Mama’s Monday Favorite: The Earth Friends dolls

I really like The Earth Friends Doll collection. I stumbled upon it while browsing in the baby section of Whole Foods. The Earth Friends is a family of nine girls and boys who are made with natural and recycled material. The family consists of:

• Adam
• Emma
• Hannah
• Jax
• Jayden
• Lily
• Maki
• Malia
• Raji

Each member of the family has a ‘big friend’ and ‘little friend’ version. The big friend version is 22 inches tall. The little friend version is 14 inches tall. Each Earth Friend also has a birth date and an astrological sign.

I really like The Earth Friends because they are COMPLETELY made from natural and organic or recycled materials. This is important because they are safe to play with all day and hold close all night!

I also like The Earth Friends because all of their clothing is made from a variety of recycled and organic fabrics and…their little backpack contains a Hope Tree Planting Kit with tree seeds, planting instructions and a plant and grow expanding coco pellet.

Need I say more? These dolls are awesome!

- Mama

**Mama’s Monday Favorite is the sole opinion of Mama. No monetary compensation was received for the feature. If you have a product that Mama might absolutely love, send Mama one of your products. If she likes it, she might list it as a Mama’s Monday Favorite.

Sustainable Eating: You Are What Your Animals Eat

by Jo Robinson

In my investigation into pasture-based farming, I’ve stumbled upon an alarming state of affairs: few animal scientists see any link between animal feed and human food. “Feed animals anything you want,” say the experts, “and it makes no difference to their meat, milk, or eggs.” Because of this mindset, our animals are being fed just about anything that enhances the bottom line, including chicken feathers, sawdust, chicken manure, stale pizza dough, potato chips, and candy bars.

Here’s a glaring example. A 1996 study explored the desirability of feeding stale chewing gum to cattle.(1) Amazingly, the gum was still in its aluminum foil wrappers. Wonder of wonders, the experts concluded that bubblegum diet was a net benefit—at least for the producers. I quote: “Results of both experiments suggest that [gum and packaging material] may be fed to safely replace up to 30% of corn-alfalfa hay diets for growing steers with advantages in improving dry matter intake and digestibility.” In other words, feed a steer a diet that is 30 percent bubblegum and aluminum foil wrappers, and it will be a more efficient eater. With a nod to public safety, the researchers did check to see how much aluminum was deposited in the various organs of the cattle. Not to worry. The aluminum content was “within normal expected ranges.” As always, there was no mention of the nutritional content of the resulting meat.

When I first read the bubblegum studies, I assumed that no one would actually feed bubblegum to their animals, despite the “positive outcome” of the research.. Then a professor of animal science drove me by a Beechnut gum factory in upstate New York where dairy farmers bought truckloads of bubble gum to feed to their cows.

The view from the other side of the fence is just as sobering. Most experts in human nutrition are equally blind to the feed/food connection. To them, beef is beef, eggs are eggs, and milk is milk. Thus, when the USDA says “eat less red meat,” the edict applies to all red meat, whether it’s a fatty steak from a grainfed cow, or a lean steak from a grassfed cow with its invisible bounty of omega-3s, vitamin E, beta-carotene, and CLA.

I’ve spent the past four years trying to forge the missing link between animal and human nutrition. It’s been tough going, especially when it comes pasture-raised animals because virtually all the studies focus on feedlot animals. To fill in the gap, I’ve searched through yellowing journals published before the advent of factory farming, pieced together small studies financed by farmers, and combed through the research from Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand—parts of the world where animals are still kept home on the range.

Finding the amount of vitamin E in grassfed meat has been one of my biggest challenges. I began the search when I learned that grass has 20 times more vitamin E than corn or soy. Given the magnitude of this difference, I reasoned that meat from grassfed animals must have an extra helping of vitamin E.

At long last, I located one American study that broached the subject. The impetus for the study came from disgruntled Japanese buyers who complained that American beef spoiled more quickly than Australian free-range beef. Knowing that vitamin E helped prolong shelf life, the American researchers investigated the amount of vitamin E in the two types of meat. Lo and behold, they discovered that the meat from grassfed cattle had three to four times more vitamin E than feedlot beef, thanks to all that vitamin E-rich grass.

