What’s even scarier than the scariest of Halloween costumes? How about the labor abuses suffered by women and children in third world countries?

This year, little Hannah Montanas and Harry Potters can have a treat up their sleeves as they get out the word about beneficial Fair Trade sales to the homes they visit on October 31st.

It’s called Reverse Trick-or-Treating and allows participants in the U.S. and Canada not just to receive candy from neighbors but also distribute Fair Trade certified chocolate donated by companies. The participants are looking to promote the work they are doing to give poor people a fighting chance to make a living and provide for their families.

A card accompanying the chocolate informs recipients of poverty and child labor problems rampant in the cocoa industry that produces much of the bite-size candy eaten at Halloween and other products consumed throughout the year. It explains how Fair Trade certified chocolate combats that poverty by supporting and creating labor opportunities.

The candy has been generously donated by Equal Exchange, Alter Ego, Sweet Earth and La Siembra. The participating non-profit organizations taking the lead in the effort include:

• Africa Action
• Amherst Fair Trade Partnership
• Ballston Spa Fair Trade Coalition
• Fair Trade Federation
• Global Exchange
• Green America
• International Labor Rights Forum
• Jeannette Rankin Peace Center
• Montclair Fair Trade Coalition
• Not For Sale
• Oasis/Stop The Traffik
• San Diego Friends of Fair Trade
• Taos Fair Trade Steering Committee
• Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
• United Methodist Church (UMCOR/GBC

You can order the chocolate and cards for free from Global Exchange’s Sweet Smarts Network from now until the October 1st deadline and will only be charged $5.50 for shipping and packing supplies. Just fill out the order form and you are on your way.

Let us know how your neighbors responded to the lovely gesture of receiving not just a thank you but also a chocolate from your family this year.

Image: Matt McGee

No one growing up during the upbeat, Mattel-directed Sixties figures they’ll be worse off in middle age, forced to scrounge harder for work, buy less, live smaller.

Those Barbie songs my sister and I sang along to in our pink and green room constituted teenage visions of a supercalifragelistic future that we owned, co-starring Dick Van Dyke, four kids, a shiny Lincoln and full-service yacht.

“Here’s a cake, that you and I can make, I’ll share the recipe, if you say yes to me.”

But due to the recession and soaring costs of raising two girls in the city, I’m singing a different tune today on my birthday. Sure, I married Ken, but where are the other Camelot conquests I was guaranteed?

Gone is the wine country home, jaunts to spas on a whim, the black velvet boxes concealing gems he bought for me with cash from cases he settled.

Despite the unexpected Barbie plot twist, I can’t help but feel a deep sense of gratitude as I take inventory of what I do have.

For instance, I spotted a gold necklace on Fillmore Street with a round charm that that bore the words I am completely blessed. I didn’t dare buy the $600 trinket but I have kept the affirmation close to my heart.

So, I’ve decided to count my blessings today (my colleague Sarah Irani should know that quite a few of them came free!). Here are a whopping 50, plus one for good luck.

