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news bulletins  july
2003 |
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Mothers of Organic
"What if Erin Brockovich, Kelly Preston, Raffi and Dr. Sandra Steingraber were all at the same dinner party ... and you got to listen in?" Welcome to M.O.O. - Mothers of Organic - where mothers help mothers on a mission to raise their families the organic way. Created by Organic Valley, the only national organic brand that is 100 percent farmer-owned, and partnered with the Children's Health and Environmental Coalition, M.O.O. offers a diverse blend of wisdom and support from celebrity activists as well as gardners, chefs, and women who are raising their families on organic farms.
The Mothers of Organic site was created to provide parents practical advice, experience and simple tools to help them make informed decisions regarding their family's well being in today's chemical-laden world. M.O.O. moms share information, discuss environmental concerns, and help instill an eco-conscious spirit in their children. The site is filled with tips and tidbits as well as some down-to-earth sharing and caring from mothers who are living organic and want to help you do the same. In "The Organic Manifesto of a Biologist Mom" environmental writer and cancer survivor Sandra Steingraber brings her mothering heart and biologist soul to the table in explaining "Why organic?". You can read her fabulous piece or download it in beautiful booklet form to share with friends and family. You'll also find an ongoing journal by Amy Forgues, an organic farm woman from Vermont who is now pregnant with her third child.
Looking for specific information? The Online Learning Links section provides a list of internet resources where you can increase your awareness of toxins and their hazards, alternatives to pesticides in homes and schools, and organic farming and products available to you.
To help you bring healthy and organic into your children's lives there's fun stuff such as yoga poses for kids by yoga guru Marcia Wenig, steps for empowering children in the kitchen by Autumn Brennan, gardening with Maine organic mama Gloria Varney, plus two downloadable songs from Raffi, the children's performer. Best of all you can join Mothers of Organic and receive parenting updates, kids activities, newsletters and a packet of organic garden seeds from Gloria.
Visit www.moomom.com and be a part of "mothering our earth, our families, ourselves".
Children's Letters to the President
Whitney McCleery, a mother of 3 from Topanga, CA, recently organized an important activity at her son's elementary school. She went to his first grade classroom and helped the children write letters to President Bush speaking out on topics that were important to them. This activity was designed to teach children to speak out for what they believe in their hearts.
Her purpose for beginning this idea was three-fold:
It is an important time for our President to hear from his constituents (no matter what their political philosophy). Also, the voices of the children represent the future of this country. Their concerns should be considered when making far-reaching policy decisions. When we think of the world the children will inherit, we want it to be a better place.
The sound of children's voices stirs something deep within our souls and brings out the most virtuous side of man --the most caring, humane and loving impulses. Sending the words of the children is akin to sending love. It elicits love in return. These words can change the world.
Only 1/3 to 1/2 of the people vote in this country, and it's a democracy! Perhaps the learning begins now, in early childhood. Perhaps that voter apathy can be changed. If a child writes to the President and gets a response, the message is this: when you write (or vote) you are heard. Each of us can help make the world a better place.
Here are the steps she used for the letter-writing project:
1) Brainstorming for topics the children want to write about. They each picked their own topic to write in his/her letter.
2) Discussing how one addresses public figures with respect and how one states his position/opinion succinctly and politely.
3) Addressing their envelopes for more writing practice and life skills.
4) A cover letter to accompany the children's letters to the President.
Here are some potential topics (which vary with age range) to get the ball rolling:
Most importantly, here's the address:
President George Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington D.C. 20500
New Texas Vaccine Exemption Law
The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) and Americans for
Vaccine Safety and Accountability (AVSA) are joining with the Texas-based parent organization, Parents Requesting Open Vaccine Education (PROVE), in voicing strong support for the new Texas vaccine exemption law. The new law allows parents to exercise a conscientious belief exemption to vaccination.
Together, all three organizations represent more than 200,000 Americans committed to defending the informed consent rights of citizens to make voluntary health care choices when there is a risk of injury or death.
Parent and health care professional groups are responding to last week's outcry by Texas pediatricians and public health officials, who criticized passage of the new vaccine exemption in House Bill 2292, which was signed into law by Governor Rick Perry. NVIC President Barbara Loe Fisher said "Texas is joining 18 other states which allow this kind of vaccine exemption, including every state bordering Texas. These other states are not having raging epidemics of disease just because they respect a parent's right to make educated choices about the benefits and risks of vaccination for their children. It is a basic human right to be able to voluntarily decide what you are willing to risk your life or your child's life for and Texas should be proud to be among the enlightened states which recognize this simple moral fact."
Terry Rondberg, D.C., president of the World Chiropractic Alliance (WCA), which is a member of the lobbying coalition, AVSA, said "Pediatricians should be welcoming the opportunity to have open dialogue with parents about vaccination so they can be partners, not adversaries, with parents in making these important health decisions. No one should be forced to take a health care risk they don't want to take. Only when you own a decision that involves a risk can you take responsibility for it."
Dawn Richardson, president of PROVE, who back grounded Texas legislators for seven years about the importance of parental rights and informed consent to vaccination, said "At a time when physicians and vaccine manufacturers have lobbied so hard for further release of liability for the harm they sometimes do, parents in Texas are grateful to the legislators who have given them back control over which vaccine risks their child will take. I was excited to receive a letter from Speaker of the House Tom Craddick, after the Governor signed the exemption into law stressing the legislature's strong support for parental rights."
The Speaker's letter said in part, "This exemption should assist parents who are subjected to any harassment at schools and day care facilities since a signed notarized exemption form will not be disputable by officials. An additional provision in HB 2292 prohibits any health and human services agency from taking punitive action against a parent for not immunizing their child. Thus, parental decisions will be protected and respected in the future on this issue."
NVIC is a national, non-profit organization founded by parents of vaccine injured children in 1982. It is the oldest and largest parent-led vaccine safety group in the US, representing more than 30,000. PROVE is the largest vaccine safety group in Texas, representing more than 3,500. AVSA represents 14 state and national organizations, including NVIC, Autism Society of America, Illinois Vaccine Awareness Coalition, Lyme Disease Foundation, Massachusetts Citizens for Vaccination Choice, Missouri Citizens' Coalition for Freedom in Health Care, Mothering Magazine, New Hampshire Citizens for Health Freedom, Osteomed II, PROVE, Unlocking Autism, Vaccine Awareness of North Florida, Virginia Families for Vaccine Information and Choice and World Chiropractic Alliance (WCA). WCA, a member of AVSA, represents 60,000 doctors of chiropractic nationally and internationally.
For more information on vaccine safety and informed consent issues go to www.NVIC.org and for more specific information on the Texas law go to www.vaccineinfo.net.
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