Now, what did the researchers do with this finding? True to form, they began studying how much synthetic vitamin E to add to synthetic feedlot diets. I doubt that it even occurred to them to investigate pasture-based ranching.

Why this lack of interest in the natural model? Much of our animal research is funded by commercial interests—specifically the grain, chemical, pharmaceutical, farm equipment, and meat-packing companies. Together, these vertically integrated behemoths have a multi-billion dollar stake in perpetuating factory farming. The USDA, meanwhile, aids and abets the feedlot industry by focusing virtually all of its efforts—and our tax dollars!—on tweaking the system. For example, the USDA Meat and Animal Research Center in Lincoln, Nebraska, is more willing to spend $100,000 researching how quickly feedlot manure seeps into the water table than to spend a similar amount of money investigating pasture-based ranching, the holistic model that keeps the contamination from happening in the first place.

What will it take to draw more scientific attention to pasture-based ranching? Pressure from an enlightened public. And what will it take to enlighten the public? The national media.

I have a fantasy how this might happen. First, a prominent media source such as “60 minutes” or The New York Times will decide to spotlight pasture-based farming. Building on this ground-breaking work, an award-winning TV producer will create a documentary that deepens the discussion. The program will conclude—as it must—-that raising animals on pasture is better for consumers, the animals, the environment, and small farmers. Before long, dozens of news shows, newspapers, and magazines will follow suit.

As the momentum builds, grassfarming will become the talk of the town. Serving organic meat won’t win points in Los Angeles anymore unless it’s grassfed as well. Meanwhile, Ted Turner will stop sending all of his bison to feedlots to be fattened like cattle, and by 2005, his “Turner Reserve Grassfed Bison” will be the thing to serve at celebrity gatherings. Propelled by this groundswell of interest, private and government institutions will finally devote more time, money and energy to exploring pasture-based farming.

Will grassfarming ever become the darling of the media? Only time will tell. But even if the media misses the boat, the good news about grassfarming will keep spreading on the grassroots level, one satisfied customer at a time!

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Jo Robinson is a New York Times bestselling writer. She is the author or coauthor of 11 nationally published books including Pasture Perfect, which is a comprehensive overview of the benefits of choosing products from pasture-raised animals, and The Omega Diet (with Dr. Artemis Simopoulos) that describes an omega-3 enriched Mediterranean diet that may be the healthiest eating program of all. To order her books or learn more about grassfed products, visit http://www.eatwild.com.

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1) Wolf, B. W., L. L. Berger, et al. (1996). “Effects of feeding a return chewing gum/packaging material mixture on performance and carcass characteristics of feedlot cattle.” J Anim Sci 74(11): 2559-65.

Note: I wrote this article in 2000. Since then, pasture-based farming has been featured in:

• The Smithsonian
• The New York Times
• The Washington Post
• The Wall Street Journal
• The Dallas Morning News
• Mother Earth News
• Wine Spectator
• The Oregonian
• The LA Times
• The San Francisco Chronicle
• CBC News Marketplace
• Delicious Living
• House and Garden
• The Atlantic Monthly
• The National Review
• National Public Radio

Time to get Naked…Naked Juice

I usually only talk about my favorite item on Monday, but I’m so excited about Naked juice and their plans to be more sustainable that I just had to share.

Naked Juice just upped the ante on scrutinizing their carbon footprint. They are taking some very BIG steps to improve the sustainability of their production facility, their juice bottles and “Good stuff Just Got Better” inside the bottles.

This is what the folks at Naked Juice are doing:

Relocating to a brand new LEED certified production facility. This is a really big step. By moving to a LEED certified production facility, they will have to meet very stringent criteria for water and energy efficiency, use of recycled building materials and waste reduction.