I am completely blessed because…

1. I birthed two healthy, spectacular daughters who teach me something new each day.

2. I married a great father.

3.  I follow my bliss every day that I write.

4. My girls are strapping amazons because God gave me super human breast milk.

5. I’m surrounded by friends who are like family.

6.   My mother is still around and down to just one biting criticism of me a day.

7. I am never hungry when I don’t want to be.

8. We live without war in the  streets of San Francisco.

9. I have not been killed by a truck like my brother.

10. My religious faith has connected me to a community of fellow yentas to grow old with.

11. My older sister is an exceptional auntie.

12. My older brother is keeping the family business afloat during rocky times.

13. My pug and cat think I’m their mommy and I am.

14. I married father nature.

15. I’m healthy and strong from exercise and can climb the fence when I get locked out.

16. The builder’s daughter has always had a roof over her head.

17. I have commercial-free TV.

18. I have art on my walls from friends who made it.

19. I have memorized dozens of bedtime songs.

20. My daughters sing the songs I have sung to them.

21. My children are known for being creative and kind.

22. My beloved camera almost always works.

23. My children can read and write and like to do both.

24. My children make me exquisite birthday presents and set a regal table with a tiara at my place.

25. I can walk to the movie theater on Saturday nights.

26. No one at the theater asks me if I want the senior discount.

27. My city has excellent public transportation.

28. I can still see very well when I wear magnified lenses.

29. My mom, who unloads much, has kept her box at the iconic Hollywood Bowl.

30. My children get to use the box at the Hollywood Bowl and hear live music.

31. No menopause yet.

32. Menopause will come sooner or later.

33. I think I’ve seen god.

34. I think god is the miracle of birth.

35. I have learned how to kayak.

36. I have learned Italian.

37. Henna makes me higher than jewelry.

38. I married a great teacher.

39. My husband rarely spends money. When he does, it is on books and candy.

40. I have kept my commitments.

41. I’m in a bad girls book club.

42. My book club is all about the food.

43. Decent chick flicks are still being made, i.e. Julie and Julia.

44. I can grow vegetables in my yard to make soup.

45. I can pick flowers in my yard for table bouquets.

46. I can find stylish Sixties-inspired fashion on sale.

47. My Weight Watchers Guru is a Stanford Nutritionist.

48. I have gained the wisdom to see my own culpability.

49. I was born a healthy female in a rich land.

50. I’m a survivor because my Polish grandparents were survivors.

51. Today is my 51st birthday.

Main image: Sparkleneeley

Second image: Luanne Bradley

This is the fourth in Luanne’s new lifestyle column, Life in the Green Lane.

My mother, the nice Jewish lady seen here at her box at the Hollywood Bowl,  is among the biggest paper and water consumers in the country. It hasn’t been easy getting her to turn over a new leaf. (Or rather, fewer of them.)

She has a varied and colorful history of helping herself to fistfuls of disposable napkins at restaurants, collecting hundreds of brown paper grocery bags from Gelson’s Market and requiring daily soaks or showers. She’s pretty darn clean, my mother.

“I never, ever get dressed before bathing,” she has always told me.

“What? So you’ve never heard of French cologne?”

Last summer, I played the dutiful daughter and learned Italian to help mom out on our trip to Italy in September. Turns out, the only phrase that came in handy from Rome to Como was piu l’asciugamani, por favore: More towels, please. Uttered even more frequently to the nice Italian chambermaids was piu faccia l’asciugamani: More face towels!

If there’s someone out there who uses more wash cloths than my 80-year-old mother, I’d like to meet her. No exaggeration, there were several 3-foot high stacks of  Italian terrycloth squares atop the marble vanity of each hotel we visited. How does one person use so many towels without wiping off their face?

The thing is, she would never use a towel more than once. Some people go through towels but they hang them to dry and use them again. Mom won’t even wear one of her 200 Façonnable print blouses more than once without dry cleaning it. Who knew daily treks to Gelson’s Market could work up such a sweat?

And as far as paper napkins and facial tissues are concerned, I think she associates having ample supplies on hand with being well-cared for.

Yep, that’s how Cherie rolls. I love her dearly and wouldn’t trade her in for anyone (except of course, Joan Rivers, and who wouldn’t?). But I have been frustrated trying to convert her to the ways of the unwashed revolutionaries fighting to conserve resources.

Funny, mom is a dichotomy in some ways; she stays out of the sun, shuns drugs (even aspirin) and sips herb tea instead of coffee. But she can’t seem to get on board that eco bus, apart from abiding by L.A. drought restrictions on water use.

Before he died two years ago, my dad, a real estate developer, considered himself to be an early conservationist.

