BPA in canning jars

I just read a post about how Bisphenol-A (BPA) is part of the rings, lids and seals that we use to preserve our harvests. BPA is a poison. Here's a link about the effects of BPA: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/484739_5

Check out these links:
- http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/07/is-there-bpa-in-your-home-canning.php
- http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=921820
- http://www.freshpreserving.com/pages/home_canning_faq/42.php
- http://frugalcanning.blogspot.com/2009/09/used-jar-lids.html

That's just a small sampling.

BPA has even been found in some baby food jars! Yes, those we find at the grocery store! AND supposedly in most pre-canned products on any grocery shelf.

Those purported to have BPA in the lids/rings are Ball, Kerr, Golden Harvest, and Bernardin brands. I heard a rumor that Weck Canning jars don't have BPA but can't find confirmation on their website ... they don't even address it.

This makes me very glad that I dehydrate almost everything.

I gotta figure out an alternative to canning. It was bothering me, anyway, about how I needed to buy new lids every year. What did people do to "put up" their harvests before jars were invented?