Eco Friendly Living

It’s been 6 months since my son was born… how time flies.  It’s been a joy and a blessing to see our new bundle of joy.  My natural maternal instinct kicked in immediately and I couldn't believe how much I loved him at the first sight.  It’s only natural, right?   You would think that by 4th baby, I would be an expert in just about everything.  Trust me.  Theoretically, I am an expert.   But when it comes to actually nursing a new born baby, I am a complete mess.  The lack of latching, bleeding, soreness and aching, and to top it all off, I had swollen glands with each child… ugh!  I just can’t understand how something natural as breastfeeding can be so incredibly infuriating! 

The lactation specialist and other moms tried to help me through the process.  But in the end, I gritted my teeth and plowed through it for the first 3 weeks until the pain subsided.  I completely sympathize with other moms who give up because nursing becomes too difficult.  But I chose to keep trying.  In my personal opinion, there is nothing better I can give to my child than breast milk.  The benefits of breastfeeding are endless and I’m sure you’ve heard most of them.   It is the most effective way of providing organic natural foods. 

But with the latest information about chemical toxins such as rocket fuel (perchlorate) in baby formula, I feel more confident that breastfeeding is best for my kids. 

Although EPA believes that the level of perchlorate found in baby formula deemed safe, it is mind boggling that chemical toxins can be found in baby formula in the first place. So for those awesome moms out there that decided to give breastfeeding a try, don’t give up!  You are providing your baby with nutrients free from food toxins and it really is the most eco friendly living.  But to help ease into the transition, you should gear yourself with a really good breast pump.  I wore mind out with the first three kids and recently had to get a new one.  However, I also found out that my OB/GYN can write a prescription for a breast pump that is covered by my health insurance.  I was able to get the newest Medela electric pump from an insurance approved medical supply store.  I suggested this to several of my friends already and so far, all but one were successful.  So give the insurance company a call and then talk to your doctor.   Good luck and happy nursing! 

I may describe my personal experience about a specific product that I’ve used, but do not generally like to speak negatively about a company in whole.  However, I detest Monsanto.  Yes, I’ve said it.  It is one company I wish to never do business with. Monsanto has been known for the following:

• Monsanto was heavily involved in creating the very first nuclear bomb in the Manhattan Project.
• In the 60’s Monsanto entered into a partnership with IG Farben, a German chemical firm that was the financial core of the Hitler regime.
• For nearly 40 years, the company willingly and knowingly dumped chemical toxin called PCB in a small town in Alabama.
• Monsanto was the main supplier of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.  Agent Orange is a code name for a very powerful herbicide and defoliant initially used to reduce the dense jungle in Vietnam.  Monsanto’s Agent Orange had dioxin level several times higher than other manufacturers and knew about the severe health problems associated with the chemical.  It has been showed that the company presented EPA with false documentation regarding the herbicide.  Agent Orange affected 4.8 million Vietnamese, resulting in 400,000 deaths and disabilities and over 500,000 babies born with deformities.
• Monsanto uses fear and bully methods through their “spies” to monitor small farmers across the country and the world. 
• In 1998, India was forced to accept Monsanto’s seeds and since caused more than 25,000 suicides due to the company’s forced methods of farming.

Now, what does a company like this have to do with our eco friendly living?  Monsanto probably has the biggest influence over our food intake than any other company out there.  Although, the US Patent and Trademark Office refused to grant patens on life-forms, citing there are too many variables, in 1980, the Supreme Court sided with a scientist at General Electric to grant a patent on “a live human-made microorganism” to clean up oil spill.  Even though the patent wasn’t for a seed, the precedent has been set to seek patents on life-forms.  Since then, Monsanto has been diligent in obtaining patents on their seeds and this is how Monsanto has affected our food supplies:

