BlogHers ACT Canada

Support Bill C-517 and the Effort to Label Genetically Engineered Food

A private member’s bill supporting mandatory labeling of genetically engineered food in Canada was selected randomly for debate in our House of Commons this month.

Bill C-517 went to second reading on April 3, and a second hour of parliamentary debate could take place in as early as two weeks, as per the House of Commons calendar.  After a second debate, the House will be called upon to vote on the bill.  If you are concerned about feeding your children genetically engineered foods, it’s important to make sure that a majority of Members of Parliament vote in favour of Bill C-517.  If the Bill passes second reading, it will be returned for a third and final reading, followed by a vote by all of Canada’s 301 Members of Parliament.

Clothesline Ban, uh...BANNED!

Yesterday was the first day this year that I’ve hauled wet laundry out to the back of my yard to hang the clothes out on the clothesline.  There’s something so wonderful about using it…I feel like I’m channeling all kinds of womanly power while I hang the clothes out.  I get all kinds of productive thinking done while I’m hanging the clothes out to dry, and I’m sure that if you came into my yard to watch me while I’m hanging the clothes, you’d see all kinds of strange expressions on my face while I’m thinking things out.

While I was out there yesterday, I thought about what a great device the clothesline is...and how we are saving on our hydro bill by avoiding use of the dryer while reducing our carbon emissions.  However, I also imagined some of our cranky neighbours complaining about having to look at our clothes all summer long.

Why Canada Rocks. Why BlogHers Act Canada Rocks. Why YOU Rock.

This week, major news outlets reported that the Government of Canada was on the verge of declaring bisphenol-A toxic, which would open the door for a country-wide ban on all products containing the chemical.

According to the International Herald Tribune:

A public announcement by Health Canada may come as early as Wednesday but could be delayed until the end of May. Canada would be the first country to make a health finding against BPA, which has been shown to disrupt the hormonal systems of animals. The department's decision was first reported in The Globe and Mail, a Toronto newspaper, on Tuesday.

(Bolding mine. Canada will be the first! WOO HOO!)

Turn Out The Lights

Tonight is - dum da da dum! - Earth Hour.

Which means - as Nelly Furtado would say, and will say, at a free concert tonight in Toronto - TURN OUT THE LIGHTS. For one hour. Tonight, starting at eight. The objective is to get as many communities and people around the world reducing their power-use, for just a little while, to what a difference it makes.

add formula to the (growing) Bisphenol A exposure list

by motherbumper

Earlier today, over at The League of Maternal Justice, I learned about a press release concerning Bisphenol A exposure which has been published on the Environmental Working Group's guide to bottle and formula safety.  EWG is a group with an important mission: "to use the power of public information to protect public health and the environment".

I can't help but love a group that "shames and shakes up polluters and their lobbyists" and "rattles politicians and shapes policy".  A group after my own heart.

They have created a Guide to Infant Formula: Guide to Baby-Safe Bottles & Formula and this guide contains a truck load of important information for parents using formula.  Packaging on some brands of formula may expose the contents to Bisphenol A (BPA) contamination.  BPA is an industrial chemical used to make plastic.  BPA has been proven to have hormone disrupting and carcinogenic effects and EWG wants to get the word out about the harmful effects of BPA exposure.  This is scary sh*t.

So many parents use formula.  We did in the super early days and while I did end up breast feed Bumper, there were a few times I tried to wean her to formula for personal reasons.

It is scary to think of the exposure risks from lining formula bottles with Bisphenol A.  Isn't it bad enough that the baby bottles are BPA laden too?

Earlier today, some familiar bloggers sat in on a conference call with Sonya Lunder, an Environmental Working Group Senior Analyst.  Below are links to some of today's posts about the formula warnings.  These posts have information about which brands are safe/unsafe, the effects of BPA exposure, and what can be done about it. 

During the call with EWA, The League of Maternal Justice blogged live, getting the information out super fast.  A transcript of the call is there, along with important info, and links to find out more.

Over at Mommy off the Record details, like which formula brands are safe and which are not, what parents can do, and details on the exposure and effects of BPA.

These are the posts I've read so far today, I'm sure many more are to come.  Spread the word.  Baby products need to be safe - parenting is already complicated enough.