The Brief

It's a plastic world out there.

About 460 million metric tons of the material are made each year, according to the United Nations, and some scientists are growing increasingly worried that microplastics that find their way into our bodies could be harming our health.

One way they get in? Food. And not only through food itself — though they are there — but also in the sundry tools and other items we use to prepare and store what we eat on a daily basis.

Home cooks chop into plastic cutting boards, heat up plastic containers, sauté with plastic cooking utensils, encase ingredients in plastic wrap and toss plastic detergent pods in the dishwasher — all of which are possible vectors for microplastics exposure.

"One of the most important sources of microplastics is through the food that we eat," says Tracey Woodruff, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco who studies the impact of microplastics on human health. "And it's highly likely that a lot of that comes from food contact materials."

Here's what to know about microplastics and food preparation — and what you can do if you want to purge your kitchen of the material.

Are microplastics harming humans? The science is evolving

There's still a lot we don't know about how microplastics affect humans.

The tiny particles — which range in size from roughly the width of a pencil eraser to thinner than the diameter of a strand of DNA — have been discovered in many parts of the human body, including the heart, lungs and placenta.

Plastic food containers can be replaced with glass or metal ones. Public health experts warn against heating food in plastic.

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While some studies have indicated that animals suffer ill health effects due to the presence of microplastics, less is known about how the fragments impact us. The Food and Drug Administration says the "overall scientific evidence does not demonstrate that levels of microplastics or nanoplastics found in foods pose a risk to human health." But some early research finds possible links between health problems and the accumulation of these particles.

Susanne Brander, an ecotoxicologist at Oregon State University, told NPR in December that research showing negative health effects from microplastics exposure in animals could provide clues about what's happening to people.

"If that's happening in fish and in rodents in experiments that are being peer-reviewed and published, it's probably happening in us too," Brander said. "We just haven't demonstrated it yet."

Because research shows that humans are continuing to be exposed to microplastics, UCSF's Woodruff recommends that people should try to limit their contact with the material.

"If we wait to try and put a finer point on the science, that means that we're also continually being exposed, and that could lead to more adverse health effects, some of them which we haven't even identified yet," she said.

Want to ditch plastic kitchen tools? Here's what you can do

If you decide you want to reduce your use of plastic in the kitchen, there's plenty you can do. But don't attempt to toss every one of your plastic items immediately, says Anne-Marie Bonneau, author of The Zero-Waste Chef.

"I wouldn't suggest just taking all of your stuff and pitching it. Maybe when it breaks, replace it," Bonneau says. "Don't try to do all of this at once."

Tracey Woodruff, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco who studies the impact of microplastics on human health, said it's likely that many people ingest microplastics from "food contact materials."

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Bonneau decided to "break up" with plastics in 2011 over concerns about pollution but also came to recognize the potential health benefits of avoiding the synthetic in the kitchen.

Instead of using a plastic cutting board, she uses wooden ones. One recent study called plastic cutting boards a "potentially significant source of microplastics in human food" and found that a polyethylene chopping board could shed between 7.4 and 50.7 grams of microplastics per person per year.

Bonneau stores food in glass or metal containers and saves all her jars to reuse later. Heating plastic containers can cause millions of microplastics and billions of nanoplastic particles to be released, one study found. (Microplastics have turned up in takeout food containers, plastic water bottles, paper coffee cups and more.)

Plastic wrap is nowhere to be found in Bonneau's kitchen, which has forced her to become resourceful. "A lot of recipes for bread tell you how to make the dough, and to proof it, they'll say cover the bowl with plastic wrap," she says. "Well, you can just put a plate on top of the bowl. Or the lid of a pot."

She has cotton dish towels and reusable cloth produce bags that she brings to farmers markets and grocery stores. Bonneau also uses cellulose kitchen sponges instead of the common plastic alternatives.

Home cooks can also use stainless steel or cast-iron pots and pans rather than nonstick cookware, which is often made with PFAS, a group of chemicals that have been linked to health problems in humans.