The logo on his office stationary read, “The environment is our business.” He was  frugal and a stickler about turning off lights, shutting off air, cutting down on sprinkler and telephone use, buying used cars for his kids and only building as much housing as he felt the market required. He was one of the first advocates of a mass transit system in L.A. He swore by solar power and used it to warm his pool starting in the 70s.

After dad’s years of chronic scolding, mom did learn to turn off lights and only cranks the heat when she is “freezing to death.”

Yet visits to her McMansion in the Valley become guilt-ridden ones for me and my conscientious kids as we stand idly by watching Nana toss paper and plastic into the garbage. Her gated community even offers recycling and composting bins to be picked up by the waste removal company. The kids and I have explained the benefits of composting to her many times, to which she has replied:

“Why would you throw extra food into a container when you have a garbage disposal?”

In truth, I can’t see her stomaching such a crude process as composting. After all, her breakfast room place settings go into the dishwasher even if no one has touched the utensils. “They’ve been out and so they are dirty,” she informs me. She glares at me with one of those disapproving scowls as if to say that I’m the one who’s crazy.

I forgive her these limitations. Mom is what you call a neat freak. My therapist has urged me not to elaborate.

The good news is that I am making a few inroads with the recycling lectures.

“Now, listen carefully, Mom, when you use a glass jar, let’s say of spaghetti sauce, and you toss it into the trash, it goes into a landfill. Landfills are really full and bad for the planet. If you recycle it, someone can reuse the glass to make something consumers can use.”

For years, she has refused to buy these arguments from me, her youngest. But the other day, when I questioned her about trash disposal again on the phone, she checked in with my older sister who was sitting nearby.

“Do you recycle your trash?” she asked Deb, while I waited patiently for the survey results. “Yes, of course I do,” said my sister. She’s the oldest.

“Oh,” said mom, now seemingly convinced. “I’ll have to tell Mariano (her helper) to start separating the stuff.”

And to think, all it took was a family intervention.

Main image: Visual Panic

Other images: Luanne Bradley

We go because we love movies. We go for the delightful or frightful experience of being swept into another reality for a couple of hours. We go crazy when bombarded with highly stylized Mercedes and Coke ads before previews and a show.

The big screen in a darkened room has always had a dramatic impact on the captive viewer, more than a television screen and much more than a computer monitor or iPhone. And they know it. They bet on it. They exploit it. They profit from it.

They are corporate advertisers for soft drinks, jeans, cars and all of the other products being shoved down our throats everywhere we turn.

There once was a place where we could escape it; the movies. That was high art, people. That was art not marred by slick images of low performance drivers in high performance sports vehicles racing irresponsibly down canyons, egging on male viewers to do the same to be cool. U dig?

Oh, they’re crafty, all right. They even design ads that resemble film trailers to confuse us. You pay to see the movie, but you are stuck in your seat, prey of the corporate beast on an unfair playing ground.

What can we consumers do to combat this hideous phenomenon? I mean isn’t avoiding this the exact reason we opt for Weeds and Hung and Nurse Jackie and all of the non-commercial television shows? Isn’t this precisely why we curtail Saturday cartoons for our vulnerable young ones who absorb the subliminal message that you must buy products to be happy?

Now you can shout out “action” and join the Captive Motion Picture Audience of America’s (CMPAA) campaign to Say NO to TV commercials before feature films at movie theaters.

In an open letter to the Regal Entertainment Group and other theater owners, this organization puts forth the case:

This is the last straw. You’ve done a great job conditioning the movie-going public to accept pre-movie billboard ads, your commercial theater radio networks, and nearly every other form of commercialism under the sun. Now, after the lights go down and we’re entrenched in our seats, you’ve decided to expand into pushing TV commercials. It now seems the only difference between a movie screen and a TV screen is size. We, the captive audience, have had enough. TV commercials belong on television, not before movies we pay for.

Captive Audience says its primary goal is to urge theater owners to discontinue showing “invasive”, TV-like commercials before the beginnings of movies. Since many theater chains have a monopoly on first-run films in many areas of the country, it considers the practices to be unfair and intolerable. I couldn’t agree more, and it’s good to know someone is taking a stand.

