Archive for the 'Opinion' Category

Jan 22 2009

Make Local Habit–A Double Edge Sword

Published by Linda under Food & Nutrition, Green Home, Opinion, Shopping

There’s an abundance of cars in my town with “Make Local Habit” stickers and a lot of buzz on the “green” blog circuit touting it as the eco-friendly way to shop.  I believe however, that making local habit is a double edge sword.

It’s not that I don’t support local farmers or businesses, in fact, it’s quite the opposite.   I purchase most of my produce, when possible, from local growers and also shop at local businesses.  But making local habit doesn’t always mean you are getting a quality or healthy product.

Case in point; a recent shopping excursion at my local Costco.

While searching the abundance of fruit, I was excited to see pears and apples from Northwest growers, i.e. “local” where I live. Now I know that apples and pears are on the “Dirty Dozen List” but, I was trying to save a buck or two, as we all are.  Anyway, as I was grabbing a bag from the the box something very disturbing caught my eye.

WARNING:  This product may be treated to maintain freshness with, THIABENDAZOLE, O-PHENYLPHENOL, ETHOXYQUIN, CAPTAN, FOOD GRADE SUCROSE, ESTERS, CARBOXYMETHYL CELLULOSE, FLUDIOXYONIL, PYRIMETHANIL and MIXED MON-DIGLYCERIDE

WTF?

While other shoppers were grabbing bags of this produce,  I was writing dilligently so I could return home to learn more about these terms. Here’s some of what I learned. And I say “some” because I was so sickened by what I read I had to step away from the computer and eat a pear…(organic of course)!

  • THIABENDAZOLE: A “slightly toxic” Pesticide used to control fruit and vegetable diseases such as mold, rot, blight and stain; also applied to treat roundworms and ear infections in cats and dogs;used medicinally as a chelating agent to bind metals. In several studies there where growth suppression in rats at high doses, decrease of active bone marrow, and in lower levels the mice had liver, spleen and intestinal effects.  Pregnant test animals fed this at certain doses showed skeletal defects in the fetus, cleft palates, brain hernia, absence of tails and eclampsia.
  • O-PHENYLPHENOL: (Fungicide) A biocide used as a preservative and applied after the fruit is harvested to prolong shelf life. It’s used for waxing citrus fruits and as a food additive. Also found in household disinfectants and aerosol underarm deodorants. It causes severe irritation and burns and possible eye damage and can also irritate your skin. The Hyperactive Children’s Support Group recommends it be eliminated from kid’s diets.
  • ETHOXYQUIN: (Pesticide “moderately toxic”) Used as a preservative and pesticide (”Stop-Scald) in eggs, meat, poultry, apples, pears, poultry fat and livers. Also used in pet foods and paprika and ground chili pepper to keep their color.  Studies showed death in fish, liver, kidney and thyroid damage, dry skin, allergic reactions, dental disease, decrease in growth, kidney damage, as well as renal lesions and tumors.
  • CAPTAN: (Fungicide) used to controls fungus diseases on fruits, vegetables, and ornamental plants. One million tons of apples are treated with this along with 60% of almonds and 100% of Florida strawberries. Captan is used as a preservative for awnings, draperies and leather, as a root dip and seed treatment and is incorporated into paints, wallpaper pastes, plastic and leather goods. There are over 320 federally registered pesticide products that contain this fungicide.

We are ingesting this nasty stuff every day. Not only us but our soil, air, water…you catch my drift. I understand these chemicals extend the integrity of produce, but come on, do we really need them and their side effects?  Do we need to consume pears, apples, and other items twice the size of what we need but also what nature intended.?

And don’t think for once that this stuff washes off.  Although the skin acts as a protective barrier, it can only do so much, and the chemicals soak into the flesh.

There you have it, Make Local Habit. Sometimes I feel you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t. When are we, as consumers going to start demanding that these harmful ways of preserving our foods in slowly killing us?

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great that stores are making an effort to support our local trade and the environment but how about taking an extra step and making it organic, or at least ensure its free from pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and any other ‘cide”.

I learned a big lesson that day. Did I buy the pears? It was tempting.  However, envisioning my family happily eating them made me nauseous so I opted for the locally grown organic apples instead. I love pears but I also love my body and my family of course.

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Jan 06 2009

The Making of a Green Mom by Brooke Shields

Published by Linda under Green Home, Opinion

I was sent this excerpt from the Healthy Child Healthy World Blog today and wanted to share it with you because it really spoke to me. I think what Brooke Shields talks about rings true for everyone whether you are a parent or not.  Living a sustainable lifestyle is about choices and not always easy.  I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

When you make choices to live better, greener, more organic, it’s not always so clear-cut; that is, you want to do the right thing but you also have to do what works for you and your lifestyle. Sometimes that means choosing the lesser of two evils. An example from when I was a teenager: In 1982, I got a job at the San Diego Zoo working with wild cats. Everyday we fed them so much meat that eventually something in me just snapped and I didn’t want to eat meat anymore. For thirteen years, I was a vegetarian—no beef, no fowl. I was doing a good thing, I thought, a virtuous thing. But over time, I felt weaker and weaker. I wasn’t getting enough protein, my doctor told me.

In 1995 I was in Russia and I saw these chicken kebabs…and I took a bite. Suddenly I felt like I was a balloon in the Macy’s Day parade, being lifted up by animal protein. I so desperately needed that protein. Other people don’t. The morning I got pregnant I woke up screaming for beef. At least I try to make it organic.

When you become a parent, you would think the choices become more obvious, and they do—you always know who comes first—but then there are still trade-offs; there always are. I switched to chlorine-free diapers for my daughter. They’re better for the environment but not as absorbent as the Elmo diapers she was wearing. Do I live greener and use the chlorine-free diapers all the time, including at night, when she pees more, and I lose sleep because I have to change her in the middle of the night because they can’t hold as much? Or can I use the Elmo diapers just for the nighttime, sleep through the night, and put her in the environmentally-friendly kind during the day? You do all you can but there are particulars to your own life that you must respect. I’ve changed all our products to eco-friendly ones but sometimes I have to bring in something less eco-friendly as a supplement. I use all recycled paper products except toilet paper. It’s like: You want the hybrid but then you’re driving your kids around in this gas-guzzling tank of a car and you feel safe…which is ironic, of course, because it’s cars like that that contribute more to something that doesn’t make us feel safe for our children.

I’ve gone in both directions. First, it’s, Okay I’m going to do this completely. Then something happens, I feel guilty about how much electricity and water my home uses and I think, What’s the point? It’s a real psychological battle. Plus, I’m the type where, if someone from an organization—Save the This or Save the That—makes me feel inferior because I’m not doing everything I can, I’ll get stubborn. I’m not going to be shamed into action. But then maybe I’m cutting off my nose to spite my face. As I learn more and think further down the road, I find myself doing more. I realize that just because I can’t go all the way and in every area, I still can make a sizable difference. In my mind, I may still lament that I haven’t gone even farther, and sometimes at night I can’t sleep thinking about all the things I haven’t changed in my life and in the lives of my children. In my actions, though, I try always to be forward-moving, to focus on the change I am making. I’m thrilled that my children began with organic food and therefore won’t have to make that switch to it, as I did. It feels good to know that once I adapt in certain areas (say, eating and cleaning), I’m better armed to attack areas that previously seemed out of reach.

Brooke Shields is an actress, model, and mother to Rowan and Grier.  Excerpted from the book, Healthy Child Healthy World: Creating a Cleaner, Green, Safer Home

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