Making the switch in a restaurant

Chef Edward Lee ditched plastic at his nonprofit restaurant Shia in Washington, D.C., to test out more sustainable business practices that could be adopted by other eateries. That means using wooden cutting boards, swapping plastic deli containers for metal and glass substitutes and replacing plastic wrap with alternatives such as parchment paper, beeswax paper, muslin and cheesecloth. The restaurant uses paper takeout containers and doesn't give diners to-go utensils, since Lee says most of them are taking their food home anyway.

But not everything was so easily replaced, such as the iconic plastic restaurant squeeze bottles that Shia has sworn off. Staff members instead store sauces in separate containers and mix vinaigrettes as they're needed. "One of the by-products of getting rid of squeeze bottles is that all our vinaigrettes are fresher, because we have to make them to order," Lee said.

There are trade-offs to cutting out plastic, according to Lee. Some nonplastic alternatives are more expensive, and kitchen staff members have to be more careful when handling items like glass that could easily break if dropped.

But he said the elimination of plastics at Shia has led to a positive cultural shift among staff members, many of whom have also reduced their plastic use at home.

"Being surrounded by a lot of disposables … your attitude becomes more disposable," Lee said. "When we're surrounded by permanence, we're a little bit more focused — we're a little bit more careful."

He added: "Once you do this, you realize there's no going back."
Copyright 2025 NPR

When Gavin Newsom ran for California governor in 2018, his support for a state-run single-payer healthcare system was considered a risky move and earned him hefty labor endorsements.

Today, leading Democrats in the wide-open race to succeed Newsom have embraced single-payer as a political necessity, an answer to voters fed up with rising premiums and other spiraling healthcare costs.

But with no clear front-runner, they are sparring among themselves in debates and political ads over who is most committed to a government-run model. No candidate has outlined how California would fund comprehensive health coverage for its 40 million residents, leaving voters unable to discern which candidate has a concrete plan for the nation’s most populous state.

Healthcare and political experts said the concept of single-payer has shifted from progressive pipe dream a decade ago to today’s mainstream talking points in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly 2 to 1. Democrats have pledged the model as the best way to lower costs in an attempt to woo voters worried about affordability as ballots arrive for the June 2 primary. The top two Republicans, meanwhile, have dismissed government-run healthcare as a “disaster” and “socialism.”

“In many ways, single-payer healthcare has become a progressive litmus test,” said Larry Levitt, a former White House policy adviser and a healthcare expert at KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News.

Few voters fully understand the term single-payer, let alone expect the next governor to achieve it, Levitt said. Rather, he added, the term has become more of a signal to voters about a candidate’s approach to healthcare reform.

Xavier Becerra, the former U.S. Health and Human Services secretary, who for decades backed single-payer healthcare in Congress, has come under criticism from opponents for a nuanced but clear shift away from single-payer. It came after Becerra secured an endorsement from the California Medical Association, a powerful group representing doctors and a longtime opponent of single-payer healthcare bills in California.

At a May 5 debate put on by CNN, Becerra declared his support for “Medicare for All,” a proposal for a federally run system that’s been stalled for years, but he declined to say whether he’d pursue a California-led effort. He said his immediate focus would be on mitigating the drastic federal cuts expected to hit low-income and disabled enrollees in Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program, which covers more than a third of residents.

Becerra is counting on voters not to distinguish between the often-confused terms single-payer, Medicare for All, and universal coverage, noting during the debate that “Californians don’t care what you call it, so long as they have affordable healthcare.”

“A lot of people aren’t clear what single-payer is, and they need a metaphor to understand it,” said Celinda Lake, a Democratic strategist and one of the lead pollsters for former President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign.

Billionaire activist Tom Steyer, who’s touted his self-funding as a signal he can’t be bought, has emerged as the race’s most vocal advocate of single-payer after opposing it during a short-lived 2020 presidential bid.

As governor, Steyer has said, he would pass legislation backed by the California Nurses Association that has failed to come to fruition under Newsom’s tenure. Pressed on how he would cover the estimated $731.4 billion cost, Steyer told KFF Health News that “God is going to be in the details.”

At a forum last year, former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter said she didn’t believe achieving such a system was realistic in the near term, but the Orange County Democrat later told party delegates that she would “deliver single-payer.” Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, Democrats who are trailing their competitors in the polls, don’t support single-payer. The top two vote-getters — regardless of party — advance to the November general election.

