Activistas

Organic = Healthier, Right??

My husband has long mocked the organic cookie syndrome.  I, personally, have fallen for it over and over.  Surely because they're organic, I figure, they're healthier.  Somehow in my little mind I decide they won't make me fat, rot my teeth, or whatever other evil cookies are rumored to perpetrate.  But truth is, they're organic, which does make them better in some ways, but not miraculously low-fat or healthy or whatever I try to tell myself. 

And for the formula users among us, I imagine the choice to buy organic is similarly frought - and significantly more expensive.  I wasn't all that surprised to read about the super-sweet organic formula by Similac, the 'only major brand of organic formula that is sweetened with cane sugar, or sucrose, which is much sweeter than sugars used in other formulas.'  The NYT reported that no health problems in babies have been associated with Similac Organic to date, but that some doctors are concerned nonetheless:

But to pediatricians, there are risks in giving babies cane sugar: Sucrose can harm tooth enamel faster than other sugars; once babies get used to its sweeter taste, they might resist less sweet formulas or solid foods; and some studies suggest that they might overeat, leading to rapid weight gain in the first year, which is often a statistical predictor of childhood obesity.

Being Green Together: Local Parent Co-op

There's green parenting advice pretty much everywhere you click in the blogosphere these days, but here in Portland it's been taken a step further - natch!  So if you're interested in doing more than just reading about being green, check out the newly formed Portland Green Parenting group.  It's a membership group ($10 to join) with a private forum to share info, take classes (yup, you too can brew kombucha and make your own green cleaning products!), buy bulk food, do the potluck thing, and more. 

Looks like a cool opportunity to create community and be a whole lot greener, right here at home.  Not just in the blogospehre!  Here's how they describe themselves:

Portland Green Parenting formed in October 2007 after Rebecca and her family relocated to Portland, Oregon. Today, we are a community of over 100 families in the greater Portland area who have come together to grow as parents and educate ourselves on how to raise happier, healthier children who care for our environment and each other while making new friends and having fun!

Anyone already a member?  Got feedback to share? 

The Green Our Vaccines Rally

If I lived in DC I'd always be at a rally, so I think it's a good thing I don't.  Yesterday the folks at Talk About Curing Autism organized a Green Our Vaccines Rally at the Washington Monument.  You can read more over at Moms Speak Up.

The rally organizers aren't opposed to vaccines (a whole other topic, for another day - or not!).  Rather they are working to eliminate toxins and change the recommended schedule, which is pretty hard and fast.  While there is no conclusive evidence linking vaccines and autism, many suspect a connection.    I'm no MD, but the idea of removing potentially hazardous preservatives from vaccines given to infants and young children makes some sense, at least at first blush.  Especially since no-one's doing medical tests on children under 2, making it a wee bit hard to know the actual effects.  In our family we requested that the shots be spread out (hassle for all involved).  It just seemed safer.  What do you think?  What did you do? 

In my little mind, I think if vaccines can be prepared and given without potentially hazardous ingredients, why not?  Cost, likely.  Lack of alternatives?  Seems a very appropriate situation to apply the Precautionary Principle, which states that the lack of certainty regarding the threat should not be used as an excuse to do nothing to avert that threat. 

One thing I know for sure, Moms Against Mercury has a strong opinion on this one.  And when moms are against anything, I'm beginning to think change is on the horizon.

Say What's in my Lipstick?

It's illegal to paint your house with it but it's A-OK for me to apply it directly to my lips.  Dare I say: only in America?   Lead, mamas, lead.  No, we're not kidding.  In. your. lipstick. True, this is not an issue unique to mamas.  And I don't even wear much of the stuff.  But still.  It's the principle.  My lips are not an OK place to rub lead.  They never were.  Yours?

And you know, I'm quite grateful that there are folks willing to sort through ingredients (thanks to the famed Skin Deep Cosmetics Database) so I can choose wisely, avoid poisoning myself while I'm shopping. But.  It's a band-aid.  A holdover until something can be done to prevent it in the first place.  There oughtta be a law, mamas, there oughtta be a law.  And I shouldn't have to say that so often.  Really.

So do something.  Aside from ditching the toxic lipstick and buying safe ones, check out the Campaign for  Safe Cosmetics.  They have loads of resources for taking action, like sending an e-letter to Avon asking it to remove toxic chemicals from its products.  Sometimes all this feels like pushing water uphill.  Like asking for something I just shouldn't have to ask for.  But I'll ask, because no-one, in any country, should be rubbing lead on their lips.  Is it really that hard to do the right thing here?

Bisphenol A: So Where Else Is It Lurking?

Now that I've tossed the non-cloudy Nalgene water bottles, I've been casting my angry eye around the rest of the kitchen.  Sippy cups?  Flour storage containers?  Teethers?  Wish I could just see the stuff.  So good thing I stumbled across the Environmental Working Group's most recent Mixed Greens show, where they discuss this stuff.   

Plus, there's always Safe Mama, who is all over this BPA issue - and I mean all over.  Check out her excellent BPA Free Bottle and Sippy Cup and Pacifier and Teether Cheat Sheets.  Yet another example of mamas helping mamas, because, let's face it, it's not like the Consumer Product Safety Commission has stepped up to the plate or anything.  Go mamas! 

One slick trick I learned on the Mixed Greens show: a great resource in the (happily expanding) wilderness of BPA-free baby products is the Z Recommends text messaging service (not that I text message or anything). Just text zrecs and a company name (Born Free, for example) to 69866, and you'll get a message with info about that company's products.  If you try it, tell us how it went.  I figure I'll learn to text message when my kids do.  If they'll teach me, that is.

