by Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff
Executive Director & C.E.O
Healthy Child Healthy World

www.healthychild.org

Potential Autism Causes Identified

What causes autism? Dr. Phil Landrigan, professor and chair of preventive medicine at Mount Sinai Medical School in New York and Honorary Board member of Healthy Child Healthy World, recently released a comprehensive list of environmental triggers, published in Environmental Health Perspectives and concisely presented in a slideshow on Rodale News. This powerful research looks at environmental factors—including lead, mercury and pesticides—and connects the dots on early exposures to problems in childhood, with the goal of informing the medical community and changing chemical regulation to better protect kids.

Approval Sought for GE Corn

According to the Just Label It! campaign, of which Healthy Child is a member, the USDA may approve corn that is genetically engineered to withstand 2,4-D, a potent herbicide that may be linked to major health problems including reproductive abnormalities, birth defects, and several forms of cancer. The FDA is currently considering approval of genetically engineered salmon, which is engineered to produce growth hormones year-round to make the fish grow at twice its natural rate, and would be the first genetically engineered animal on supermarket shelves in the United States. If these “foods” are approved, we won’t know they’re on our shelves because GE foods are not required to be labeled in the U.S.—as they are in 40 other countries. 90% of Americans are against unlabeled GE foods. Healthy Child is, too!

House Hearing on Cancer

Information from the House assessment of the “Report on Carcinogens” continues to trickle down. The report, which recently classified formaldehyde as a “known carcinogen” and styrene as a “reasonably anticipated” human carcinogen, was under attack, most notably by Dow Chemical, for being “bad for business,” according to Andy Igrejas of the Safer Chemicals Healthy Families coalition in the Huffington Post.

Honorary Board Kudos

Last week, we told you about the study published in Pedriatrics about Dr. Harvey Karp’s “Happiest Baby” methods to soothe infants experiencing pain.  This week, Scholastic named the doctor the second most important person in American family life —after moms and before Steve Jobs.

Also this week, fellow Healthy Child Healthy World Honorary Board member Olivia Newton-John’s new “Livwise” book shot to the top of the bestseller list.

Congratulations to these amazing visionaries; we are so grateful for their support and thankful as they continue to expand the healthy parenting movement!

May is Pregnancy Awareness Month!

Pregnancy Awareness Month (P.A.M.) is an organization dedicated to inspiring women during pregnancy with educational initiatives spotlighting nutrition, wellness, and all around nurturing.  If you’re in Los Angeles on Sunday May 6, be sure to join P.A.M.’s annual flagship free event at the Skirball Center that features features a variety of brands, specialists and experts in the field of pregnancy, motherhood and kids.  Click here for more information.

P.A.M. was established in 2008 by Healthy Child Healthy World Board Member, author & holistic lifestyle expert Anna Getty and producer & mompreneur Alisa Donner.

Autism and Chemicals, Cancer Report Under Fire, and Kudos! is a post from: Eco Child's Play

From cosmetics to detergents to diapers, we live in a world of scents that might be making us sick, suggests a new study, even when those fragrances come from products that claim to be natural and pure. In an analysis of 25 of the most commonly used scented products – including ones labeled “organic,” “natural” or “non-toxic” – scientists identified at least 133 chemicals wafting off of them. A quarter of those chemicals were classified as hazardous or toxic. Virtually none were listed on product labels. The gist of the study, according to Discovery News:

• Even when labeled “natural” or “non-toxic,” scented products emit toxic chemicals that rarely appear on labels.
• A growing number of people may be developing sensitivities to fragrances.
• Experts suggest cleaning with baking soda and vinegar, and buying products that are as free of fragrances as possible.

“If these were coming out of a smokestack or a tailpipe, they would be regulated,” said lead author Anne Steinemann, a civil and environmental engineer at the University of Washington in Seattle. “If they are in a hand soap or air freshener, they are not.” What can you do? 1. DIY. Make your own personal care products and cleaners when possible:

• 9 Better Baby Lotions and Potions You Can Make in Minutes
• Recipes for Safer Cleaners

2. Learn to be a label detective. Many claims on products are not regulated. Use Consumer Reports Label Guide as a first step.

• Demand full ingredient disclosure. Support companies that tell you exactly what’s in their products. Check company websites and email or call if it’s not publicly accessible.
• Be cautious even with “natural” scents. Natural does not equal safe (think of poison ivy). People can have adverse reactions to essential oils – so no matter what you’re using, watch for any reactions.