• Monsanto is the maker of Round Up, a very popular herbicide to control weeds.
• The company creates Genetically Modified seeds that have been injected with the herbicide in to the genetic makeup so that the Round Up spraying does not affect the crops.  Instead of the organic method of tilling to remove the weeds, the crops have been drenched with this carcinogenic herbicide.
• Any farmers who purchase seeds from Monsanto must sign an agreement stating that they will not save the seeds to harvest in the future, thus making farmers completely dependent on Monsanto.
• Monsanto claims that their GMO seeds have higher yields of production, when in fact; this has been proven wrong over and over again.
• In smaller countries, such as India that were forced to use GMO seeds from Monsanto, many could not sustain their farms due to low yield and annual seed purchasing. 
• Monsanto’s GMO seeds can end up in neighboring organic and non-GMO farms through open pollination and bird dropping.  Monsanto has known to sue and win against these farmers for patent infringement and usage of their GMO seeds even though it is the organic natural foods that have been ruined.  Monsanto claims that even though the farmer may not have used their seeds, but due to the pollination, the “gene” of the new crop now belongs to them.
• 90% of the GMO crops grown in the fields are Monsanto seeds.
• Many countries ban the use of Monsanto’s GMO seeds.
• GMO products may increase the natural food toxins.
• Most countries have specific labeling requirement for foods that are GMO.  Most countries, except for the United States.
• Monsanto is the maker of Bovine Growth Hormones (rBGH) to be used on dairy cows for increase in milk production.  This hormone is banned in Europe, Canada and many parts of Asia as the studies show that the hormone is easily absorbed in humans.  The overproduction of the milk causes udder infection on cows, which leads to increased usage of antibiotics.  This growth hormone is widely used in the United States.  No long term studies have been done regarding the affects of the growth hormones ingested by humans.
• Small dairy farmers using the labeling, “No Bovine Growth Hormones” in their milk cartons have been sued by Monsanto that these farmers “should not have the right to inform their customers” that their milk does not have Monsanto chemicals.  These farmers were forced to remove the labeling and also settle out of court.
• Monsanto has the best network of “spies” known to many farmers as “Mafia” or “Gestapo” using scare tactics to control the farming, thus putting many small farmers out of business.
• Monsanto is working on patenting of livestock.

I cannot possibly list you all the alarming things about this company.  I am shocked and appalled that such a company can exist and continue to influence our food supplies.  Monsanto spends money and time claiming that their goal is to end world hunger by producing GMO’s that have higher crop yields.  However, this has been shown to be more of a PR ploy, rather than a scientific data.  Monsanto’s GMO seeds produce less than traditional methods and cause many farmers to go out of business due to annual seed purchasing required by the company.  It is so frustrating when I make every attempt to avoid purchasing GMO’s, the FDA continues to block any forms of specific labeling.  Whether you decide to purchase GMO products is your right.  I just wish I had that same right to make an informed decision through proper labeling of our foods.   

Check out the link below for more information on Monsanto.  http://www.organicconsumers.org/monlink.cfm

Just last week, the temperature in Northeast Ohio reached 60 degrees, allowing many of us to open our windows to circulate the stagnant air in our homes.  In an effort to be more energy efficient, our homes are air tight, preventing any circulation to occur during the cold winter months.  According to the EPA, the indoor air quality is 5 times worse than the outside air. 

It’s funny, when we bring our baby home, we do everything we can to protect that baby.  We make sure the car seat is properly secured, lock all our cabinets that contain cleaners, put the gates up, plug every electrical outlet, etc.  Yet, we don’t seem to think about the fact that there are household toxins in the air that the baby is breathing.  Since WWII, more than 80,000 synthetic chemicals have been invented to be used in chemical warfare.  And only 20% of those chemicals have been tested for toxicity.  Yet these chemical toxins have been added to our food, water and cleaning supplies.  According to the Poison Control Center, over 10% of all toxic exposures reported were related to household cleaners.  Surprisingly, #1 cause of household poisoning is dish detergent.  Making it even more disturbing, the government does not require the manufacturers to list the ingredients.  I naturally did some digging in the NIH (National Institute of Health) website and came up with some of the most commonly used ingredients in our every day products. 

Lye-Potassium Hydroxide is harmful if swallowed or inhaled, can cause severe eye and skin burns, severe respiratory and digestive burns, and repeated contact can cause dermatitis.  This ingredient can be found in Cascade products, Murphy’s Oil Soap, Lysol products, most of the oven cleaners Pantene Pro V hair products, Oil of Olay products, Roundup pesticides, and many more. 