Got Kids? Got an Old House? Get a Free Lead Kit.

We've ranted about the hazards of lead paint many a time 'round here, usually about toys, lunchboxes, and the like.  This time we're talking pre-1978 homes and we are happy to be bearing good news - love that.  The Portland Development Commission is giving away dust wipe kits to residents of Clackamas, Multnomah, & Washington counties at children's stores around Portland.  And if you don't frequent these stores, never fear.  As with everything these days, you can easily order it online, too.

What's a dust wipe kit?  It's not as cumbersome as it sounds, mamas, and well worth it given the serious implications of childhood lead poisoning.  PDC writes:

I Heart Sandra Steingraber

It's hard to weave a beautiful tale of a first pregnancy with the hard science of toxicology, but Sandra Steingraber did it so very well in her 2001 chronicle of her own pregnancy, Having Faith: An Ecologist's Journey to Motherhood.  Why I dared read it while pregnant I'll never know, but I'll never forget it.  I was moved by her ability to capture so many of the tremendous emotions I felt, and because she was so very informed about the many fears I had around the potential for environmental harm to reach my unborn child (and by the end of the book, everyone else's unborn children, too).  Heavy stuff, all of it.  The booksellers description hits the nail on the head - especially when they call it both a lyrical celebration and passionate call to arms:

Sandra Steingraber, brilliant writer, first-time mother, and respected biologist, explores the intimate ecology of motherhood. Full of beauty and mystery, this month-by-month story of her own pregnancy and childbirth weaves into its telling new discoveries about genetics, the intimate unfolding of embryonic organs, the architecture of the fetal brain, and the astonishing transformation of the mother’s body as it prepares to nourish and protect the new life. At the same time, Steingraber reveals the alarming extent to which environmental hazards—from industrial poisons found in amniotic fluid to the toxic contamination of breast milk—now threaten each crucial stage of infant development.

Local Filmmakers Say: Play Again Already, Kids

A friend of a friend is making an interesting film about kids right here in Portland.  The documentary, Play Again, investigates the consequences of a childhood removed from nature.  Along the lines of the book Last Child In the Woods, I imagine.  As Meg Merrill, Producer at Ground Productions, describes it:

Play Again is a documentary about the changing balance between the virtual and natural worlds in childhood today. Screen time is increasing, while time spent in nature is decreasing. How does the media influence our children? What do we miss when we are in front of screens? What is the impact of this imbalance on the well-being of our children, our society and the very future of our planet?   

Check out the trailer - and weep.  Not surprisingly, kids can name only 10 plants but 100 corporate logos (me too, sadly).  Ground Productions' mission is inspiring:

At Ground Productions we believe media can change the world. Our mission is to work toward a more just, equitable and sustainable society, where everyone has a voice. Our films encourage critical thinking and debate and aim to promote peace through understanding.

Fundraising Party!  They're having a grown-ups only fundraiser Thursday, 7 PM on 5.8.08 @ Holocene if you can swing it.  And if you want to support this project but, like me, are otherwise occupied on Thursdays at 7 (oh, only every Thursday at 7 for the next 15 years!!), you can donate online - natch.

Wanna See the Movie?  In time, mamas, it ain't ready yet.

Take a Survey about Children in Central Portland

Good news, mamas!  Some OHSU nursing students are undertaking a research project to identify child and community health needs in Central Portland, followed by research and recommendations to fix it all!  Yahoo.  Why, you might be wondering, am I sharing this fascinating nursing news with you - here?   Because they need data, and you, mamas, have got data.   Data on family needs should come from families, right?  Right.

So, complete this quick Monkey Survey the students whipped up so they can use your experiences as a family that lives, works, learns or plays in Central Portland.  What I want to know is whether 'playing' includes shopping, 'cause Buy Nothing Month is gonna be over in one short (also long) week.  Meaning I work and learn there.  Plus my kids are in childcare and school downtown. 3 out of 4 ain't bad. 

Why bother?  Opportunity for free data collection, analysis, and written recommendations to improve the place.  Free labor to support the needs of Central Portland families?  Bring it on. 

Pass it on.  Share the survey with anyone you  know who lives, works, plays or learns in Central Portland.  There's a lot of us.

Bay Area Moms Say No Thanks to Aerial Spray

As you may have noticed, I've got a lot of complaints, issues, things I'd like to see fixed.  But today (unlike yesterday when I was p-i-s-s-e-d) I'm feeling grateful.  Why's that, you ask?  Because no-one wants to spray the entire Portland metro area with a farm pesticide to wipe out a moth that farmers say is detrimental to the state's agriculture industry.  Like they do in the SF Bay Area.  Talk about an urban-rural divide. 

Like wow, mamas.  At least when we visit my Dad in creepy-crawly Florida and the pest control folks show up and douse the place we can leave the house.  Of course he thinks I'm paranoid for saying word one about it.  He also has to recommend fertilizer for our yard every. single. time. he. visits.  But aerial spray?  Hmmm... where to hide?   

You can get the basics about this whole shenanigan from Wikipedia and listen to a a brief NPR story on it from last last week.  The NPR piece included a great statement from a Mom perched on the capital steps in Sacramento: "I never expected to find myself on the steps of the capital, but this isn't a choice, it's a must."  If you gotta go to the steps of the state capital, mama, well you gotta go.