Perhaps they will show that TV-like ads will prove unprofitable as they spark a consumer backlash. Beyond enraged viewers like me booing loudly at the screen and throwing popcorn in protest, consumers are urged to sign an online  petition. Yes, it’s a more civil way to go.

Among other excellent statements, it reads:

We, the undersigned, believe that the further proliferation of advertisements into venues where the viewer cannot disregard them, such as a darkened movie theater, greatly detracts from the escapism of a motion picture. We believe the forced viewing of commercials before films will prove to be unprofitable for theaters that engage in the practice, and further alienate audiences into seeking alternative means of entertainment. We hope to urge Regal, operating the largest theater circuit in the United States, to set an example within its industry and discontinue the showing invasive, TV-like commercials from the beginnings of movies.

So far there are more than 3,300 signatures, an indication lots of us are mad as hell and can’t take it anymore.  Bombarding us with ads at cinema venues goes against a green sensibility -  and does not have a happy ending as far as conservation is concerned.

Perhaps this is why in Chicago, even more extreme steps have been taken by a school teacher who filed a class action lawsuit against Loews Cineplex Entertainment Group and Loews Piper’s Theatres, INC. for showing commercials. Miriam Fisch’s suit stated that “failure to start the movie at the scheduled time and only after foisting commercial ads on the movie-going audience constitutes a breach of contract.” Although the judge through out the lawsuit, the teacher got her message across.

Images: Corbis

]]> http://www.ecosalon.com/petition-aims-to-ban-invasive-commercials-at-the-movies/feed/ 1 http://www.ecosalon.com/happy-green-bee-keeps-me-buzzing/ http://www.ecosalon.com/happy-green-bee-keeps-me-buzzing/#comments Fri, 17 Apr 2009 12:00:57 +0000 Sarah Irani http://www.ecosalon.com/?p=12877

These have to be the cutest kids ever. Not just because they’re, well, adorable children, but look at what they’re wearing! Soft, comfy, organic cotton striped clothes! If these aren’t the happiest little munchkins you’ve ever seen…well…don’t tell that to their moms.

And just what are these tykes wearing? Clothes made by Happy Green Bee, a manufacturer of Fair Trade Certified, organic cotton children’s clothing. I found them at a trade show and got sucked into their happy little hive. Not only was it the bright, fun colors that attracted me – but the softness of the clothes, as well. And don’t be intimidated thinking that organic cotton has to be expensive – they’ve got a great sale page too.

Now if only they made this stuff in my size.

Last year, USA Today ran a series of articles looking at the issue of  Toxic Air and America’s Schools. Working with researchers and scientists, they analyzed the extent of industrial pollution outside 128,000 schools across the nation. They have even created an easy search tool so that you can check out your child’s school for air toxicity.

What USA Today discovered is frightening. School children throughout the United States are breathing in extreme levels of toxic chemicals on a routine basis. And these are chemicals that can cause all sorts of health problems, from asthma to cancer, as well as trigger learning disabilities.

As a result of Today’s investigative reporting, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the other day that it now plans to monitor the air that schoolchildren breathe at 62 schools in 22 states in an effort to determine exactly how toxic the air is.

Starting mid-April, the air surrounding chosen schools will be monitored for at least 60 days. The results will then be analyzed, allowing the EPA to evaluate the health risks students at each school might be facing.

You can find a list of the 62 schools to be tested here, and bookmark this post for timely updates in the future.

Image: duchamp

I never in my life thought I’d have a baby. Seriously. I was always one of those people who spouted about overpopulation and my own independence – motherhood was just not on my list of things to do.

But when I found out I was pregnant, and in a stable relationship and a good place in my life, I was overjoyed. The timing was perfect. And as I approach the final month of my pregnancy, what I’m struck by most is how regular an occurrence this whole pregnancy thing is (after all, we all came out of our mothers’ wombs), and yet what an incredibly miraculous thing it is each and every time.

