If you were to look at any office during lunchtime, you would be certain to see the ubiquitous disposable and compactable bowls that are favored by places like FreshCo, DigInn, and any other number of fast casual health food places. The idea behind these bowls is that they are environmentally friendly and biodegradable.

However, while they might be better than plastics and Styrofoam, there is some recent unsettling news.  An organization called The New Food Economy published a very upsetting article. They went out and tested the Bowles from three famous NYC fast casual restaurants and found that they all contained chemicals that were cause for concern.

So, while these brown biodegradable looking bowls are great for corporate image and the conscious of the average consumer, they are not great for the environment. Not only don’t the breakdown like most people believed, they contain chemicals that are not healthy.

 

PFAS Chemicals: Familiar and Nasty

The main chemical of concern here is something known as Perfluorooctanoic acid. This is a chemical that is found in many commercial applications including non-stick cookware, dental floss, upholstery and food storage containers. The problem with this chemical is that there is a lot of concern that it can not only cause cancer, but effect reproductive health.

The particular chemical that was found in all of the bowls tested was fluorine. This is indicative of the presence of PFAs.

 

Why Are Forever Chemicals in Food Bowles

The reason that these chemicals are used in disposable food bowls like you find in many fast casual restaurants is that they prevent the paper containers from getting too soggy and leaking or falling apart.

If you were to use simple paper to construct a container, it would not stay dry. So, what you end up with is something that looks healthy and eco-friendly, but which is comprised of chemicals that neither decompose on a timely basic (they stick around in the ground for a really long time).

 

Dishonest Advertising?

As the article goes on to point out, one of the big problems with these findings is that the companies have gone out of their way to promote the bowls as healthy. By giving them the impression that these bowls are decomposable, the companies are feeding into the eco-friendly economy. Not to mention misleading people into thinking that their products don’t contain chemicals.

What’s interesting is that the impetus of the study was a prior analysis of PFAS in supermarket packaging. When Whole Foods came up as one of the worst offenders. The author of the New Food Study ended up getting a lightbulb moment and look at the new crop of fast casual restaurants, which tend to market to the same consumer group that Whole Foods did.

The Bad News: These Bowls Ruin the Environment and Might Make You Sick

The bad news is that these bowls are really the exact opposite of what they pretend to be. With people thinking that they are not harmful to the environment, they are going to be ended up being used more and more. Whereas someone who is conscious about the environment and their healthy might shy away from regular plastic Styrofoam, they might think nothing of using these bowls every day for lunch.

The net result is that these bowls will fill up the ground and landfills with more frequency than traditional food containers. That’s the bad news for the environment. The bad news for the consumers is that these chemicals are a potential health risk (cancer, and other healthy defects).

Some of the cancers linked to these PFAS (forever chemicals) include testicular cancer, breast cancer, kidney cancer, as well as a whole array of endocrine disruptions.

The good news is that they are planning on removing these chemicals.

Why Do Chains Like Chipolte, FreshCo, Roast, and Just Salad use Disposable Bowls if They Might Be Dangerous?

There is debate as to if these disposable bowls that you get from fast casual restaurants is bad for you. The studies so far seem to suggest that at least you should proceed with caution. However, the next question is why do these fast food (or fast casual restaurants) use these bowls if they even might cause cancer.

Money and Image!

That’s the simple answer. First, it’s cheap for them to use these bowls. To get truly organic and healthy salad bowls or burrito bowls, you would have to spend too much and furthermore, they would not really be disposable. The chemicals that prevent that burrito from leaking out is what is so potentially dangerous.

Image wise, though, these disposable bowls look healthy! They look like they will simply compost nicely in a landfill and turn into soil. So it servers the market of health conscious and eco conscious people who want to do the right thing.

 

Are These Forever Chemicals The Same As The Ones In Popcorn?

Yes. And not only that, but these are the same toxic chemicals that have been banned from rugs (the same ones Home Depot pulled off the shelves) as well as makeup, non-stick pans, and other household items. But most people aren’t eating a rug or chewing on their mascara.

But these toxins get into the body in other ways, namely via drinking water. In order to limit the PFAs and forever chemicals from your drinking water, you really need to get a water filter that handles that.

And while the forever chemicals that leach into the water is hard to avoid, eating from PFA and forever chemicals should be easy. Simply stop eating from any grease resistant paper at a fast food place or bowl server to you from a fast casual restaurant.

The downside to this is that you will have to either skip the restaurant or try and let them use your own bowl. This isn’t easy to accomplish, especially since the franchises do not allow it. So, you will have to sweet talk the counter person to use your bowl which isn’t really an option.

 

Safe Alternatives To Toxic Disposable Salad Bowls: Bring Your Own In A Safe Bowl

 

First off, the main thing you need to realize is that if you are going to continue to buy your lunch from a fast casual restaurant, then you are going to be at the whims of whatever container they choose. If you do it once in a while, it’s probably not serious problem. But, if you are someone who happens to eat out from these restaurants every day, then I would recommend changing your routine.

The alternative is to make your own salad or lunch and bring it into work. When you do this you not only control the sort of container you use, but more importantly you also control the ingredients in your lunch. So, instead of playing Russian roulette with your healthy and hoping that you get organic kale or pesticide free berries, you will know exactly what you get.

 

Here’s a few recommended alternatives to disposable lunch bowls.

 

Glass, Plastic, and Bamboo

When it comes to choosing an alternative to something that can cause cancer, you will want to focus on healthy plastic (one that does not contain BPA) or glass. There are some other ideas that you might consider (metal lunch bowls are not that popular, but they do exist).


I personally like glass lunch containers for the following reasons:

-Safe for all sorts of food.

You don’t have to worry about acidic foods leaching chemicals from the plastic.

-Easy to clear    

Sometimes plastic containers stain. Especially difficult if you are using foods that contain spices such as curry.

 

I also like BPA free plastic lunch containers that are made of healthy plastics.

I know that the idea of a healthy plastic is sometimes frowned upon in the healthy community. There is a common belief that any plastic is unhealthy. While I don’t agree with that, I do prefer glass when possible. However, there are some really good reasons to use plastic for your lunch: weight and safety.

It’s heavy to lug around a glass lunch bowl to work, and it is also possible a bit dangerous. If you have a rough commute (subways, busses, etc…) then you risk breaking the glass. For that reason, I suggest using a safe plastic container that doesn’t contain BPA.

BPA leaches and it’s known to be unhealthy.