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news bulletins  april
2008 |
- Fair Trade Curriculum
- Canada to Declare BPA Toxic and Ban Baby Bottles
- May is Pregnancy Awareness Month
- Stem Cells Discovered in Breastmilk
- Realbirth Named Best Parenting Resource
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Could chocolate help our kids become better global citizens? Believe it or not, it can. It all depends on how the cocoa is grown, how it's bought and sold, and what our children are taught about this favorite treat. When the cocoa is sourced one way—from organic farms and bought on "fair trade" terms—chocolate can actually help our children grow into better-informed, more conscientious global citizens. Produced another way, chocolate might offer nothing more than empty calories for your family and trouble for cocoa-growing communities in tropical countries.
How can children learn these lessons from chocolate? Equal Exchange, a pioneer in fair trade, introduced a school curriculum focused on the subject with an emphasis on the small-scale farmers who grow most of the world's cocoa—chocolate's key ingredient. Included in the curriculum are inspiring firsthand accounts from farmers and fair traders, photos from cocoa-farming communities, role-playing games, hands-on projects, exercises for kids to start their own co-operative, as well as math, art, and social studies, all designed to meet national teaching standards.
The 16-unit curriculum, appropriate for grades four through nine, covers:
- Where food comes from, hunger, child labor
- What is fair trade? How is cocoa grown, bought, and sold?
- What is cooperative economics? How do cooperatives promote fairness?
- Activities to identify problems, brainstorm solutions, and carry out projects
—SUE McGOVERN
What Is Fair Trade?
Fair Trade is an equitable trading partnership in which companies negotiate directly with the growers and producers of products such as coffee, chocolate, and sugar. It contributes to sustainable development by securing the rights of otherwise marginalized producers and workers. Companies agree to pay a price and follow procedures that meet the needs of small growers, regardless of fluctuations in world markets.
Canada to Declare BPA Toxic and Ban Baby Bottles
In November, Mothering's article "Out of the Mouths of Babes" told you about teethers, sippy cups, bibs, and other seemingly innocuous plastic baby items containing chemicals that may harm your child's health. Among these chemicals is bisphenol-a. The Canadian government is planning an announcement on Friday to declare bisphenol-a, also known as BPA, a toxic chemical.Widely used to produce plastic polycarbonate food and water containers, some products containing bisphenol are already being removed from shelves by leading Canadian retailers, citing possible health risks. Canada also intends to ban the import and sale of baby bottles made of plastic polycarbonate. Evidence links the chemical to neurological and behavioural problems in babies and could be tied to early puberty, some cancers, diabetes, and obesity.
Environmental groups are adamant that BPA is a dangerous chemical, while the industry says its use in plastic products is safe and claim that media reports about toxic toys are sensational and serve only to frighten parents. Yet, more than 150 government-funded studies have shown health effects in animals at extremely low doses of BPA—sometimes 2,000 times lower than the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) safe levels.
Sources:
"Out of the Mouths of Babes" Mothering Issue 145 - November/December 2007
Canada.com
May is Pregnancy Awareness Month
Pregnancy Awareness Month (PAM), which debuts this May, is the brainchild of holistic lifestyle expert Anna Getty. The goal is to empower pregnant women with "information, 'how-to' ideas, and inspiration." PAM's four main initiatives are education, exercise, nutrition and wellness, and nurture...with an emphasis on sharing how to integrate these elements into their lives for themselves and their wee ones.
How? PAM participants will receive weekly email newsletters with information and advice on the four topics, can enter to win prizes from program sponsors, and can surf the PAM website. Some of their advisory board members include Dr. Alan Greene, Lisa Druxman, Josie Maran and Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa.
Getty says, "In PAM we have adopted the tagline: "Motherhood begins now," and I really believe that. I took that message to heart before I actually became pregnant as a way to prepare my mind, body and household for this fabulous moment of creativity, and my life literally turned upside down, for the better."
For more information, visit www.pregnancyawarenessmonth.com.
Stem Cells Discovered in Breastmilk
By Christine PollockBreastmilk has been found to contain stem cells, according to research presented in January at the International Conference of the Society for Research on Human Milk and Lactation, in Perth, Australia. Dr. Mark Cregan, lecturer in biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Western Australia, sees this significant finding as a stepping stone to new, undiscovered benefits of breastmilk.
Stem cells are "generic" cells that can make exact copies of themselves and also have the ability to produce specialized cells. While adult stem cells are generally specific to certain cell types such as skin and blood, embryonic stem cells are more versatile because they can produce cells for almost any tissue in the body. However, the use of embryonic cells for research is controversial.
Several years ago, while investigating the intricacies of cells in breastmilk, Cregan wondered if it also contained the cells' precursors. He and his team cultured cells from breastmilk and discovered nestin, a stem-cell "marker." In addition to nestin, Cregan and his team found one population of stem cells with the potential to, like embryonic stem cells, differentiate into multiple cell types.
"We already know how breastmilk provides for the baby's nutritional needs, but we are only just beginning to understand that it probably performs many other functions," says Cregan. He is eager to see major changes in the next few years as scientists harvest these stem cells, in a completely ethical manner, to research treatment for conditions such as autoimmune diseases, cancer, spinal injuries, diabetes, and Parkinson's disease.
Realbirth Named Best Parenting Resource
New York's premier pregnancy and parenting education center Realbirth has been named New York City's Best Parenting Resource in New York magazine's annual Best of New York edition, published on March 10.
The magazine described Realbirth as "a touchy-feely haven for new and expecting parents" providing "engaging childbirth education."
Realbirth founder Erica Lyon commented, "Our community has been growing steadily ever since we opened in 2003, and it's great that Realbirth has now been recognized as a true haven for expecting and new parents. Everyone needs a haven during the shift to parenthood, and it's an honor to be able to offer that service to New York's parents."
In March 2007, Erica Lyon's book The Big Book of Birth was described by the New York Post as "reassuring, humane and endlessly useful." The book has become the first must-have manual specifically designed for those giving birth.
Launched in December 2003 at 54 W22nd Street, Realbirth has changed the face of pregnancy, birth and postpartum classes by creating supportive information-packed classes and groups that clients trust enough to recommend to friends. Teaching pregnancy nutrition classes, green nursery classes, sling workshops and infant massage, Realbirth offers a range of support for adjusting to new parenthood.
Source: Realbirth
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