BPA, a toxic compound found in everything from store receipts to water bottles,
has been a hot topic as of late. That’s because most industries have
been slow to adopt alternatives to the petroleum-based estrogenic
compound, which is used in the plastic manufacturing process, among
other things. Enter isosorbide, a corn-based industrial ingredient that
the Archer Daniels Midland Company is touting as a safe, renewable
alternative to BPA.

Archer Daniels explains:

Isosorbide is a versatile ingredient with a wide range of
applications. It can be used in polyesters for inks, toners, powder
coatings,
packaging and durable goods; polyurethanes for foams and coatings;
polycarbonates for durable goods and optical media; epoxy resins for
paints; and detergents, surfactants and additives for personal care and
consumer products.

Sounds great, right? It is–in
theory. The problem is that isosorbide is corn-based, and as anyone
familiar with the world of biofuels knows, corn isn’t the most
sustainable choice for industrial applications. Besides the massive
amounts of resources required for grain production, there’s the larger
problem of taking up arable land to produce industrial ingredients.