Say Yes to Organic Food
September 18, 2007 by Amy Spangler | one question or comment
credits: iStockphoto
Acknowledging that pregnancy is a critical time for establishing baby’s well-being, Linn recommends ten simple measures to safeguard you and your child while being kinder to the planet.
#1 Say yes to organic. It will reduce your exposure to pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, and nitrites.
#2 Get pretty without chemicals. Cosmetics and other products contain chemicals like phthalates.
#3 Switch from cotton to organic cotton. Apparently conventional cotton accounts for 10 percent of the world’s pesticide use.
#4 Furnish wisely. Buy products that are teflon and scotchguard free.
#5 Follow old rules. No alcohol, cigarettes, illicit drugs, or kitty litter.
#6 Avoid mercury. Some fish contain high levels of mercury, a known neurotoxin.
#7 Let the bugs and weeds be. While many pesticides are banned in the U.S., some stay in the environment for decades.
#8 Pick your pans. Avoid pans with teflon coatings.
#9 Renovate later. Toxic fumes can affect unborn babies.
#10 If it stinks, it stinks. When something smells bad, it is often bad for you.
Amy Linn is a freelance writer and editor based in Missoula, Montana, and a guest editor for Grist.
Excellent recommendations. Seafood is such an important part of the diet and is often neglected due to concerns of mercury. The decision of what fish to eat can be a challenge and often contradictory. At the very least, women should know that FDA and EPA have issued advisories about mercury contamination in commonly-sold fish. It's targeted at women of child-bearing age and kids, and advises no consumption of swordfish, tilefish, shark and king mackerel, and also advises those same target groups to limit consumption of albacore tuna and tuna steaks to 6 oz. per week or less.
The problem is, this information is hard to find and is not usually available where it is most necessary: your supermarket.
Oceana, a conservation group focused on mercury is trying to get major grocery companies to post this government advice at their seafood counters. Thanks, in part to their work, Whole Foods, Safeway stores, and Wild Oats voluntarily agreed to post the FDA's recommendations and they have had positive responses from customers and no loss in seafood sales. But other companies like Wal-Mart, Costco, and Giant have refused to do so. Oceana has a list of which companies care about their customers' health enough to post this advice, as well as a list of companies that don't. You can get the Green List and Red List at their website.
They even have an interactive map there to assist in finding a grocery store near you that is posting the information you need as well as actions you can take to help get the signs posted in a store near you. While there will still be some confusion, at least this would be a start in helping us eat what is good for our babies and avoid what is bad.