Green Daily

The melamine found in infant formula caused kidney problems and even death in infants across China. Then melamine contamination was found in Chinese eggs and most recently, fish feed. All of this has justifiably frightened the residents of Hong Kong to pay a little extra for organic produce.

Whether people are buying organic because it's better for the environment or out of concern for their health, the high end produce market is thriving in Hong Kong despite global belt tightening. In fact, Three Sixty, Hong Kong's largest organic and natural foods store has seen a surge in sales since the melamine scares.

Though organic is perceived as better, China has no standard certification of organic foods. The country relies heavily on the certifications of other countries exporting the goods or from voluntary organic labeling within its borders.

Without strict oversight, there is no telling what is getting passed off as organic. Furthermore, who's letting the melamine get mixed into feed and infant formula in the first place?

The Austrian government recently released a report claiming that genetically engineered (GE) corn crops affected the fertility of mice. This has prompted Greenpeace to insist in a worldwide recall of genetically engineered crops due to the possible impact on humans.

In the study sponsored by the Austrian Ministries for Agriculture and Health, one set of mice was fed natural corn while another group was fed genetically modified maize. The latter group had a marked decrease in offspring amongst the third and fourth generations of study "participants."

There are some things you just don't want to have around your kids. Vicious animals. Fire. Obscenities. Chemicals.

One thing you have to be aware of while shopping is the label on a product. I am certainly guilty of picking up something that says it is "all-natural" and tossing it into my shopping basket without reading the label.

You have to read the labels though. There is no set standard for "natural" products. Your idea of all natural and mine might be completely different and we both might have a different idea than a manufacturer. After I read this post about some natural nail polish, I resolved to be more vigilant in my label reading. I hope you will be too.

Move over Botox, rumors are going around that new eco-friendly LED bulbs are a more effective way to battle the signs of aging. That's right, instead of treating your face with a good ole dose of botulinum toxic poison, a group of German researchers suggest that you might want to consider soaking up some LED rays. These long lasting, low energy bulbs are certainly a greener and more health-friendly way to make you skin look all stretchy and new -- but do they really work?

What do strong local economies, green energy, healthy citizens, and good food all have in common? According to the Red Headed Stranger, they're all a result of family farms. At least, that's what will wrote in an open letter to President-elect Obama last week, urging him to promote family farming as an answer to the current environmental and economic crisis. From the letter:

"(The Good Food Movement) has grown and thrived almost entirely without the support of the federal government. However, now is the right moment for the leadership of our country to take a role in this important movement... We can have strong local economies, green energy, a clean environment, healthy citizens and good food. All of these start with family farmers. I look forward to working with you to make this vision of a family farm system of agriculture a reality."

Look, I'm not trying to portray Willie Nelson as a hippie nutcase who believes that family farming and industrialized hemp are a panacea to all of the world's ills. If don't drink the same Kool-Aid that Willie does, fine -- you can at least admire his commitment to resurrecting the agricultural way of life in the US. Unlike most celebs and their short-lived pet projects, Willie has been helping ag families since 1985 with Farm Aid.

[via Ecorazzi]

In plastic land, when it comes to food and beverage containers, the general rule has been that the safer plastics are #1, 2, 4, and 5. On the flip side, the less-safe plastics are thought to be those labeled as # 3, 6, and most plastics labeled with number 7.

Well, according to a new study, another plastic might be removed from that "safer" list; plastic #5, polypropylene.

Researchers at the University of Alberta, Canada, report that two chemicals leaking from polypropylene lab equipment were so active they ruined an experiment. The findings were issued as a warning in Science, a leading journal, to alert scientists to the possibility that polypropylene could be putting experiments at risk. The two substances found to leach were quaternary ammonium biocides and oleamide. It is not known if these might post danger to humans at the levels that they might leach out of plastic containers, such as many yogurt containers and coffee cup lids.

[Globe and Mail via Healthy Child, Healthy World]

I handed my husband the Kookie Karma Choco lot cookie and when he read the package that said it was gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, egg-free, flourless and vegan he almost didn't eat it. It just didn't seem like it could really be a cookie.

It was a cookie though and he did enjoy it. Kookie Karma offers a selection of 9 cookies and one cracker that are organic and vegan and offer a good choice for people with a wide variety of allergies. The cookies are also baked once each day so your order arrives as fresh as possible.