Some of the most seasoned politicians have failed to deliver single-payer. Newsom, who campaigned on the promise of being a “healthcare governor,” dialed back his ambitions upon taking office, choosing instead to pursue “universal access” to health coverage under a series of Medi-Cal expansions and efforts to contain healthcare spending.

The campaign bus for billionaire activist Tom Steyer, who has made single-payer healthcare a central pillar of his run for governor, in downtown Oakland, California. In 2020, Steyer ran for president opposing single-payer healthcare.

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Vermont, which remains the only state to pass a single-payer healthcare law, reversed course when leaders there couldn’t identify a funding source.

To enact single-payer, California would need permission from the federal government to redirect billions of dollars from Medicaid, Medicare, and other funding that currently flows to the system — approval not likely to come from the Trump administration.

More than half of adults nationally say healthcare costs will have a major impact on whom they vote for in November, according an April KFF poll.

Danielle Cendejas, a Los Angeles-based Democratic consultant who works with state legislative candidates, said single-payer healthcare increasingly appears on candidate questionnaires from small-business advocates as well as hyperlocal Democratic clubs, in state legislative races and national union endorsements.

What most California voters want to hear, Cendejas said, is how candidates plan to give them more immediate relief from higher premiums, expensive drug costs, and long waits to access care.

The high price tag doesn’t faze Jennifer Easton, a 63-year-old Democrat from Oakland, who said other countries with similar models have proved they can lower costs. She said she supports a single-payer health system because it’s clear to her that Americans have reached the limits of working within the existing system. But she isn’t expecting any of the current candidates to succeed in implementing one, and she hasn’t decided whom to support.

“No one can in four years,” she said. Seeing a candidate enthusiastically support the concept gives her a good idea of their philosophy. “It is, if we’re lucky, a 20-year, 25-year plan.”

Rob Stutzman, a Republican political consultant who advised former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, said while Americans may be supportive of single-payer in polls, focus groups suggest that approval drops quickly when voters realize it could mean losing their current doctor or insurance plan.

At the CNN debate, Steve Hilton, the Republican candidate President Donald Trump has endorsed, said Californians would end up with subpar patient care and “taxes sky high to pay for it,” like in his native United Kingdom.

Instead, Hilton suggested the state stop providing “free healthcare for illegal immigrants who shouldn't even be in the country in the first place.”

All but one Cal State campus have Native American remains and cultural items that federal and state laws require them to return to tribes. In many cases, the process has been slow.

Though the size of their collections varies, campuses like Cal Poly Humboldt and San Francisco State have made progress in returning human remains and cultural items, with Sacramento State having returned most of its Native collections. But others, like Cal Poly Pomona, have yet to see much progress and Cal State Bakersfield has not made any returns.

The Cal State system holds the remains of more than 2,000 Native Americans and more than 1.57 million artifacts, according to the most recent list of the system's collections. Another 500,000 collections of items are still in storage awaiting proper tribal review to be cataloged.

Campus officials say they are working diligently to follow legal mandates to return items to tribes, but the road can be long and arduous.

Last February, members of the Konkow Valley Band of Maidu tribe reburied three ancestors whose remains had been held at Sacramento State since 1963. The Lake Concow Campground donated 10.7 acres of land to the tribe within their traditional territory in Northern California, where they were able to perform the reburials.

“During the process it’s a very, very heavy feeling,” said Matthew Williford Sr., the tribal chairperson and cultural resource director. “But when you receive the remains back, you feel lighter. It doesn’t feel like so much weight.”

If collections stay in storage, for Williford, it's as if "nobody knows that we were ever around."

"It's important for us to get that back, because we believe that those items still have spirit," he said. "They need to come back to the people."

Federal and state Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation laws require agencies and institutions with Native American remains and cultural items, such as the ancestors’ remains from Williford’s tribe, be returned to tribes. While there was not a deadline for when collections had to be returned, federal law required campuses to complete an inventory of their collections by 1995.

“La Memoria de la Tierra,” a mural by Judith Baca on the north side of Ackerman Union at UCLA in Los Angeles, on Nov. 9, 2022.

