www.farmtoconsumer.org
gaia-health.comVoices that resound are indeed heard. This just received:
Dear Rose Marie,
A few days ago, you got an email about our petition asking Universal Pictures to change their Lorax movie website to be more green. This was important to us because when we grow up we will really want a healthy planet, so we worked hard to change the world.
This week we found out we did it! Woo hoo! Now visitors will see a gruvvulous "Go Green" Truffula tuft button that Universal put on their big website -- the button links to a whole page of tips about how to help the environment. You, yes you, and 57,238 others helped us put it there by signing our petition.
We are so proud! Some adults say they're role models for kids, but we think we're being role models for adults. We are also proud because so many of you helped us. Even though we might be little we can still make a lot of change in anything we work hard at.
Our petition was so much fun. You can make one at Change.org, too -- just click here! We were super psyched and wanted to check signatures every second! We graphed how many, but it blew right off the poster! It's great for people to be caring about the environment!
To wrap up, we'd just like to say:
Thank you so much for all your support.
We needed Universal to be a good sport.
We are the changers, the changers that say,
"Thank you so much on this glorious day!
You helped us a ton," we needed to say,
"We couldn't have done it any other way."Sincerely,
- Ollie, Lanie, Georgia, Zoe, Jake, Alex, Jacob, Sophia, Ben, Miky, Jeffery, Camily, Vikrum, Lulu, Nicole, and Ted (aka Mr. Wells)
Lorax Victory!
"You helped us a ton," we needed to say, "We couldn’t have done it any other way."
- Mr. Wells's 4th Grade Class
Quite a provocative topic — some might even say alarmist. Yet scientist after scientist got up to the podium and presented hard data linking pesticides and other chemicals to learning disabilities, asthma, early puberty, childhood cancer and more.
No one answered the day's question directly, but the evidence pointed unmistakably to a resounding, very sobering "yes."
At the end of the day, I walked away with three strong emotions. First, deep appreciation for the researchers who do this important work. Studies tracking chemical exposures and health outcomes from conception through puberty are complex, expensive — and oh, so important. Their careful science is bringing to light linkages that have not been understood before.
Second, I felt just as deeply impatient, with a touch of anger mixed in. How can it be that our policies still allow pregnant women and children to eat, drink and breathe chemicals we know are especially harmful to young minds and bodies? Much of the science presented last week was completed years ago, and new studies confirm what we already know. Just how much evidence do we need before we, as a society, make the changes that will protect our children?
And third, I felt a renewed and nearly bottomless gratitude for our family's health.
How can our policies allow children to eat, drink & breathe chemicals we know harm young minds and bodies?
I have two children making their way through junior high and high school now, so the research on hormones and cognitive function hits very close to home. I can only imagine the challenges that children — and their families — face as they navigate cancer treatments, learning disabilities, early puberty or the hurdles posed by autism.
This puts our struggles with pre-teen attitude in proper perspective, and left me wanting to hug both our kids very close.
The provocative seminar was co-sponsored by three UC Berkeley programs: the School of Public Health, the Maternal & Child Health Program, and the Center for Environmental Research & Children's Health. Some highlights from the day's presentations:
These findings were from the long term CHAMACOS study, which is following 600 mothers in Salinas, CA from pregnancy through their children's puberty. They track exposure to pesticides and other chemicals by taking blood and urine samples several times each year, then monitor the children's health and development in various ways as they grow.
They've been tracking the families for 12 years now. Next up, they'll be reporting their findings on early puberty, particularly important for girls as it seems to increase the chances that they'll be facing breast cancer later in life.
A few more findings of interest:
This last finding was a particular eye-opener. Basically it means, among other things, that current pesticide rules are wholely inadequate to protect those of us born with genes that put us on the more sensitive end of the spectrum. Policymakers in DC and state capitols across the country definitely need to wrap their minds around this bit of science.
Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday of the year. This is partly because it involves good food, and the time to both create and enjoy it that is all too often lacking in our busy lives. But it's also because it offers a moment to step back from that busyness, take a deep breath, and truly appreciate all we have.
As a mom, our family's health is at the very top of that list, and the news from last week's seminar helps ensure that I won't take it for granted. It also renews and grounds my motivation to fight for change. Because no child deserves to have their healthy, joyful childhood stolen by harmful chemicals.
Toxins, pesticides, and pollutants in our environment are having an effect on fertility. In this post I am going to focus on men’s fertility and the effect these chemicals are having on their fertility.
Facts about Male Fertility
* Sperm counts have been cut in half in the last fifty years – and 85% of that is abnormal.
* In the last few decades there has been a 200% increase in male genital birth defects.
* Male birth rates have declined. Since 1970 there have been nearly 3 million fewer baby boys.
* The quality of sperm is declining. Eighty-five per cent of the sperm produced by a healthy male is DNA-damaged.
* Boys have a higher incidence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, learning disabilities, Tourett’s syndrome, cerebral palsy and dyslexia.
There are recent studies that are now pointing the finger at pesticides and chemicals in our water as the cause to men’s declining fertility. So now that we know the problem what can we do about it?
1. Reduce exposure to these estrogen mimicking toxins.
2. Eat organic produce, meats, and dairy.
3. Aid the liver in cleansing toxins and excess hormones.
Herbs such as milk thistle, burdock, red clover, dandelion, and yellow dock help the liver to do its job of clearing the body of these excess estrogens and toxins that accumulate in the body.
4. Rebuild and promote sperm health with herbs and supplements.
Men’s Multivitamin – Make sure to take a 100% whole food men’s multivitamin to make sure important vitamins and minerals (vitamin C, folic acid, zinc, and b12) are in his diet everyday.
Maca – Men who use Maca have been shown to have an increase in libido and healthy sperm.
Tribulus – Tribulus helps to increase testosterone in the body. It has been proven tribulus terrestris can increase the amount of Luteinizing Hormone (LH) produced by the body’s pituitary gland. LH stimulates the testes to secret the male hormone testosterone.
l-carnitine - It is a necessary nutrient for sperm cells to function normally. In studies supplementing with L-carnitine helps to normalize sperm motility in men with low sperm quality.
CoQ10 – Acts as an antioxidant protecting the sperm cells from damage. Studies have shown a connection between coQ 10 levels and sperm health. COQ10 has also been shown to increase sperm motility.
Resources:
http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/doczone/2008/disappearingmale/infertility.html