Yes, calling it “miraculous” is cliche, but I’m actually creating another human being inside my body! How else can I describe it? Here’s my story so far.

Discovery – “Ohmigod! I’m pregnant!”

I am at a music festival in Washington state, camping for the weekend, expecting my cycle to show up at any minute and make my weekend just a little less fun. I’ve got no energy and tender, swollen breasts. Come on, I tell my body, hurry up and get it over with! But this is getting weird. My cycle is always regular, like clockwork, always 28 days.

But by day 30, 31…I begin to suspect…my husband and I are giggly and excited by the prospect and although we had not been trying to get pregnant, we were not taking precautions against it, either – happy to allow it to happen if it did. We decide to wait a week before taking a pregnancy test, just to be sure.

And yes, I get the little plus symbol: positive. I begin to tell my closest friends but decide not to tell my family until a few months have passed. I’ve always felt more comfortable sharing my life’s intimacies with my friends than with my relatives.

These first few weeks of knowing I am pregnant are a bit surreal. After all, I don’t feel different. I’m just me, my normal self, but with the knowledge that a tiny, invisible life is forming way deep down inside me. I smile a lot.

And So It Begins – The 1st Trimester

Then one evening, right around the one-month marker, a wave of nausea hits and I have to lie down to let it pass. Uh oh. Now the pregnancy is real. Morning sickness? Ha! How about midday and evening sickness, too? My entire life begins to revolve around my stomach. What can I stand to eat today? How many hours will this wave of nausea last? Will I actually be able to throw up (and subsequently get some relief)?

I throw up once a day, sometimes twice, and keep a barf bowl handy wherever I am. Vomiting is actually a relief because it gives me a brief respite from the nausea and that’s the time when I can scarf down a meal and a prenatal vitamin. Holding down my food is never a problem – just getting the appetite to eat in the first place is!

My vitamin of choice is New Chapter Organics “Perfect Prenatal” because it’s made completely from food and herb extracts – there’s nothing synthetic about it and it doesn’t make my nausea worse.

I know my body is doing a lot of work, creating a heart, a brain, a nervous system – but a few times I cry and say “I don’t want to be pregnant anymore!” I don’t really mean it, of course, but 3 months of nausea, heartburn, spaciness and exhaustion will make you wish for any escape.

I’m experiencing some existential introspection, too. There’s something about creating a new life that makes me very aware of my own mortality. Not to be dreary, but it’s very clear to me that I’m bringing in a new person who will live a life and also, one day, die. I see my future death with a clarity I’ve never had before. It’s not depressing – it just makes me want to appreciate each day of living even more.

The Good Part – The 2nd Trimester

And then, it starts to clear up. Those difficult months of exhaustion are behind me and I am energized! Whoa! Right around month four I start to feel better than I ever have in my life. I feel like my superpowers are activated and I’m the most beautiful woman in the world! Of course, hardly anybody can tell yet. My belly is popping out, but right now it just looks chubby.

I’ve known since before I got pregnant that I would want a homebirth, and after meeting with a few midwives I choose the one I like the best. She makes home visits and always spends at least an hour with me at each appointment.

After taking care of the clinical stuff, we chat about life in general, health issues, even sexuality and husband stuff. Her physical advice for me is to go for a walk everyday and have plenty of sex (not just for the intimacy, but because semen contains prostaglandin, which softens the cervix and will help it dilate when I’m in labor).

She instills in me a great deal of confidence about my body’s ability to bear a child and is impressed by my healthy diet. I’ve been vegetarian for years, and am basically sticking to it for the pregnancy, but I’ve craved and eaten meat a few times so far – antibiotic-free, of course. I listen to my body and give it what it wants, which mostly turns out to be good stuff, anyway.