‘Non-toxic’ Scented Products Release Toxic Chemicals is a post from: Eco Child's Play

Follow the rest of the Hank D and the Bee series at JoeMohrToons.com. For cartoon updates and other green goings-on, follow Joe on Twitter @GreenCartoons.

Hank D and the Bee: Political Signs is a post from: Eco Child's Play

Conventional Cotton Statistics

Wendell Berry introduced by Bill McKibben

What Matters?: Economics for a Renewed Commonwealth by Wendell Berry

Follow the rest of the Hank D and the Bee series at JoeMohrToons.com. For cartoon updates and other green goings-on, follow Joe on Twitter @GreenCartoons.

Hank D and the Bee: A Wendell Wedgie is a post from: Eco Child's Play

Did you know that every day you rely on household products that contain thousands of untested and unregulated chemicals? How worried should we be about this reality? This question was recently raised by Jerome Groopman for an article in The New Yorker entitled “The Plastic Panic” and it’s a legitimate and widespread concern.

Over 80,000 synthetic chemicals are registered for use in commercial products in the United States and 700 new ones are introduced annually. Among the roughly 2,000 chemicals produced in quantities of more than a million pounds per year, only about 7% have undergone the recommended slate of basic toxicity studies! A shocking fact.

Americans simply assume that chemicals used to make ordinary products are tested for safety — but they are not. From baby bottles made with bisphenol A (BPA) to carpets containing formaldehyde, dangerous chemicals are in our homes, places of work, and the products we use every day. With each new scientific report linking toxic chemical exposure to a serious health problem, it becomes more obvious that the law intended to keep harmful chemicals in check — the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976 — is not working.

One of the fundamental flaws of TSCA is that chemicals are innocent until proven guilty. But this line of thinking not only goes against basic common sense – it also establishes the need for a foundation of proof that is nearly impossible to come by. Groopman explains,

“[t]here is an inherent uncertainty in determining which substances are safe and which are not, and when their risks outweigh their benefits. Toxicity studies are difficult, because BPA and other, similar chemicals can have multiple effects on the body. Moreover, we are exposed to scores of them in a lifetime, and their effects in combination or in sequence might be very different from what they would be in isolation. In traditional toxicology, a single chemical is tested in one cell or animal to assess its harmful effects. In studying environmental hazards, one needs to test mixtures of many chemicals, across ranges of doses, at different points in time, and at different ages, from conception to childhood to old age. Given so many variables, it is difficult to determine how harmful these chemicals might be, or if they are harmful at all, or what anyone can do to avoid their effects.”

So, how worried should we be? There’s definitely enough evidence for concern and it’s abundantly clear we need a more effective way to regulate chemicals instead of pumping more and more into our products and crossing our fingers that it’ll be okay. But, I don’t believe worry is the appropriate reaction. Precaution is more effective.

Precaution is action taken in advance to prevent harm and it’s an undeniable force once you become a parent. Outlet covers, car seats, gates at the top of stairs – these are all precautionary tools. Parents make it a habit to take action in advance to prevent harm to their children. Precaution is easy and effective. It’s a lifestyle of forethought and responsibility – not fear or worry. Still, critics have a hard time distinguishing between the two.

Groopman quotes Elizabeth Whelan, of the American Council on Science and Health, a consumer-education group in New York (Whelan says that about a third of its two-million-dollar annual budget comes from industry), as saying “The [chemical] fears are irrational. People fear what they can’t see and don’t understand. Some environmental activists emotionally manipulate parents, making them feel that the ones they love the most, their children, are in danger.”

The fact is, our children are in danger – we all are every day and not just from toxic chemicals. Life is rife with danger. As parents, and often simply as people, we naturally try to reduce as many potential dangers as possible – by wearing seat belts, looking both ways before crossing the street, locking doors, and thousands of other simple actions that are practical habits of precaution. We do these things to prevent harm – because we are intelligent enough to use forethought, not because we are afraid of life.

