"breast cancer" news and stories

Every time you go to the grocery store, you probably spend some amount of time thinking about whether the food you're buying is good for you, but how much time do you spend pondering whether the food's packaging is good for you?

According to a recent report by ABC News, maybe you should.

At issue is the presence of certain chemical compounds that are used to manufacture plastic and other food packaging. A study by the Breast Cancer Fund and the Silent Spring Institute, an environmental group, found that when participants were restricted to a fresh-food diet for three days (meaning no packaged foods), the amount of these chemicals detected in their urine dropped dramatically, by up to 66 percent.

'Tis the season for giving -- so why not support wineries that do? Many release a socially conscious bottle every few vintages or so, but few are 100 percent about doing the right thing. Here are three California wineries with an altruistic bent -- and favorite bottles from each.

When Budge Brown's wife of 48 years died in 2005 of breast cancer, he vowed to not only raise funds for the cause but to make the process fun. Each Cleavage Creek Cellars bottle features a photo of a breast-cancer survivor. The wines are all estate-grown and debuted in 2007. Ten percent of gross wine sales fund breast-cancer research and support. So far donations have amounted to $70,800, including a $40,000 grant to the Bastyr University Integrated Oncology Research Clinic, which opened in February in Kenmore, Wash.

2007 Tracy Hills Secret Red ($18): Jammy, raspberry notes in this balanced wine make this a good pick for pairing with both sweet and savory foods.

2008 Secret White ($18): Whereas the red is deep and sultry, the white is bright, acidic and even more complex. A nose of gooseberries climaxes into notes of lemongrass and tropical fruits, with honey on the finish.

Photo: Riedel.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and now you can support the cause in style with Riedel's limited-edition pink glasses.

Crescendo ($70, pictured) is a set of four glasses, each in a different delicate shade of pink. Since they're stemless, the glasses are great for non-alcoholic drinks as well as white wines, and they're dishwasher-safe.

Pink Vinum Rosé ($59) is a set of two pink-stemmed glasses specifically designed for rosé wine. They're also dishwasher-safe, and the color of the wine isn't distorted, since the pink tint is limited to the stem.

Riedel is donating 15 percent of their pink sales to Living Beyond Breast Cancer, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering all women affected by breast cancer to live as long as possible with the best quality of life -- now that's something we can all raise our glasses to. Order online or find them at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

For Slashfood readers who don't want to drink pink, the Pink Ribbon Shop is offering "Around My Mother's Table: Stories and Recipes Celebrating Lives Lost to Breast Cancer" ($16.95), the Breast Cancer Awareness Pink Ribbon Cookie Cutter, and more.

The news couldn't be more timely with Cinco de Mayo right around the corner.

According to the Journal of Clinical Nutrition, a native Mexican diet full of soups, legumes, tomato-based sauces, meat and Mexican cheeses seems to help prevent breast cancer. Whether the foods and dished are topped with a chili or two wasn't stated, but Hispanic women believe it's the chili in Mexican food that may prevent breast cancer.

So with Cinco de Mayo coming up and resources featuring Mexican recipes, now might be a great time to add Alondigas Soup, bean-based dishes, and moles (might it be the chocolate?) to your recipe repertoire.

But don't let this be an excuse to gorge on greasy, deep-fried tortilla chips!

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Alright Slashfoodies, we have a challenge for you. As posted on our sister site The Cancer Blog, one of our favorite food bloggers, Béa at La Tartine Gourmande, the creator of many exquisite dishes we have featured here before, has prepared this perfectly-pink dish of Quinoa Beet Verrine (as shown above) to help raise awareness for Breast Cancer. We'd like to continue what she has started and see what our readers can come up with. There are no rules, other than it should be an original creation and contain the color pink. As I said before, it can be dinner or dessert, anything from pink cream cheese on a bagel to an entire fuchsia dinner is fine - use your imagination. Drink submissions are fine, too.

Please send us the link to your blog/website once you have posted the picture, and we will spotlight the entries in a future post. Is there a prize? Yes - knowing that you are helping to raise awareness for Breast Cancer, is that not enough? Tell you what, we will let you judge, and then we will do a spotlight/interview with the creator of our favorite submission.

(Thanks again, Béa!)

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