At about 4 1/2 months I decide to join a health club so I can make use of their saltwater pool. Turns out they have bellydance class, too, which is a lifesaver as my pregnancy progresses. I get a few aches and pains, mostly an achy left hip, but hip circles and other bellydance moves help relieve it. I take it a little slower than the other women in the class, but I know I’m healthy and the muscle isolations are excellent for my changing body.

People ask me if I’m having any weird cravings. Honestly, no. Sure, there have been a few times I’ve wanted to eat foods I don’t normally eat, like spaghetti with meatballs, or raw tomatoes. Or the time I wanted lime yogurt – it absolutely had to be lime, no other flavor would do! But nothing out of the ordinary or bizarre. Never, ever have I wanted pickles and ice cream. Not at the same time, anyway.

As the baby moves inside of me, I become more and more aware of its presence. When it first started to move, I thought perhaps I was having gas bubbles. Everybody said I’d feel flutters, but it feels to me more like little bubbly bounces. Nevertheless, it’s a good feeling, and I’m getting more excited.

I’ve chosen not to have an ultrasound because I don’t want to know the sex until the baby is actually born. I’d rather find out for myself rather than be informed by a machine. And the reality is, ultrasounds and amniotic testing may be able to point out developmental problems or diseases in my baby, but at this point in my pregnancy, there is absolutely no way I would terminate. I will find out everything when the child is born, and we will take it as it comes.

The Home Stretch – The 3rd Trimester

I definitely look pregnant now, and I love it! It’s fun to weigh myself at the health club and actually get excited about putting on another pound. Plus the big mirrors there allow me to admire my rounding belly. Thankfully I’ve not put on any excess weight – just what’s normal, and I thank my healthy diet and regular light exercise for that.

The baby’s kicks and movements are getting more defined. I’m not as light on my feet as I was just a few months ago – I have to walk a little slower and I don’t feel like going out dancing anymore. I need to rest more often – bouts of tiredness are taking me over again. But still, I feel great and very, very beautiful. My cheeks are rosy and my husband says he’s never seen me look so cute or so happy. I agree!

We’re thinking of names, but have agreed not to make a final decision until after the baby is born and we’ve had a few days to meet and greet the little person. Since we’re having a homebirth, we won’t have to turn the birth certificate in right away. Every checkup with my midwife is a confirmation that things are going great and progressing normally. She recommend I take digestive enzymes to help me digest protein and other nutrients better (it also relieves the gas and belching associated with pregnancy), but otherwise I’m in optimum health.

I do feel the need for more protein as the baby hits its growth spurt in these final months. I eat eggs for breakfast almost everyday and plenty of nuts. For superfood nutrition I’ve been drinking orange juice with spirulina as well as goji juice daily. I also crave meat more often in these final months and – always listening to my body – seek out the best meat I can find and eat it. I get my greens with huge salads almost daily and when I crave sweets, I’ll usually go for Coconut Bliss ice cream (made purely from coconut milk, agave nectar and cacao). That’s not to say I haven’t had some cookies or Cheetos too, but I keep that to a minimum. So far, no backaches unless I’m on my feet too long and no swollen ankles. Pregnancy is, so far, an incredible experience!

Nesting is kicking in big time and it’s harder to stay focused on blog posts, graphic design or any other kind of work. Sometimes I get all spaced out and have a hard time concentrating. This is all normal, of course – just the hormones. All I want to do is clean house, clear the clutter and prepare some space for our new little roommate. I’m given a sewing machine and take some time to applique’ birds and other cute designs onto the baby clothes I’ve accumulated. Our cat, normally detached, is becoming more affectionate. Does she know what’s to come? We hope she won’t be jealous.

Sometimes I get kicks and movements in my belly that are so vigorous, they take me by surprise. I talk to my baby but don’t always know what to say, since I haven’t met him or her yet. Still, it’s important to talk and sing. Once, my husband was talking to my belly and I could feel the baby move towards the sound of his voice. Incredible! I even started keeping a journal of thoughts just for the baby, something I’ll give to my child when he or she is old enough to be interested.

