In this episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Boma Brown-West, director of consumer health at Environmental Defense Fund. Brown-West works on a wide range of issues related to the safety of consumer products, and she discusses some of the risks associated with packaging. Along with the well-known environmental damages from plastic pollution, Brown-West and Raimi dig into the lesser-known risks to human health from the chemicals that are part of the packaging people consume every day. Whether it’s single-use plastics, food containers, or even pizza boxes, there’s reason to be concerned, and there’s a lot we don’t know about how these products affect our long-term health.

References and recommendations:

“The world has a packaging problem—a new tool gives companies the ability to fix it” by Boma Brown-West; https://www.greenbiz.com/article/world-has-packaging-problem-new-tool-gives-companies-ability-fix-it

The “Understanding Packaging Scorecard” from Environmental Defense Fund; https://upscorecard.org/

“American War” by Omar El Akkad; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/543957/american-war-by-omar-el-akkad/9780771009419

“Degrees” podcast from Environmental Defense Fund; https://business.edf.org/degrees/

“Up to Heaven and Down to Hell: Fracking, Freedom, and Community in an American Town” by Colin Jerolmack; https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691179032/up-to-heaven-and-down-to-hell