Naked Juice announced that they will be the first national beverage company to use 100% post consumer recycled plastic, or RPet. Folks, this is a HUGE step. Once they have completely switched over to using 100% post recycled plastic, they will be able to reduce virgin plastic use by about 8 million pounds. That keeps a lot of plastic out of our landfills.

Still not convinced that Naked Juice is right for you?

“The Good Stuff Just Got Better” and they have partnered with Rainforest Alliance to certify the tons of bananas used in their juice. This means that over 20 million more tons of sustainably grown, fair trade bananas will be produced every year.

Good job Naked Juice. Mama is proud of you.

It is hot outside. Let’s all get a little Naked.

-Mama

**Mama’s Monday Favorite is the sole opinion of Mama. No monetary compensation was received for the feature. If you have a product that Mama might absolutely love, send Mama one of your products. If she likes it, she might list it as a Mama’s Monday Favorite.

Serena the Wanna-Be Vegetarian– Is No Longer A Holier-Than-Thou Vegetarian

I’m struggling.

Since the “In ‘N Out cheeseburger” incident I can’t shake this feeling of failure. I think I got into this for the right reasons. I’m concerned about my family’s health and the health of the planet. Since my confession, my oldest also confessed to eating meat “every time he left the house.” This is to be expected right? Yes?

I’ve been thinking about what Dangel wrote in the comments section earlier this month:

“I can’t agree that cutting out meat all together to live a life of supplements is a way to ‘eat healthier’.

I fully encourage being more conscious about the food you eat but do remember, humans are carnivores. The moment you take something out of your diet, something we evolved eating, is the moment you throw your digestive system into a pattern that it’s not familiar or best suited for. Our brain can easily adapt with little consequence, our bodies are not so gifted.

Showing restraint over the food you eat is mentally and physically strengthening. Rejecting a whole section of your diet may make you feel stronger mentally but just because you can’t see what it’s doing to you on the inside doesn’t mean all is well.”

This part especially rang true, “Rejecting a whole section of your diet may make you feel stronger mentally…”

It did. I loved telling people that I was a vegetarian, even though I am still in the process of cutting meat out of my diet. I felt stronger… and dare I say it? I felt better than them, the inklings of the “holier-than-thou” attitude that people seem to hate about vegetarians.

Nothing like a slip-up to bring you right back down to earth.

- Serena

Mama gets trapped by a wildfire

One of the first things I do in the morning is lean against one of my bedroom walls and stretch my legs and back. After gently waking my muscles, I walk to my living room window and open the blinds. This morning, I was horrified at what I saw. Thick clouds of smoke. I could barely see the homes across the street. I knew a bad forest fire was near.

Wildfire season is in full force in Southern California. Yesterday a wildfire erupted less than 20 miles from where I live. Yet, I didn’t smell or see the effects of it until this morning when I awoke. I’ve been awake less than 5 hours and my body is dizzily intoxicated with pollution caused by the nearby fires. My eyes burn worst than if I had just cut an onion two inches from my face. The inside of my nose feels like it is on fire. When I sneezed, I thought I saw a small spark fly out of my nose. I have a mild cough and my tummy is extremely upset. I’m staying inside the house today. I can say good bye to my evening walk today.

Water is scarce. The city of Pasadena has limited our water usage. We are only allowed to water our grass during the hours of 6pm and 9am on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday. Maybe I should install that rainwater collection system I’ve been thinking about.

I can only imagine how the air quality affects infants, pregnant women, and seniors.

Fires, drought, and increased temperatures. Is this a glimpse of the future?

I hope not.

- Mama

H1N1 Vaccine – Just The Facts

While the government is not suggesting duct tape and plastic sheeting, we the people are being fed a steady diet of updates about the vaccine, the supposed lack of one, the suggestion that there might not be enough, what is wrong with it and who should get it first. And what about face masks?

Is there H1N1 vaccine?

Why yes Virginia, just like Santa Claus it does exist. The drug company Novartis is manufacturing the vaccine (Fluvirin) and anticipates having enough doses for those that choose to receive it. However, the CDC (Center for Disease Control) states on its website, “We do not expect that there will be a shortage of novel H1N1 vaccine, but availability and demand can be unpredictable.”