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As of February 2025, Sacramento State had repatriated 89% of the human remains and 68% of the cultural items on their campus. That means control of the collections has been legally transferred to a culturally affiliated tribe, but collections may remain physically held by the campus if requested by the tribe. The figure also does not include what the campus holds for other state or federal agencies.

“Some tribes want us to hold on to collections, in which case we might do a held trust agreement, where we just are saying, 'We’re holding this for you until you’re ready to take it for repatriation,'” said Sarah Eckhardt, Sacramento State’s repatriation coordinator.

Eckhardt has been the repatriation coordinator for more than six years, overseeing the university's compliance with repatriation laws and policies. Eckhardt shared that the campus has a good relationship with local tribes, to whom the majority of their collections belong, allowing them to repatriate the collections effectively.

The amount of cultural items at Sacramento State decreased significantly from about 30,000 in 2024 to about 6,000 in 2025.

Why it's hard to return Native artifacts

To move forward with repatriation, universities have to contact potential culturally affiliated tribes, based on geographic location or historical evidence, for consultation. Then, tribes can submit a request for repatriation.

While the process can be slow, multiple tribal leaders said that the campuses are supportive and are up against federal and state rules that complicate returns for non-federally recognized tribes. There are also times of confusion over who exactly has authority to make those returns.

Sacramento State reported an increase in their collection of human remains from 171 in 2024 to 223 in 2025, which Eckhardt said was due to some confusion over who manages them.

“There were several collections that we thought were the responsibility of another agency, that they denied responsibility for and so we accepted responsibility for that,” said Eckhardt.

Near the end of 2024, 32 boxes containing three human remains and cultural items previously held at Sacramento State were returned to Williford's state-recognized tribe. But since they are not federally-recognized, federal law meant they'd have to partner with a federal tribe to claim the collections on their behalf, and also have local tribes sign off on the handover, said Williford. That process took about six months after a notice was published to the federal registrar, which informs other tribes in case any want to rebut the claim. To him, that was a quick timeframe.

“At least they’re trying… I think they need to up their game on helping nonfederal tribes with federal repatriation,” said Williford.

San Jose State has run into a similar situation. The university has returned all the remains belonging to federally recognized tribes, but still possesses remains affiliated with non-federally recognized tribes, posing the biggest challenge, according to Alisha Marie Ragland, the campus’ repatriation coordinator. As of December 2025, San Jose State reported having 514 human remains and more than 5,000 collections of stored items waiting to be reviewed.

“SJSU will continue to work with tribes to find appropriate and respectful means of sending the Ancestors home,” said Ragland via email.

So, why do some campuses struggle to make returns under their care?

“Repatriation can take years. Just for what we consider one artifact potentially could take up to a couple years,” said David Silva, the repatriation coordinator at Cal State Bakersfield.

Cal State Bakersfield is still in the process of consulting with tribes to determine what the boxes under their care contain, he said.

“There’s no direct timeline for our tribal partners to have to conduct consultation,” said Silva. “The only timeline is really when we start to submit notices or when we complete that inventory verification.”

A sign displayed behind glass at California State University, Long Beach, on Dec. 14, 2023.

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Curtis Alcantar is a member of the Tejon Indian tribe and a tribal representative for the NAGPRA committee at the Bakersfield campus, working with Silva. Alcantar said he has had a good experience working with the university and other Cal State campuses and that he believes the system is moving in a positive direction.

Before, Bakersfield housed items in five different rooms spread throughout campus, creating a hassle for tribal members. They recently moved to a new building on campus, allowing tribes easier access to review collections.

When he first started helping with tribal consultations, Alcantar was troubled by how many Native American remains and cultural items were still in possession of museums and universities. Universities acquired Native remains and items through excavations and research often from anthropology and archeology disciplines. Some collections were acquired through donations.

At the time, it was difficult for him to understand how much Native American collections museums and universities still held and were refusing to give back, said Alcantar. But now, he says that people are more open minded and willing to repatriate.

The process does take a lot of research and time, he added. For him, the most helpful tool Cal State has provided is the campus collections map, making it easier to find which campuses have collections from Kern County, his home base. According to the map, eight different Cal State campuses have collections from Kern County and Cal State Bakersfield has collections from 18 California counties.

“The fulfilling part for me is seeing the objects go back home, watching the ancestors just finally get their journey back home,” said Alcantar.