I’ve made a skin cream out of cocoa and shea butters and coconut oil. I melt them all down on light heat and mix them together and rub this mixture on my belly and breasts almost everyday. So far no stretch marks (although I hear sometimes they don’t appear until after you’ve given birth and your skin is trying to go back to normal). Sometimes I’ll get my husband to rub the cream on me because I still feel really sexy and enjoy being touched!

My belly is big and impossible to ignore, but I feel more like a goddess than ever, and being full with another life makes me want to show it off. I’m not shy to wear tighter clothes and I’m definitely not shy to initiate sex with my husband. This is a great time since, well, we don’t have to worry about getting pregnant! Positioning is awkward, true, but we find a few that work and enjoy.

I’ve been reading voraciously throughout my pregnancy, particularly focusing on books with a positive outlook towards a natural birth. These are the books that inspired me and showed me how beautiful and powerful a woman’s body can be. Even if you plan a hospital birth and conventional OB care, I recommend doing a lot of reading about your choices to make your pregnancy and birth the very best it can be.

Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin.

Ina May is the country’s foremost midwife and her story, and the other birth stories included, opened me up to what a beautiful rite-of-passage birth can be, and how genuine medical emergencies are not nearly as common as we think.

Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin.

This book speaks to the realities of homebirth vs. hospital birth and what every woman needs to know to educate herself about her options, risks and consequences.

Birthing From Within by Pam England.

This book educates about your birth options and natural pain-coping methods, the father’s perspective, if and when drugs are the right thing to use, and how to get deeper into yourself to recognize and release your fears and have a beautiful birth.

Journey Into Motherhood edited by Sheri L. Menelli.

An entire book of natural birth stories, both at home and in a hospital. Yes, there is some pain and fear, but there is also a lot of empowerment and ecstasy. I always felt great, inspired and strong after reading the stories in this book.

Sacred Birthing by Sunni Karll.

A spiritual perspective on the powerful energies present during pregnancy and birth and the subtle, spiritual needs of the mother, father and newborn.

You’re a kid again. Now, imagine sitting at your cramped classroom desk, your brain already stuffed full of letters and numbers, and the sunlight and fresh breeze beckoning you from outside. All you can think about is recess, and rightfully so! Although any kid can explain the importance of recess, studies now show that school kids with daily recess breaks show better classroom behavior than kids who go without.

The scientific explanation for this is that the brain needs a break. I’d like to add that humans evolved in the outdoors and we have an innate need for natural light, fresh air and physical activity. So I say, give the kids a break! And give “˜em more, when possible. The educational system ought to include more outdoor activities like plant identification walks and organic gardening. This way kids can get both their brains and bodies stimulated, and gain environmental awareness to boot.

Image: Mike Baird

The topic of soy can create a big debate among healthy folks, and the viewpoints can be extreme. Who knew a humble green bean could be so controversial? Some tout soy products as a panacea for health and wellness, while others swear that soy is a sure ticket to infertility and “man boobs”. What are the facts?

Aren’t Asian cultures particularly healthy because of consumption of soy?

Asians don’t actually eat as much soy as we think – only about 10-36 grams per day. In contrast, a cup of tofu or soy milk contains over 200 grams of soy. Besides, the most common soy foods in Asia are fermented products such as tempeh, miso and shoyu (soy sauce), while most Westerners eat unfermented, highly processed versions of soy. Unfermented soy contains enzyme inhibitors that block protein digestion (among other things we’ll get to below).

Isn’t soy healthy because it’s a natural plant product?

Most soy foods are highly processed and bear very little resemblance to the natural soybean (think soy hotdogs or TVP – textured vegetable protein). Just because something is touted as a “health” food, doesn’t really make it healthy. Whole foods are always the best way to get your food nutrition – the more processed a food is, the less natural and ultimately less healthy it is.