Hydrochloric Acid can cause severe damage to skin and eyes, throat irritation even when exposed briefly at low level, and linked to reactive airways dysfunction syndrome.  Some of the products that contain this ingredient are all brands of toilet bowl cleaners and Febreze Laundry Odor Eliminator (ironically, their slogan is “Breath of Fresh Air”). 

Sodium Hydroxide is an ingredient that can be found in most of the cleaning and personal care products.  According to NIH, Sodium Hydroxide can causes 75% of all caustic injury to the esophagus of kids under 5, can cause burns in tissues, chronic skin irritation, irritation to the respiratory tract, and liver & kidney damage.  This ingredient can be found in Clorox cleaners, Cascade, Dawn Dish Detergent, Drano, Comet, Palmolive, Tide, Woolite, Bug B Gone, Easy Off Oven Cleaner, and Tilex to name a few.  This ingredient is also included in personal care products such as Softsoap products, after shaves, Colgate, Crest, Aquafresh, Crest Teeth Whitening Strips, Oil of Olay, Dove, Oil of Olay and many more.  

I just listed some of the ingredients found in our everyday products that we use.  Most Air Freshners have formaldehyde, carcinogens, and phenol as their ingredients.  Chlorine (labeled as sodium hypochlorite) is the very first agent used in chemical warfare, yet it is found in just about every cleaning product as well as in our drinking water.  And let me not get started on the window cleaners. 

After trying chemical free cleaning method of using baking soda and vinegar as my main cleaning ingredients, I tried three other cleaning products.  Shaklee makes a large variety of cleaning and household products that are plant-based, no phosphate, biodegradable, nontoxic, hypoallergenic, etc.  The best part is that their products are super concentrated.  For example, Basic H2, an Organic Super Cleaning Concentrate that can be made to various different cleaners based on how you dilute it.  You can make an all purpose cleaner by mixing ¼ teaspoon of the concentrate with 16 ounces of water, 2 DROPS of the concentrate with 16 ounces of water for window cleaner, 1 ½ tsp of concentrate with 16 ounces of water for degreaser, etc.  There are so many recipes for different cleaners based on the dilution.  The variety of the products that they carry is quite large.  I’ve tried every single one of the household products from Shaklee and I have to say, they all work great.  As for the environmental issue, Shaklee trumps all other products as they are very concentrated and require far less packaging.  Imagine the number of plastic bottles you are saving from the landfill by reusing the same spray bottles to mix your own cleaners.  The only caveat of Shaklee is that you have to purchase through a distributor or online.  This means that you will always be paying shipping in order to buy the products.

My other product experience is with Seventh Generation.  This is one company that takes their corporate responsibility very seriously.  They list all their ingredient right on all their bottles.  Seventh Generation makes wide range of products from household cleaners to household paper supplies, baby products, feminine care, etc.  These products are available in stores such as Target, but I haven’t been able to find all the products.   The few that I’ve tried, I really liked.  However, none of the products are concentrated.  Therefore, you do have to buy far more frequently and the cleaning supplies do take up more cabinet space in your kitchen.  I did find several websites that carry this brand, but since they are not concentrated and are rather heavy and bulky, the shipping cost was very high. 

I’ve also tried a brand called Method.  All I have to say about this product is that each time I used their window cleaner, I was suffering from a terrible headache.  I never tried any other product from this line after that. 

I haven’t tried any other cleaning products besides the three above.  And since Shaklee and Seventh Generation work so well for me, I didn’t find the need to venture out any further.  I shared Basic H2 from Shaklee to some of my friends and each and every time, I hear, “I can’t smell if my house is clean.”  My rebuttal question is, if your house is indeed clean, why should you be smelling anything? 

If you’ve tried any other products or have other product experience, please share with me and other readers by commenting below.  We can always learn something new.

Future Topics: Certified Organic products, chemical free cleaning, chemical toxins, eco friendly living, eco friendly products, environment friendly home, food toxins, household toxins, organic living, and tips for living green.