What are some of the side effects of the vaccine?

No one vaccine is completely safe for everyone. Period. While I scoured the Internet for reliable sources about the side effects, no one site proved reliable enough for me to pass along to you (No, I don’t count Craigslist or websites that use 666 in their URL as a reliable sources). So I will encourage you to do your own research about the side effects and I will do the responsible thing and not spread rumors.

Who should get the vaccine first?

According to the CDC pregnant women, persons who live with or provide care for infants aged over 6 months, health-care and emergency medical services personnel, children and young adults aged 6 months–24 years, and persons aged 25–64 years who have medical conditions that put them at higher risk for influenza-related complications.

Some people over 61 ½ years of age have been identified as having an immunity to H1N1. I said some, not all.

I keep hearing the phrase “novel H1N1” virus. What does “novel” mean?

In this case it means new. Because H1N1 is a novel virus, it spreads quickly because we have not developed antibodies to it yet. Though the human race has seen H1N1 before, we have not seen ‘this’ strain of the virus.

Will wearing a surgical mask help or will I just be paying homage to Michael Jackson?

Masks may help in some settings. Not the best or the worst in preventing the spread of the disease. I get old fashioned about this stuff and recommend the following:

1. Regular, thorough hand washing
2. Cover your coughs and sneezes
3. Stay home when ill
4. Ask your health-care provider about being vaccinated for both seasonal and H1N1 flu when the vaccines are ready

Stay healthy!

- Aunt B

Beyond Organic: Grass, Grass, and more Grass

By Jo Robinson

Organically certified meat, poultry, and dairy products are now available at your local supermarket. When you see the green USDA organic label, you know the food is going to be free of pesticide residues, synthetic hormones, antibiotics, and genetically-modified grain. Compared with ordinary meat, this is a step in the right direction.

But the USDA organic beef regulations fall short of many people’s expectations—especially when it comes to cattle. Specifically, the USDA rules allow cattle to be fed a high-grain diet—not their native diet of grass—and permit cattle to be confined much of the time. That expensive, USDA-certified organic steak at your grocery store is likely to come from a cow that spent most of its time in a feedlot eating far too much grain.

These shortcomings matter a great deal, not just to animal and nature lovers, but to all consumers concerned about basic human nutrition and food safety. The problems begin with the grain. When calves are taken off pasture and shipped to a feedlot to be fattened for market, they are switched from grass to a high-energy grain diet to speed their growth and marble their flesh. But grain does not agree with cattle and other ruminants such as bison and sheep. Ruminants are highly specialized animals with multi-compartmented stomachs that allow them to thrive on a diet of high-fiber, bulky grasses—food that we humans cannot digest. Feeding grain to these grass guzzlers is like running a Prius on furnace oil; it fouls up the works. The “fuel” problem for cattle is that grain makes their digestive tract more acid, giving the animals chronic belly aches. Feedlot calves respond to this acid indigestion by pawing at their bellies, hanging their heads, drooling, or eating dirt. Untreated, the calves can develop a more serious condition called “acidosis.” If acidosis goes unchecked, lesions that can be fatal will form in the animals’ livers. Corn-fed beef comes with a cost.

By contrast, when cattle are raised from birth to market on grass, they remain in excellent health. Routine vaccination is the only medication they require. A vet told me that the only time he goes to grass-based ranches is to do pregnancy tests. The rest of his time is spent helping feedlot managers control the many diseases caused by excessive grain-feeding and the stress of shipping and confinement.

What is good for the cattle turns out to be good for our health as well. Dozens of studies now show that meat and dairy products from grass-fed animals have a bounty of added nutrients. Compared with grain-fed cattle—organic or otherwise—the meat and milk of grass-fed cattle have more antioxidants, including vitamin E, beta-carotene, and vitamin C. The meat is also lower in overall fat and higher in healthy omega-3s and another healthy fat called “conjugated linoleic acid” or CLA (http://www.eatwild.com/cla.html).

