Against Styrofoam lunch Trays
• Portland students push district to abandon styrofoam lunch trays
• The Story of Styrofoam Trays and What you can do To Eliminate Them
• A Possible solution for ridding the world of styrofoam?
• The Dangers of Polystyrene
• Joint the Fight Against the use of Polystyrene in food service

Alternatives to Styrofoam - All are Biodegradable and do not contain toxins harmful to humans or wildlife.

• PrimeWare - Leading Manufacturer of Eco-Friendly, Biodegradable and Recyclable Tableware
• Go-Green Sugar Cane 100% Compostable
• Tree Cycle Recycled Paper
• Oceansgreen: Biodegradable, Disposable
• Ithaca Natural Resource
• Sustainable design for Living Branch
• Go Green 100% Compostable
• Green Choice
• The Corn Starch Lunch Tray
• The Bamboo Lunch Tray
• Sustainable Food Service Trays - Biodegradable

And then there is paper...

The Zero Waste Lunch..........  What a magnificent contradiction this district manifests on so many levels. Go Green. Environmentalists. How many styrofoam trays is EPSD adding to the dump every single day? Styrofoam trays never rot or break down. They are forever. They will harm any wildlife that attempts to consume bits and pieces.

                                How are the Children?