Reducing exposure to unnecessary synthetic chemicals is practical precaution – the new, responsible lifestyle in an age of chemical ubiquity. And, just as our increasing understanding of chemical risks compels us to take precautions as parents, this knowledge should also be applied to our government regulations. Smart policy uses forethought because, as the old adage goes, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” The environmental, economic, and health crises we continue to face only serve to reinforce that fact we need to place more emphasis on prevention. I’m hoping that the recently introduced Safe Chemicals Act can be one piece in an array of new policies that will start infusing the wisdom of forethought into government regulation. Not because we are worried, but because we are responsible.

Christopher Gavigan is a regular contributor to The Huffington Post’s Green Section.

How Worried Should We Be About Everyday Chemicals? is a post from: Eco Child's Play

I thought I’d seen it all when I was cruising the yogurt section of my supermarket and spotted blue, cotton-candy flavored yogurt for kids. Manufacturers are all too aware that children are compulsively drawn to Technicolor food and those that are sweet or salty. Since getting kids to eat well is an exercise in triage as you figure the pros and cons of cost, time, and availability you might be tempted to take the path of least resistance: chicken nuggets, flame colored mac ‘n’ cheese, blue yogurt. That’s fine sometimes. But the chemical additives—preservatives, flavors, and colors—found in these types of food have a disproportionately greater health impact on children than on adults.

Pick “preservative-free.” Preservatives help extend the shelf (or refrigerator) life of food, but their ingredients are often unsafe. For instance, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), which keeps oils from going rancid, is listed as a probable human carcinogen by the Department of Health and Human Services (remarkably, the FDA says it’s okay to eat it). The other biggie in this category to look for on labels—and to avoid—is BHT, or butylated hydroxytoluene.

Color them naturally. Conjure those blue yogurts, neon-colored fruit drinks, and snacks: You don’t need to read the label to know these artificial colors can’t be good for your kids. In particular, avoid FD&C blues #1 and 2; green #3; and yellow #5 and 6.

Keep an eye out for GMOs. Genetically modified or engineered food (GMO or GE) is a way for farmers to create heartier, pest-resistant crops—for instance, by breeding a pesticide right into the grain—and so far is limited principally to canola, soybean, and corn. GMO foods are commonly used for animal feed, but have entered our lives quietly in the form of additives to packaged food. We don’t have an exact figure for how pervasive GMO processed foods are, but roughly 60 percent of processed food in the U.S. grocery stores contain at least one soybean product, and more than half of our soybean crops are genetically modified.

There are no long-term health safety tests or labeling for these foods. U.S. government regulators and biotech companies say GMO foods are safe, but they’re banned throughout Europe. Some research shows a worrisome impact on plants and wildlife, and that food allergens may be transmitted through bioengineering, according to the watchdog group Beyond Pesticides.

In the meantime, if your child is prone to food allergies, give her natural and GMO-free (some labels will tout it) snack alternatives, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, cheese, and yogurt—which may even be a sound policy for the non-allergic.

Taken from Healthy Child Healthy World: Creating a Cleaner, Greener, Safer Home. Reprinted by arrangement with Plume, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. Copyright © 2009 by Healthy Child Healthy World. To read more from Christopher Gavigan and many others, pick up your copy of our book, today.

Find out the 6 other worst preservatives and additives to avoid by picking up a copy of our book!

Cleaning Out Your Pantry: Food Additives is a post from: Eco Child's Play

More on helping bees:

Help Save Bees

How You Can Help Bees

Follow Help Save Bees on Twitter at @HelpSaveBees

Follow Joe Mohr at www.JoeMohrToons.com and on Twitter at @GreenCartoons

Hank D and the Bee: CCD – A Bee Party? is a post from: Eco Child's Play

When I was young, I volunteered for various organizations and I participated in an academic extracurricular group known as the Future Problem Solvers of America, but that was the extent of my adolescent efforts at having a positive impact on the world. I don’t think I had ever heard of anyone young doing something world changing (sheltered child I was) and I certainly didn’t feel empowered to be the first. Today, kids blow my mind and give me enormous hope for the future. Consider just these five:

• Adora Svitak, a 12-year-old who is a published author and was the youngest speaker at the TED 2010 conference.

• Jordan Howard, 17, a senior at Environmental Charter High in LA, Green Ambassador Youth leader, and prolific speaker and blogger who inspires at her blog jordaninspires.com;

• Alec Loorz, a 14-year-old who founded Kids Against Global Warming as a 12-year-old. He is the youngest trained presenter with The Climate Project.