The cookies are free of gluten, soy, dairy - including butter, eggs, flour, preservatives, baking soda, baking powder, sulfites, sugar, wheat and casein. What's left? All natural ingredients and a tasty cookie you can feel good about.

Four of the cookies are completely raw - cherry cashew, granola bar, banana bread, lemon fig and carob truffle. Perfect stocking stuffers or gifts for those raw vegans on your list.

The Holistic Chocolate Chip and the Holistic Choco lot were the favorites at my house. We enjoyed the Raw Lemon Fig cookie as well, but would've liked more lemon flavor since lemon cookies are a big favorite.

To the FDA. Please get it together on this bisphenol-A issue already. Back in August, you said it was safe. Then in September, you said it was safe again. However, then you gave out tips to lower exposure, just in case. Now you're all like, never mind.

On Friday, an FDA advisory panel agreed that the agency had erred back in August when it said that bisphenol-A (BPA) posed no health risks, according to the Washington Post. Bisphenol-A is a chemical used to manufacture hard plastics, including some baby and beverage bottles. BPA can also be found in the lining of some canned foods. Some studies have linked BPA to cancer, developmental problems, diabetes and reproductive issues.

Last week, the panel said that the FDA hadn't properly assessed the health risks posed by BPA back in August, and had relied too heavily on studies funded by the chemical industry. Also, the panel said that the FDA had failed to take into account the other studies that questioned the safety of BPA. According to Dr. Hugh S. Taylor at Yale, the panel's August conclusion "was misleading and gave people false reassurance." The original position on BPA was controversial because it contradicted more than 100 studies, including a finding by the U.S. National Toxicology Program.

More for parents

What's worse than coming down with a cold? Coming down with a cold and not having any of your remedies stocked! This year, stock up on those essentials before the cold comes, so you can hunker down and not have to run out to the store or beg someone to go for you.

• Chicken Soup: Although not proven to actively fight colds, come on, admit it, it makes you feel better.
• Tea: This ginger, lemon and honey tea sounds wonderful.
• Tissues: You could try to stock up on some handkerchiefs, but if you need to use disposables, try some made from 100% recycled paper.
• Humidifier: Don't forget how helpful a humidifier can be.
• Soda: Ginger ale of course. Here is a recipe for a homemade version that doesn't contain high-fructose corn syrup.
• Prevention: The most important thing is prevention...washing hands can be the best prevention! And don't forget to clean all of those places where germs love to hang out like the remote, telephone, doorknobs and refrigerator handle!

If you are looking for ways to reduce your paper consumption, you might have already considered your bathroom habits. Ridding yourself of toilet paper not only saves a few trees but also reduces waste siphoned off in the water treatment plants. Even have you have made the jump to reusable wipes or a bidet at home, what do you do when you travel? Enter the Biffy Squirt Travel Bidet.

Maybe it's the third grader in me but this product makes me giggle ... just a little. Biffy already was in the bidet market with their devices that transform any toilet into a bidet. Now the company has taken their love of a fresh bottom even further -- so you can too.

The new travel bidet fills up at any tap. You then have the option of choosing from several included spray nozzles for the spray pattern you desire. I'm not sure how well you could tuck this device into your pocket or purse but I'm sure you could find away. Maybe the "Biffy Squirt Bag" is next!

You can't take it with you, and as green thinking evolves, more and more people are deciding that they don't want to leave anything behind, either.

Green funerals and natural woodland cemeteries are still relatively new, but for some people an ecologically-conscious ceremony and burial is a simple extension of a lifetime of practices and beliefs.

It's illogical for someone who eschews the resource-hogging and chemical pollution of a golf course to be buried at a traditional green lawn cemetery, which is just as toxic to the environment.

Instead, green minded folks are arranging green funerals and being buried in natural settings, surrounded by trees and wildlife. They skip the embalming and go with coffins made of biodegradable materials like wicker, bamboo and papier-mâché.

And rather than shipping a headstone from some far away quarry, a tree is buried as a living memorial, which is especially nice for the people who are left behind.

Sure, it's a major change from eons of tradition, but a green funeral and burial actually makes more sense than some of the things people do these days, like spending thousands of dollars on exotic wood caskets with silk lining and down cushions.