Since my previous blog post (http://blog.greenenergytv.com/blog/eco-friendly-living-2/0/0/cloth-vs-disposable-diapers-) regarding the disposables versus cloth diapers, I made a complete switch to cloth diapers.  It’s been over 2 weeks since the switch and I have to say, it’s not bad at all.  This is a very surprising revelation, considering I have failed once before.  But then again, since my last attempt, there is an abundance of choices out there for cloth diapers.  This was very exciting, but also daunting, not knowing which products to try.

After many hours of research, I found a website www.diaperjunction.com where you can buy a sample package of various diapers.  In this package, I received each one of bumGenius All-In-One diaper, Fuzzi Bunz, Kissaluvs, Chinese Prefolds, and Bummis Cover.  From the suggestion of one of the readers, I also ordered 1 bumGenius 3.0 cloth diaper.   Such experience was done on my 21 month old, 30 pound daughter. Here are my thoughts on each of the diapers. 

Chinese Prefolds are not for me.  When you use the prefolds, you need to use the water proof covers along with it.  The prefolds are very bulky and even after a very short time, it leaked all over. However, these prefolds will make excellent burpie cloths for me.  Kissaluvs diapers are incredibly soft.  But it isn’t waterproof, so you do have to use a waterproof cover with it as well.  Again, this made my baby’s bottom very bulky and most of her pants wouldn’t fit properly.  I also tried the gDiapers without much success.  It was messy and the whole tearing of the liners in the toilet, swish around with the stick and flushing twice was more work than necessary.  I also have a septic system at home, which means that I can’t flush the liners.  So in the end, gDiapers was similar to disposable diapers (since I had to throw them away in the trash can), but cause as much laundry as traditional cloth diapers to wash the outside covers and a very expensive process overall (the biodegradable liners cost more than disposable diapers). 

As for bumGenius 3.0, I really wanted this to work.  All other diapers come in small, medium, and large.  However, bumGenius 3.0 comes in 1 size fits all and the size of the diaper can be adjusted by releasing the plastic snaps.  This would’ve been perfect when our 4th baby arrives in April.  I could buy 1 type of diaper for both of the children and can use them throughout the diapering stage.  However, this diaper wasn’t big enough for my daughter.  It was too tight on her thighs and would leave red marks on her hip areas with each movement.  Also, the fastener is made of Velcro and made it extremely easy for my daughter to remove the diaper when it got too uncomfortable for her.  The bumGenius All-In-One was my least favorite.  It has a built in insert and is very difficult to wash and takes long time to dry.  I have to wash and dry it twice as long as the other diapers.  

My favorite of all is Fuzzi Bunz.  It’s a pocket diaper design with a microfiber insert, similar to bumGenius 3.0.  However, it comes with snaps that can be adjusted for both legs and waist making it virtually leak proof.  My daughter sleeps 13 hours at night and is a heavy wetter.  I haven’t had a single leakage with this diaper.  It also seems very comfortable for her and does not leave any red marks around her thighs even when she is very active.  My daughter hasn’t been able to remove the snaps on her own… as of yet.  At bedtimes or during long naptimes, I would put 2 inserts in the pocket for additional protection.  The diaper washes very well and easily at the first try.   

But there is one product that does make the cloth diapering system a breeze.  It’s called Kushies Flushable Biodegradable Diaper Liner.  This liner lets the wetness go through, but the solids remain on the top.  Instead of trying to scrape off the solids in the toilet, you can just remove the liner where the most of the solids are captured right into the trash.   I also purchased biodegradable doggie bags (half the cost of biodegradable diaper bags) to throw the liners in.  

I am thrilled to report that I am a cloth diapering mom now.  Even my husband has been impressed with the whole process.  So, for all the parents who have thought about giving cloth diapers a try, do what I did.  Buy several different brands and find the one that works best for you.  I am happy to report that the cloth diapering world has come a long way… they are definitely not the diapers we grew up in.  I’d also like to give special kudos to www.diapers.com.  Not only do they have free shipping, but I’ve been receiving my shipment the day after placing the order.  This has been fantastic when I am in an emergency and have to order extra inserts and liners.  They don’t carry all “green” products, but I’ve found enough eco friendly products on this website to make the switch extremely easy.  If you are using a different product or have other product experience, please share them with me in the comment section below.  I would love to learn more.  Happy diapering everyone!