• Ally Maize, who three years ago, as a 15-year-old started the Green Youth Movement; and

• Erin Schrode, a freshman at Columbia University and founder of Teens Turning Green

Beyond their individual efforts and successes, they have now joined forces with a bevy of other talented youth to start “Green My Parents,” a youth-led movement to save $100 million for American families by teaching kids how their families can save $100 by going green. How will they do it?

One example is a simple household detoxification – i.e. reducing the use of conventional cleaning products and replacing them with safer, cheaper alternatives like baking soda and vinegar. And, parents had better oblige or they may find themselves receiving poor grades in the follow-up report card (you don’t want to get an ‘F’ from a child, now do you?)

Their campaign launches Earth Day with a youth-led webinar being broadcast on The National Wildlife Federation’s SchoolTube.com at 1 pm EST and the release of their downloadable Green Your Parents e-book.

And, speaking of safer cleaning, did you know that many of the cleaning products typically used in schools are toxic and contribute to poor indoor air quality, cancer, asthma, and other diseases? How can we expect our kids to behave brilliantly if they’re going to school in buildings that make them sick?

Support healthier learning environments by raising awareness about National Healthy Schools Day on Monday, April 26th. This year’s focus is on using certified green cleaning products which help reduce pollutants in indoor air. What can you do? Take this opportunity to start a local school group that will work together creating healthier environments for students and staff.

• If your school will not appoint a healthy schools group, start your own.

• Celebrate. Say thank you!

Engage kids and you might get even more bang for your buck. Just like the report cards being used by the Green My Parents campaign to compel parents to act, kids can use similar tactics to compel school staff to make changes. Kids behaving brilliantly can inspire adults to behave better.

Have any examples of kids behaving brilliantly, greening their parents, or making healthier schools? Please share them in the comments to help inspire others!

Healthy Child Healthy World is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit inspiring parents to protect young children from harmful chemicals. Learn more at HealthyChild.org

Kids Behaving Brilliantly is a post from: Eco Child's Play

Ask any random stranger today if he’s aware of autism and you’ll likely get a look of disbelief translated as “duh, yes.” It’s a ludicrous question given the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and how often it’s in the headlines. Yet, not long ago, it was a relatively novel condition.

About ten years ago, I worked as a Psychiatric Technician in a children’s mental health crisis unit. The hospital I worked for was the only one in the metro area that accepted autistic children with mental crises (meaning they had become a physical threat to themselves or others). I had never heard of autism prior to this experience – despite having a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. It had been included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders since before I was studying it as a college student, yet it wasn’t widespread enough to merit a single class discussion.

Working with severely distressed Autistic children was a life changing experience. Actually, my favorite patient was an autistic boy named Albert. Even though he was also my most violent patient (and unexpected head-butts to my face were not uncommon), he had a purity and sweetness to him I found indescribable. He was unable to really communicate, but he loved singing and Disney movies and every so often he would quietly utter some random line from one his favorite songs or movies. From the distant recesses of his mind came these brief mystic messages.

Being passionate about psychology, I wanted to understand what was going on inside his mind and why. I started doing some research and learned the developmental story – a baby is born with normally functioning cognition and around age 2-3 something goes awry. Parents repeatedly report that their children “disappear” behind some indiscernible internal wall. As a parent, I cannot fathom this transformation. Albert’s parents, both kind and intelligent physicians, were understandably distraught.

I was stunned to learn that Albert’s sister also had ASD. Considering how uncommon the condition was back at the time, I couldn’t understand how both children in this family could have it. Albert’s mother believed it was something in the environment, as there was a cluster of cases where they lived. Today, concerned parents, physicians, and public health advocates are actively exploring possible environmental triggers to combat what is now an epidemic. In the past decade, the prevalence of ASD has sky-rocketed: the disease now affects 1 in 110 children according to the CDC.

Environmental links are undeniable, especially given our increased exposure to chemicals and heavy metals known to have neurological and developmental impacts.

According to Catherine Zandonella, M.P.H., in “Brain Drain: Could Environmental Chemicals Cause Autism?”:

The chemicals known to cause harm to the developing fetal and infant brain are part of a larger family of 200 chemicals known from workplace studies to cause neurological harm in humans, according to a review article by Philip J. Landrigan of the Children’s Environmental Health Center at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine published in the January, 2010 issue of Current Opinion in Pediatrics. Children are exposed to roughly 3,000 chemicals in personal care products, building materials, cleaning products and motor vehicle fuels, yet fewer than 20 percent of these chemicals have been tested thoroughly to see if they harm the developing brain. “We’ve created a situation where we are exposing our children and grandchildren every day to new chemicals that didn’t exist [until recently],” says Landrigan. “We’ve never tested them, and we don’t have a clue what these chemicals do to early development.”