Cal Poly Humboldt has repatriated about 39% of the 23,889 cultural items initially in its possession, according to figures provided by Megan Watson, the campus' NAGPRA coordinator. San Francisco State has repatriated roughly 36% of its original 44,000 collections of stored items, according to Robert King, the campus’ director of communications. The campus has about 250 remains, a number that hasn't budged much in recent years. Since November, it has returned two remains with about 260 collections of items, the official said.

Cal State updates list of Native collections

Cal State's updated list was released in December after, for the first time, all Cal State campuses completed an inventory review.

Sonoma State has more than 1.52 million cultural items, by far the highest count in the system. Meanwhile, Cal State Fullerton holds the most remains with 534 individuals counted, and San Diego State has the highest collections of stored items awaiting tribal review, totaling more than 426,000.

One reason for Sonoma State's high count is that it has a large facility to house those collections under proper care, said Samantha Cypret, a member of the Mountain Maidu tribe and executive director of the office of tribal relations for the Cal State Chancellor’s Office, which oversees NAGPRA compliance. Campuses with large anthropology or archeology departments also tend to have larger collections, she added.

Multiple members of Sonoma State’s NAGPRA team were contacted for comment. Some declined an interview while others did not respond.

Cal State revamps how it returns remains — with some delays

In November 2025, Cal State launched a systemwide NAGPRA policy providing campuses with a consistent approach for repatriations. The move came in response to Assembly Bill 389 – a 2023 amendment to the 2001 state NAGPRA Act – and a critical Cal State audit. The assembly bill required the Chancellor's Office to adopt a systemwide policy and committee, and that committees form at each campus.

Cypret said that the policy took time to enact after the audit was issued and the Assembly Bill passed because they wanted to make sure they were letting tribal voices take the lead, learning about what tribes wanted to see included in the policy.

“We also really wanted to make sure that we were centering tribal voices in the development, in the implementation of this policy, so we held over 30 tribal outreach sessions in about the year and a half that this policy took to create,” said Cypret.

The new system policy outlines responsibilities of each campus, such as employing a full-time repatriation coordinator, conducting ongoing surveys of holdings and forbidding the use of collections for teaching and research. Cal State allocated $3.7 million for campuses with Native American collections for the fiscal year 2025-2026 to support the costs of staffing repatriation coordinators, reburial costs, reimbursing tribes for travel costs, and other expenses related to repatriation.

The University of California system and community colleges also have Native American collections on their campuses. An audit of the University of California published in April 2025 determined that the system lacked urgency and accountability.

Williford said that his tribe has made formal requests to receive two woven baskets from UC Berkeley that are part of his tribe's dogwood collection. For him, helping return collections for his tribe has helped him feel connected to his dad who passed away in 2015. He said his dad was part of a “lost generation” that knew who they were but didn’t have a lot of cultural information. But today, the tribe's elders find meaning when returns are made.

“To see an elder’s eyes light up like a child’s, it’s something special,” said Williford.

Cal State will review its systemwide policy again in November 2026 after tribal consultations.

Brittany Oceguera is a contributor with the College Journalism Network, a collaboration between CalMatters and student journalists from across California. CalMatters higher education coverage is supported by a grant from the College Futures Foundation.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Let’s face it: Many people have procrastinated on gift-giving at some point. Life gets busy with work, family and other responsibilities, and special occasions can slip by. What better way to thank your mama—or someone who raised you like their mama — for giving you life and care, and probably sacrificing a lot to give you everything — than with a more meaningful, locally sourced gift that feels personal, rather than the standard flowers and chocolates. Yup, calling you out.

Echo Park-based startup Gallop offers an alternative to major online retailers that helps you shop local and find thoughtful, unique gifts — even at the last minute.

Customers browse the shelves at Burden of Proof, where wall-to-wall non-alcoholic spirits share space with a communal farm table and a miniature shopping cart — sober shopping, elevated.

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In the past six months, co-founders Anthony Abaci and Nic Clar have operated Gallop (formerly Giftphoria) a retail delivery platform that connects customers with independent small businesses across Los Angeles. The idea for Gallop stemmed from Abaci’s personal difficulty finding the right gifts, along with a goal to create a one-stop shop that delivers items within hours while supporting local businesses.