It's not like any of us are Egyptian Pharaohs who need our fully preserved bodies, and enough furniture to fill a palace, including servants, to achieve success in the afterlife, right?

I'm a sushi hound. I've loved the stuff since I was a kid, when admitting a taste for raw fish was about as socially acceptable as setting fire to things or eating paste. I love the smooth textures, the delicate flavors, and the sinus-clearing kick of fresh wasabi. I even love the sometimes-incomprehensible menus and the occasional touch of snide disdain that I get from hardened sushi waiters as they suggest some bizarre food that they think I'll be too timid to try. I especially love the look of surprise when I order mackerel ovaries, octopus eyeball, or whatever delicacy/dare they feel obliged to put in front of me.

On the other hand, my love of sushi comes at a considerable price. Given its rising popularity over the last twenty years, sushi has led to overfishing and the development of truly disgusting methods of farming. Today, many popular fish are now grown in filthy pens or stand at the brink of extinction.

Luckily, there is hope on the horizon. The Blue Ocean Institute, a conservation group, has published "Ocean Friendly Sushi," a guide that lists a wide variety of sushi types, ranking them based upon their populations, sustainability, harvesting methods, and relative safety. While hardcopies are available, Blue Ocean also offers a pdf version on their website. Alternately, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has regionally-based guides to sustainable sushi, which are also available for download. Sustainable sushi, here I come!

A study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirms that the ethanol by-product distiller's grain is linked to the potentially fatal virus E. coli 0157:H7. Distiller's grain is a significant ingredient in the feed provided to feedlot cattle.

It's essentially a waste product created during the process of making ethanol. Researchers found that cattle fed a blend of 40-percent distiller's grain had a much higher rate of E. coli 0157:H7 in their digestive tracts and in their fecal matter. Fifteen-percent of the cows fed the mixture compared to just 1.5-percent in the cows fed exclusively corn.

H7 can lead to multiple severe illnesses in humans, even death. Recently there has been a spike in the number of H7 cases. Researchers can't say whether these findings link the spike to distiller's grain, but scientists outside the study say this is a conclusive finding that connects the by-product to the increase in E. coli 0157:H7

Distiller's grain shows up in feed as a cost cutter. Ethanol producers increase profits on their product by selling distiller's grain to local feedlots, which in turn decreases the cost of feeding cattle as corn prices have risen.

[via Minnesota Public Radio News]

Nature-deficit disorder, as coined in Richard Louv's book, Last Child in the Woods, is when children lose their connection to the natural world due to lack of free, outdoor time. According to the famous biologist, E.O. Wilson, it's the soccer moms that are killing off bio-education, by taking their kids to all sorts of organized activities, whether indoor or out, and not giving them enough time to be out in nature.

A new study shows that not only can being outdoors prevent "nature-deficit disorder," but it also may help in the treatment of another disorder, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The study evaluated 17 children with ADHD after taking part in three walks; one in a park, one in a residential neighborhood and one in a downtown area. The children were then given a test which measures attention and concentration. The study found that the children were able to focus better after the walk in the park as opposed to walks in the other settings.

According to author Frances E. Kuo, of the University of Illinois, as quoted in a NY Times Well blog post, "What this study tells us is that physical environment matters." In fact, the researchers found that a "dose of nature" worked just as well or better as a dose of medication.

With the weather getting colder in many parts, remember to keep trying to go outside, no matter what your age!

In case you missed it last week, October 15th was Global Handwashing Day, as declared by the UN.

According to the Global Handwashing Day 2008 website, Global Handwashing Day will "mobilize millions of people in more than 20 countries all across five continents to wash their hands with soap." Sounds simple, but poor hygiene and lack of sanitation contribute to 88% of deaths globally from diarrhea-related diseases, accounting for the deaths for more than 1.5 million children each year, deaths that could be prevented.

Lack of handwashing is not only a problem in developing countries. According to Global Handwashing Day, a study in England found that people only washed their hands half the time after cleaning a child who just went to the bathroom. In the U.S., another study found that doctors often don't wash their hands properly between patients.

Here, where access to clean water is not such an issue, it's still important to remember to wash your hands often and to teach your kids to wash their hands properly, especially with the flu and cold season approaching in many parts of the country. For flu prevention, according to the CDC, alcohol-based hand sanitizers will also do in a pinch. And remember to skip that antibacterial soap!