P.S.  I do have a secret stash of Seventh Generation diapers… break in case of an emergency!

Future Topics: Certified organic products, chemical free cleaning, chemical toxins, eco friendly living, eco friendly products, environment friendly home, household toxins, organic living, tips for living green.
 

I have a dirty little secret! I use disposable diapers. And before you start casting stones and calling me names, let me explain. I’ve tried using cloth diapers. But that was the time when I had 2 kids in diapers and 1 in pull-ups. Can you imagine? It was one mess after another and if I wasn’t spending most of my day in the laundry room already, I was ready to spend my evenings in it as well. I couldn’t figure out how to disinfect the diapers without using harmful chemicals, such as bleach. In the end, with my head hanged low, I quit. I made one excuse after another why I never tried again. But mostly, I was terrified of trying again. Here I am, supposedly “trying” to lead this eco friendly living, and I was willing to look the other way about the diapers.

I’ve talked to several moms about switching from disposables to cloth diapers. ALL thought that I was nuts! My mother-in-law made it very clear that all babysitting options will be closed for discussion without the disposables. Even my very, ultra eco-friendly husband had a doubtful look on his face. So I begin to wonder if there were any real benefits of using cloth versus disposables… or am I really just insane?

For the sake of the environment, it is estimated that more than 2 billion tons of UNTREATED urine, feces, plastics and papers are dumped into the landfills. Untreated waste contaminates our ground water. Also, over 80,000 pounds of plastics and 250,000 trees are used to manufacture disposable diapers in the United States alone. If that’s not bad enough, the USA consumes over 27 billion disposable diapers which takes over 500 years for the disposables to decompose in our landfills. Some advocates of disposable diapers argue that the extra water and energy used to wash cloth diapers can do more harm for the environment. However, based on my research, it averages extra 2 loads of laundry per week when using cloth diapers. That doesn’t seem too bad.

For the sake of the health of our children, there is no question that the cloth diapers are better. Amongst other chemical toxins used to produce disposable diapers, three stand out the most: dyes, sodium polyacrylate crystals (super absorbent polymer or SAP) and dioxin. Dyes are known to be harmful to the central nerve system, kidneys and liver. The sodium polyacrylate is reported to cause skin irritations, blood from perineum and scrotal tissues, fever, vomiting and staph infections in babies. It can also causes female organ problems, slows healing wounds, fatigue and weight loss to the employees in factories that manufacture it. This ingredient has been banned in tampons as it is linked to toxic shock syndrome. But the biggest concern seems to be the dioxin, a byproduct of chlorine bleaching process. Dioxin is a highly toxic carcinogen. According to the EPA, the smallest amount of dioxin can cause liver disease, immune system complications and genetic damage to lab animals. Proctor and Gamble published a study showing that there is an increase in diaper rash from 7.1% to 61% with the increase usage of disposable diapers. What great news for diaper cream manufacturers.

In the end, moms use disposables for the convenience. However, after doing a bit of research, I am eager to give cloth diapers another try. So far, I’ve ordered some traditional cloth diapers with diaper covers, All-in-One diapers and this new thing called gDiapers (a hybrid between traditional cloth and disposables). If you have any suggestions on how I can limit my learning curve during this process, please share your thoughts with me via the comment section below. For instance, how can I disinfect dirty diapers in an eco friendly way? Your comments will be very helpful for other moms like me. I will report my journey throughout the process and my ultimate conclusion in the battle of Cloth vs. Disposables. 

To read all my blog posts, go to http://blog.greenenergytv.com/blog/eco-friendly-living-2  Happy Eco Friendly Living!

Future Post Topics: Chemical Free Cleaning, Eco Friendly Products, Certified Organic Products, and more.

Yes, I try to eat well.  I make every effort so that my family gets wholesome and nutritious foods free from chemical toxins, preservatives and unnecessary additives.  But there are times when I have looked the other way.  I try to convince my children that the organic bread loaded with unprocessed grains are just as good.  But who am I kidding?  I mean, who doesn’t love warm and crusty Italian bread fresh out of the oven, dipped in herb seasoned olive oil.  My three kids can make an entire meal out of eating soft white bread at a restaurant, and sometimes, they do. 

