By Jason Gorman Special to OnMilwaukee.com Published Mar 27, 2012 at 12:06 PM

I encourage you to first read a 2011 blog by Dr. Sarah Janssen, a physician and senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Then read Barry Estabrook's most recent blog about the FDA's decision to be made March 31.

Estabrook is a two-time winner of the prestigious James Beard Foundation Awards for food writing. His first, for a gourmet feature about labor abuses in Florida's tomato fields, led to his acclaimed book "Tomatoland," about how industrial agriculture has ruined one of America's favorite foods.

His blog "Politics of the Plate" earned Estabrook his second Beard award in 2011. He lives on a 30-acre tract in Vermont where he gardens, tends hens, taps maple trees and brews hard cider from his own apples.

An excerpt from Estabrook's most recent blog:

"You almost certainly have BPA in your bloodstream – nine out of 10 Americans do, here are the government's test results. It's also in some of the places most likely to affect the most vulnerable among us: studies have found BPA in breast milk and amniotic fluid in the umbilical cord. BPA, or bisphenol-A, is a compound used to make the plastic that lines the inside of food and beverage cans. Unfortunately, it doesn't stay bound to the containers. Most of the BPA flowing in our veins and arteries enters through packaged food we ingest. It's not the sort of chemical you want flowing through your body. BPA mimics the effects of the female hormone estrogen, causing reproductive problems along with cancer, obesity, and abnormal brain development."

Take a few minutes and follow these links on Dr. Sarah Janssen and Barry Estabrook; they will expand your horizon and Mr. Estabrook's book "Tomatoland" will certainly change your perspective of the tomato industry. 

Jason Gorman Special to OnMilwaukee.com

Chef Jason Gorman has been eating for almost 41 years, cooking for 26 years, and has had the privilege of working with some of the country's top chefs and restaurants.

He's been fortunate enough to have worked in many different aspects of the hospitality world, from fast casual service, "ma and pa" restaurants, catering, 1,000-room plus hotels, independent stand-alone restaurants, some corporate chains, a casino, 4- and 5-diamond restaurants, even a steakhouse and the state's No. 1 boutique hotel, The Iron Horse Hotel.