Eating products from grass-fed animals also gives you an added measure of food safety. Since the 1990s, we’ve gotten used to meat being recalled for possible E. coli contamination. In 2008, one such recall involved a staggering 135 million pounds of beef. Eating grass-fed meat may reduce your risk of being sickened by these potentially lethal bacteria. The main reason is that grass-fed cattle and other ruminants that live outdoors on pasture arrive at the slaughterhouse with relatively clean hides. Cattle that live in the mud and manure of feedlots tend to arrive coated with feces that may harbor E. coli bacteria. The USDA has determined that the cleaner the hides, the lower the risk that the bacteria will find its way into the meat supply.

Although organic grain-fed meat has advantages over conventional grain-fed meat, it does not measure up to the benefits that come from eating 100-percent grass-fed meat. Raising ruminants on grass is better for animals and consumers. Go grass!
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Jo Robinson is an investigative journalist and a New York Times bestselling writer. She is the author/coauthor of 11 nationally published books including Pasture Perfect, an overview of the benefits of choosing products from pasture-raised animals. More than three million copies of her books have been sold. Jo is also the founder and director of www.eatwild.com, the Internet’s most comprehensive site on the benefits of taking animals out of feedlots and raising them on pasture.

My eating disorder story: It all started with a food allergy

Every Tuesday, Mama shares a Story. Today’s story was sent in by an Person who battled anorexia and bulimia

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My story may seem a little different…

I have a lot of intolerances and allergies to food. One day I had a bad allergic reaction to something I had eaten, it left me in bed for 4 days recovering. Whilst I was recovering I made a vow that I wouldn’t eat food again that way I would never have to experience an anaphylactic shock again. From that day I only ate a small amount of broccoli and every now and then I would have an apple. I lived like this for months I soon lost a lot of weight and become 5stone 5lbs. My hair was falling out, I had permanent cold sores and cracked lips, I had bed sores on my bones that had been touching the bed for to long, I bruised easily, I had bad heart palpitations and many other problems. Not only did this effect my physical health, it ruined my soul.

After a year or so I was still frightened to eat but it was more than the average loss of confidence I had anorexia, it was like id forgotten why I stopped eating and anorexia took over. My 3 year old niece ate more than I did and my clothes had gone down to age 8 to 9 years when I was 23 yeas old. My mum is a healer and luckily for me she found out about my problem and gave me lots of Reiki treatment and love and care, after about a year I ate a little bit more but I would suffer with constipation and bloatedness. So I would then eat and be sick. This soon became a familiar pattern and not only was I seriously underweight; when I ate I was sick therefore I was bulimic too.

It was like living with another person in my head constantly telling me you can’t eat this and you shouldn’t eat that and all I really wanted deep deep down was a meal and to feel well. I decided enough was enough, not only was I suffering but my family was so worried about me. I refused to get the professional help I needed at the start, so for about 10 months I managed to get well little by little day by day on my own but my health was wrecked. I had terrible pains in my bones especially in my shins and I hadn’t had a period in 4 years so I went to the doctors. They then referred me to an eating disorder association and I was given a psychiatrist to help me. It was hard, everyday was a task whether it is fighting demons in my head or overcoming the physical effect it’s had on me but I got there! I still haven’t had a period and I don’t have hunger pains I actually pass out before I get hunger pains so I have to clock check to see if its time to eat to get my body in a natural pattern and I also have osteoporosis but luckily it’s not getting worse. My hair is a lot thicker, my skin is not as pale and I don’t have cold sores anymore, I don’t feel desperately cold anymore and I have lots more confidence. I now have a better social life and I smile a lot more!

When you think there is no way out and no human being can help you, your wrong… you just have to let go of the past and be willing to forgive yourself and the past that may have triggered your eating disorder. Put your hands up high along with your head and pride and surrender…. I did and I’m now well.

God Bless and God luck

- Anonymous

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