So I started to think, “Can white bread be that bad?”  I mean, I know it’s not as nutritious, but can it be bad for you?  Of course, I began my unscientific research.  Amongst many other ingredients found in various name brand breads, I found one that was very disturbing.  And this ingredient can be found in both white and wholegrain breads.  It’s called Azodicarbonamide or ADA for short. 

Azodicarbonamide is described as a food additive, a flour bleaching agent, and improving agent, according to Wikipedia.  ADA is classified as a respiratory sensitizer, a possible cause of asthma.  As a matter of fact, in UK, any products that include ADA must be labeled as “May cause sensitisation by inhalation."  Would you buy bread that has such labeling?  ADA is also known to heighten the allergic reaction in foods as well as cause allergic reactions when consumed with other food additives such as food dyes.

Europe, Australia, and some countries in Asia have banned this ingredient altogether.  In fact, the use of this ingredient in Singapore can result in $450,000 fine and 15 years of imprisonment.  You would think such food additive will never see the light of the day with our strict FDA regulations.  But once again, we must be disappointed.  I went to my local grocery store and actually had a very difficult time finding a loaf of bread that didn’t include this ingredient.  Not only is ADA in breads, but in other breaded products, such as breaded fish, bread crumbs, crackers, etc. 

I contacted several bread manufacturers about this ingredient.  All the response came back as, “FDA allows certain amount…”  Apparently, the FDA in the United States does not think that ADA is a harmful agent, contradictory to the other countries in the rest of the world.  I also noticed that ADA is never included in any of the certified organic products.  And I begin to wonder if some manufacturers can make bread without including ADA, why is this ingredient necessary in the first place? 

Eventually, the FDA will catch on to the rest of the first world nations and black list this ingredient from our food source… at least I’m hoping that will be the case.  Until then, this once again proves that consumers must be vigilant in reading and understanding the ingredients in our foods to make the right decision for one’s own family.  But as for my family, ADA will never be a welcomed guest at our dinner table.

Future topics: Chemical Toxins, Organic natural foods, tips for living green, eco friendly living.

Happy New Year everyone!  Along with many Holiday well wishes and cards, I recently received a catalog from a company offering non Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) seeds.  I know it seems like the planting season is still far away, but I always like to know the availabilities of seeds and plants for my spring season.  My goal is to provide wholesome healthy fruits and vegetables to my family by growing most of these products in my own backyard.  

I started my journey of an eco friendly living by trying to purchase as much of locally grown produce as possible.  But as I learn more about variety chemical toxins found in our foods, I started to look for organic natural foods.  Since then, phrase liked GMO, heirloom, free range, all natural, certified humane, etc. have been popping up in my research.  What do all these mean and what are the benefits, if any?

Organic farmers produce agricultural products without use of conventional farming methods such as pesticides, chemical fertilizers, growth hormones, and antibiotics.  Instead, they use more “labor intensive” methods of crop rotation, use of beneficial insects and birds for pest control, hand weeding, natural fertilizers such as compost, and feeding of organic natural foods to animals while providing natural grazing and good housekeeping to minimize disease.  Organic farmers also use methods of conservation to minimize pollution while avoiding water and soil contamination by using natural fertilizers.  The proponents of conventional farming and FDA argue that small amounts of pesticides, growth hormones, antibiotics, and chemical fertilizers are safe to use.  But I wonder, when does it become enough? When “small amounts” of these harmful chemical toxins and unnecessary hormones and antibiotics are in every food and product that we touch, when does the “small amount” become too much?