“A lot of these store owners, they’re competing with big-box retailers and need help with online sales, so we bring them new customers,” Abaci said.

In the early days, Abaci and Clar handled deliveries themselves, offering two-hour door-to-door service while also managing coding, store onboarding, customer service and marketing. The platform has since expanded to about 50 stores, from northeast Los Angeles to the San Gabriel Valley. It now offers express 3-hour and next-day delivery, employs a team of drivers and recently introduced gift wrapping for an additional fee.

“Moms are one of our biggest customer groups. They like using us as a convenient alternative to Amazon and Target,” Abaci said.

Even Gallop’s Instagram highlights shop owners and showcases their products.

The company recently featured Ibi Yoo, owner of Studio Ko, a Koreatown-based home goods store. Abaci said Yoo holds exclusive U.S. import rights for some of the store’s products.

Gallop’s mission centers on preserving local shopping culture and helping customers discover products not typically found at large retail chains.

But if you need a last-minute Mother’s Day gift and want to shop local, here are six Los Angeles shops that have you covered.

Studio Kō

Studio Kō is a Los Angeles-based shop founded by Ibi Yoo in 2018 that showcases high-end Korean home goods, ceramics and artisan-made lifestyle products. The Koreatown showroom highlights both traditional and contemporary Korean craftsmanship, offering a curated selection that brings Korean design and culture to a wider audience.

La Vecina

La Vecina is a women-owned neighborhood shop and community hub in Highland Park. Shoppers can find locally made greeting cards, mini dried floral bouquets, wellness products, coffee and tea bags and handmade candles. Or, create a custom Mother’s Day gift basket with La Vecina’s Mexican and Latin American pantry staples.

Luca Essentials

Let’s face it: Many people have procrastinated on gift-giving at some point. Life gets busy with work, family and other responsibilities, and special occasions can slip by. What better way to thank your mama—or someone who raised you like their mama — for giving you life and care, and probably sacrificing a lot to give you everything — than with a more meaningful, locally sourced gift that feels personal, rather than the standard flowers and chocolates. Yup, calling you out.

Whether you visit Luca Essentials in Atwater Village or downtown Los Angeles, you’ll find a women-owned shop offering a wide range of products, including makeup, skin care, home goods, mother-and-baby items, jewelry and vintage clothing. The store’s plant-based, non-toxic items make it a good fit for moms who prefer natural products.

Burden of Proof

Let’s face it: Many people have procrastinated on gift-giving at some point. Life gets busy with work, family and other responsibilities, and special occasions can slip by. What better way to thank your mama—or someone who raised you like their mama — for giving you life and care, and probably sacrificing a lot to give you everything — than with a more meaningful, locally sourced gift that feels personal, rather than the standard flowers and chocolates. Yup, calling you out.

Burden of Proof is a nonalcoholic bottle shop and market in South Pasadena owned by married couple Dean and Obreanna. It offers an eclectic selection of nonalcoholic wine, spirits, beer, snacks, coffee and South Pasadena merchandise, making it a good gift stop for moms who enjoy a well-crafted mocktail or a sweet, fruit-forward wine alternative.

Latinx With Plants

Let’s face it: Many people have procrastinated on gift-giving at some point. Life gets busy with work, family and other responsibilities, and special occasions can slip by. What better way to thank your mama—or someone who raised you like their mama — for giving you life and care, and probably sacrificing a lot to give you everything — than with a more meaningful, locally sourced gift that feels personal, rather than the standard flowers and chocolates. Yup, calling you out.

Latinx With Plants is a plant nursery known for its community-focused workshops and selection of plants, pots, soil, decor, Latinx merchandise and more. Just in time for Mother’s Day, the shop is offering two workshops Saturday: Bootquet and Molcajete Mamis.

The Chocolate Dispensary

The Chocolate Dispensary is a chocolate shop owned by partners Kala and Dale, offering a wide selection of chocolates from around the world, including truffles, cocoa powder, chocolate butter, bars and almonds. For Mother’s Day, the shop has selected a range of chocolates, including a rose petal bar, a wine and fig bar and assorted caramel chocolates.