When it comes to environmental exposures, much of the public focus has been on finding links between vaccines and autism. Landrigan argues, however, that it is time to move on. “There have been a dozen well-conducted epidemiological studies that have failed to detect a connection between vaccines and autism,” Landrigan says, “so I think as a matter of research priority it is time to look at other hazards.”

Chemicals suspected of harming the developing brain include phthalates (found in personal care products), bisphenol A or BPA, (found in the linings of food cans), brominated flame retardants (found in old computers, television sets and foam padding), chlorinated solvents used in industry, the now-banned organochlorine pesticide DDT, and organophosphate pesticides. Although these chemicals have not been directly linked to ASD, the fact that they can cause learning and behavioral problems supports the idea that chemicals in the environment could cause ASD.

ASD is compromising the potential of unacceptable numbers of children. Increased awareness and diagnosis has certainly played a part in this epidemic increase, but it’s only one piece of the puzzle. We have created an environment that is making our children sick. Identifying environmental links and eliminating them should be at the top of every autism agenda. It’s time to raise awareness of how to prevent ASD.

All this month Autism Speaks will be shining the spotlight on autism through their Light It Up Blue campaign and national awareness-building events.  Get involved!

Learn more about National Autism Awareness Month and how to get involved (including The Autism Society’s advocacy work to reform TSCA and better protect children from toxic exposures.)

Read Healthy Child’s position on ASD.

Are You Aware of Autism? is a post from: Eco Child's Play

In a turn of events not even Nostradamus could foresee, Cal Dooley, President and CEO of the American Chemistry Council (ACC), today announced that the millions of dollars the industry trade group has been using to lobby against policies that protect public health will now be used instead to research and develop safer chemicals.

“We’ve been focusing so much on maintaining the status quo and protecting our profits, that we neglected to notice how our bottom line really relies on the health of consumers,” Dooley said at a press conference outside the ACC headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. “If people have to spend the bulk of their income on health care or are working less due to chronic health conditions, they don’t have money left to buy our products. We’ve decided to make products that are safe and healthy for consumers, because it’s simply better for everyone.”

The ACC has also started their own national campaign to overhaul the outdated chemical regulatory system, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), and has promised Congress and the Obama Administration that their member corporations will shoulder any tax burdens involved with increasing research, monitoring, and regulatory oversight. Parents, public health professionals, and environmental advocates across the country were speechless and unable to comment. This moment is simply too good to be true. No, really, it is. April Fools!

Unfortunately, the ACC is still really only concerned about maintaining their deep pockets at our expense, while trying to fool the American people into believing they care about public health. In fact, according to Safer Chemicals Healthy Families:

On the eve of Congressional action, and after years of insisting that the status quo was just fine, organizations like the ACC are suddenly announcing their support for reforming our nation’s toxic chemical policy. What changed? For starters, states are beginning to ban toxic chemicals like BPA. Even worse, consumers are snubbing products that contain toxic chemicals.

Understanding that they can’t fight this trend, the chemical industry has launched a PR campaign trying to appear green and clean; luring in supporters with Web sites designed to look like ours. But if you look past the fluff, you will find that our coalition and chemical industry reps still have very different ideas about what real TSCA reform should look like.

Below are some of the fundamental differences between Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families‘ vision of reform and that of the chemical industry:

What Public Health Advocates Want

• Deciding safety based on real world exposure to all sources of toxic chemicals

What the Chemical Industry Wants

• An assumption that we are only exposed to one chemical at a time, and from one source at a time

Don’t Be Duped! Learn more and tell everyone you know.

• Sign the petition to Congress.

• Sign-up for the Healthy Child Healthy World newsletters so you know exactly what’s going on and when it’s most important for your voice to be heard.

• Share the video, “A Wake-Up Story,” so people can understand why TSCA reform is so important.

Image Courtesy of lepiaf.geo /  CC BY-SA 2.0

Chemical Industry Decides Public Health Really IS Better Than Private Profits is a post from: Eco Child's Play