Then, there is Genetically Modified Organism.  GMO generally means that the organisms have been altered using genetic engineering technique.  For those who are familiar with GMO, this is one area that is creating more and more controversies.  Genetically modified methods are used to produce crops and livestock that are more resilient to harsh environment, pests, grow faster and bigger, etc. using unnatural methods.  And each process of genetic modification is pushing the limits further and further.  For example, many of our crops have been injected with pesticides into their genetic makeup so that any pests that consume the crops are immediately killed.   Also, FDA recently approved public consumption of cloned animals, without requiring any form of labeling.  If the phrase “we are what we eat” has any substance, I hate to think what we’ve become as a society.  There are many ethical and potential health hazards of GMO and many countries around the world have strict labeling of GMO products, if not banning them altogether.  However, in the US, such products are readily available without long term studies nor proper labeling for the consumers.  Here is a link to a website that describes the GMO products more thoroughly.  http://www.safe-food.org/-issue/dangers.html

As for my family, I’m going through my catalog of seeds to pick out various non GMO, as well as some Heirloom seeds.  Heirloom generally means that the seeds have been introduced before 1951, when first hybrids were introduced using inbred lines. I can’t provide the scientific information about the nutritional value of non GMO/heirloom versus the conventional products. I can tell you that those veggies and fruits that I grow in my small back yard garden tastes a heck of a lot better than any available in the grocery stores.  And these seeds do not cost any more than GMO seeds.  In the end, I hope you have a wonderful and healthy eco friendly living in the coming year!
Below is a great video that will help you understand a little more about organic foods and how to decode them at your local grocery stores.

Link to Video:  http://greenenergytv.com/Watch.aspx?v=3659954001

As discussed in my previous posting, BPA (Bisphenol A) is considered to be linked to many health hazards. Yet, this and many other chemical toxins are still used in baby bottles and sippy cups and in the lining of the canned foods, baby formula, and baby foods. There are several steps I’ve used to limit the exposure of BPA in my household:

1) Never heat food in plastic containers. 
2) Avoid using plastic wraps when heating food in the microwave.  Most plastic wraps contain chemical toxin called PVC that is harmful to your health.
3) Use baby bottles and sippy cups that are labeled BPA free. 
4) When using baby formula, opt for powder rather than liquid.
5) Instead of using canned soups or broths, try these products stored in aseptic boxes or cartons.

While following the steps above, the most challenging task was the baby food.  In my neck of the woods, there are only 2 choices when purchasing baby foods.  Those that come in #7 plastic containers or in jars with epoxy resin on the lids.  With limited choices on hand, I decided to make my own baby food.  And surprisingly, it was a lot easier than I thought.  But to avoid as much plastic usage as I can, I used silicone ice cube trays to freeze.  Once they were frozen, I was able to pop them out and store them in larger containers for future usage. 

Share your thoughts and ideas.

Bisphenol A or BPA has been getting a lot of attention lately and rightly so. 

Some scientific information first:  BPA is used in polycarbonate plastics and usually marked with recycling label #7.  It is a synthetic sex hormone that mimics estrogen.  According to the studies sponsored by U.S. National Institute of Environment Health Sciences, BPA can alter the normal function of genes.  The study warns that BPA exposure may be linked to increases in type 2 diabetes, prostate caner, breast cancer, early onset of puberty in girls, obesity, and neuro-behavioral. 

Canada recently banned the use of BPA in baby bottles and thus sparked the pressure on many baby bottle manufacturers to remove this chemical from their products.  Just flipping through the baby store ads lately shows that many manufacturers are now using the phrase “BPA free” to advertise their products. 

Finally!  As a mother of three and expecting our fourth in the next few months, I am relieved.  Whether it may be the pressure from moms, consumer watch groups or foreseeing the inevitable, some of these companies have decided to produce “baby safe” bottles before government intervention.  However it was done, I’ll take it!  Check out this website for further guidelines on “safe plastics”.  http://www.healthobservatory.org/library.cfm?RefID=77083

However, I recently learned that our babies are not safe from BPA chemical.  I learned to avoid using baby foods in plastics with recycling #7.  Apparently, that’s not enough.  This chemical is also used in epoxy resin which lines the canned foods.  According to Environment Working Group (www.ewg.org), all manufactuers use BPA lining on the metal portion of the baby formula, jar baby foods and drink cans.  The study shows that BPA from the lining leaches into baby food and baby formula.  It shows that 1 in 10 of all canned foods tested and 1 in 3 canned baby formula exposes women and infant to BPA levels 200 more times the government’s “safe level”!

What is a mom to do?  I would love to hear what you are doing to reduce the BPA and other chemical toxins from your household.  Stay tuned to my next posting to read about my methods.