What’s so wrong with soy hotdogs and TVP anyway? Aren’t they good, protein-rich, meat substitutes?

Soy is more filler than food. For many years, the protein left over from the extraction of soy oil was sold to farms as animal feed. After some time, the food industry figured out how to make this highly processed soy protein palatable to the human tongue and began to aggressively market it in foods like soy dogs, soy meat substitutes and the like. Sure, there’s protein, but it also takes quite a bit of sugar, salt or MSG to make soy protein actually taste good. The healthiest foods are whole foods, not processed ones.

How will a diet heavy in soy impact my health?

Unfermented soy can inhibit protein absorption, cause flatulence and increase the chance of developing kidney stones. The processing of soy may remove some of these problems. Soy also inhibits growth. Even within the animal feed industry, the amount of soy protein that can be fed to animals has to be limited or the animals themselves will suffer problems with growth and fertility.

What’s up with genetically modified soy?

Most soy grown in the world is genetically modified (GM) – with 87% of American soy being GM. And what’s the big deal about that? Not a lot of research has been done on the effects of GM foods, but one particular study on rats showed that unborn babies and young infants were particularly harmed by the effects of genetically modified soy.

But aren’t a lot of infants fed soy-based formulas?

Soy infant formula, a common alternative to cow’s milk for lactose-intolerant babies, contains endocrine disruptors and phytoestrogens, plant hormones which have been shown to cause premature puberty in young girls and delayed puberty in adolescent boys. It’s a bit like giving a baby birth control pills. Soy infant formula also contributes to soy allergies. (Breast milk is undoubtedly the best food for babies, and if that’s not an option, goat’s milk is the next best thing to try.)

Speaking of allergies…

Soy is among the 8 most common food allergens, with reactions being particularly common among children.

Would this have anything to do with pesticides?

That remains uncertain. However, unless you buy strictly organic, you can bet your soy products are heavily contaminated with pesticides. As a matter of fact, soy is the most contaminated crop we grow in the United States. And don’t forget, non-organic soy is almost certainly genetically modified as well.

How has the demand for soy affected the Amazon rainforest?

The huge global demand for soy (for use in processed foods, animal feed and biofuels) is eating up the rainforest, because farmers have been financially motivated to clear more rainforest land in order to plant this export crop. More deforestation, more global warming.

But still, aren’t soy farms providing jobs?

Actually, for many, soy farming is less like employment and more like slavery. Although slavery was officially outlawed in Brazil over 130 years ago, debt bondage for over 25,000 people continues on Brazilian soy plantations. This is not the kind of farming industry I want to support.

Bottom line: soy is not the magical health food that many tout it to be. Let’s be clear, however, that fermented soy products don’t carry the same negative consequences as unfermented, highly processed soy foods. So if you’re shopping for miso or tempeh, make sure to choose brands that are organic and not genetically modified. And if you’ve been depending on tofu (an unfermented food) for vegetarian protein, try out some of these other vegetarian proteins instead.

Image: Umeboshi Panda

Education is the key when it comes to respecting and protecting the environment. So it makes sense to start teaching kids early about living green and what better way to do this than through books. Recognizing this, book publishers Simon & Schuster have put together a new eco-friendly series of storybooks made from recycled materials and aimed toward helping parents and children learn more about environmental awareness.

Simon & Schuster has teamed up with Keep America Beautiful, who will promote the Little Green Books through their network of affiliates on and off line. Messages from Keep America Beautiful stressing that “a greener world starts with kids who care” will be placed on the inside back covers of all the books.

The first four books of the series were launched for the holidays, focusing on various green issues. In I Can Save the Earth, a little monster discovers how to reduce, reuse and recycle. In The Polar Bears’ Home, a father and daughter learn about global warming, And in Little Panda and Little Monkey, kids under the age of 3 can learn about these animals and their favorite foods.

It seems to me that adults could take a page or two from what kids are learning.