Natural Family News

An article I read today describes a recent ruling that will prevent raw milk from being sold in Oregon– even for pets. This is how they were able to get around selling raw milk in Whole Foods stores there.

In a seemingly unrelated, but clearly meant to be related, section of the article, a lawsuit against a farm with a cow-share program is mentioned. Apparently, several people became sick with e. coli. How many people become sick from e. coli from more “accepted” foods? Salad bars, bagged salads, restaurants?

I think the point being made in this article is that raw milk is dangerous. How do you know? The government says so. And 13 people got sick and are suing, despite the fact that I’m sure they signed a form that says that they know the risks of consuming raw milk.

For more on raw milk, I recommend visiting www.realmilk.com or www.rawmilk.org or the Weston Price Foundation.

Massachusetts moms who give birth in hospitals will no longer leave carrying diaper bags provided by formula companies. While hospitals can still hand out free formula, they can no longer hand out gift bags that imply hospital promotion of formula.

“There’s no free lunch and there’s no free gift,” said Beth Sargent, an independent lactation consultant from Needham. “A gift is something given freely without the anticipation of a return. There is absolutely an anticipation of return.”

Not surprisingly, a spokesperson for the company that makes Enfamil called the decision “over the top”.

You can read the entire article here.

In a recent EU draft, lawmakers are considering allowing genetically modified foods into organic food. WHAT? WHY? Whose bright idea was that, anyway?

I have often bought foods from Europe, organic or otherwise, when an organic alternative didn’t exist precisely because they shunned chemistry set (or would that be biology set) agriculture. Now, it looks like I won’t even be able to trust organic food if it comes from Europe.

The Reuters article contains the following quote:

“Genetic contamination of organic food is completely unacceptable to consumers throughout the EU,” said Helen Holder, GMO campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe.

Yeah, what she said.

When Lori Rueger was declined a Victoria’s Secret dressing room to nurse her daughter, she became one of many breastfeeding moms who have become politically active. Her intent was simply to nurse her baby privately and discreetly, but when she was informed that Victoria’s Secret has a policy against allowing women to nurse in their stores, her story became one of the many examples South Carolina “lactivists” cite to support the state’s need for legislation to support breastfeeding moms. You can read more about breastfeeding activism here.

**Victoria’s Secret maintains that their company policy allows breastfeeding and that this was simply a misunderstanding.

Beantrees coffee made the list of 12 things Oprah’s chef can’t live without. In an article in the Chicago Tribune, Art Smith raved about the organic coffee company. Unlike Starbucks, Beantrees does not have any retail stores. You can, however, get the coffee delivered to your home by ordering online. Beantrees is certified organic, fair trade, and even bird friendly.

I just read a nice human interest story about Bode Miller’s family. In case you don’t recognize the name, Bode Miller is a championship downhill skier. A foundation he started recently bought a 630-acre farm, which it plans to use to promote organic farming. The foundation is called Turtle Ridge Farm LLC and is operated by members of his family.

LAFARGE, Wis., Dec. 19 /PRNewswire/ — “Generation Organic,” a campaign to
save the family farmer from extinction by bringing new farmers into organic
agriculture, was announced today by Organic Valley Family of Farms, America’s
largest cooperative of organic farmers and one of the country’s leading
national organic brands.
“Generation Organic is the ‘Endangered Species Protection Act’ for the
American family farmer. U.S. farmers have disappeared from the land at the
rate of 195 per day for 70 years. We have worked to protect the bald eagle and
the grizzly bear. Now it’s time to save the family farmer. The health of our
food, our environment and our future generations is at stake,” said Travis
Forgues, 32, the Organic Valley dairy farmer from Alburg, Vermont whose
concern for the future of family farming gave rise to Generation Organic, or
“Gen-O.”
Forgues noted that the average age of the remaining family farmers is
getting older, even in the organic community where the percentage of younger
farmers is high. The majority of U.S. farmers today are 55 years and older.
Said Forgues, “Gen-O will work to reverse the trend and keep family farmers on
the land!”
Forgues announced a five point “Gen-O Agenda” for developing the next
generation of organic farmers:

1. Save the family farmer, an endangered species — Five million family
farmers have been lost since 1935 and most of those remaining are 55
years or older. Gen-O will bring new farmers into the fold and plant
the seed for future generations of organic farmers.
2. Keep diversity in agriculture — Do we want all our food from factory
farms? Gen-O will educate about the risks of allowing our food to be
sourced from chemically-intensive factory farms where profit is the
goal, and work to promote a sustainable and diverse organic
agriculture that works in harmony with nature to produce healthy food.
3. Preserve farmer wisdom and knowledge — Farming is a time-honored
craft whose technical and intuitive knowledge is passed down from
generation to generation. The Gen-O movement will not let this vital
treasure become extinct.
4. Unify rural and urban communities — Fostering the connection between
city and country dwellers will increase our appreciation for the
people who grow our food as well as the people who eat it. Gen-O will
tell the story of America’s family farmers.
5. Offer hope for a safe and healthy future — By supporting farming
methods that work in harmony with nature, Generation Organic promises
to deliver food that is safe and healthy, protects the environment and
nurtures a sustainable way of life.

Forgues, who chose to become an organic farmer despite earning college
degrees in psychology and computer science, speaks on campuses and community
gatherings throughout the country to urge new farmers to enter the field:
“Nothing is more satisfying than the organic farmer’s life work. We produce
safe, healthy food, protect the environment, enjoy a rich family and community
life, and protect time-honored knowledge that is vital to the survival of our
species: how to grow the food we eat.”

Organic Valley: Farming for Future Generations
Organic Valley has spearheaded a full program of Gen-O initiatives to
nurture the next generation of organic farmers and will be adding more in the
year to come. Offerings include a nationwide program of “barn meetings” and
organic educational workshops, a farmers speakers bureau, web resources,
educational literature, a farmers hotline, financial and technical support for
farmers transitioning to organic, partnerships with university-based farmer
training programs, organic school curriculum, a farmer ambassador program to
heighten public awareness of organic farmers and, starting in 2006, an organic
farmer mentoring and internship program.
“Organic Valley’s job is to help create balance between skyrocketing
consumer demand for organic products and the number of farmers available to
produce them,” said George Siemon, CEO and a founding farmer of the co-op.
“Fortunately, the resiliency of the Organic Valley cooperative business model
enables us to provide our farmers with a stable, sustainable pay price and
invest in future farmer education and support.”
Siemon noted the following highlights of the cooperative’s success in
2005:

— Sales rose 17% to $245 million in 2005 and will climb to $285 million
in 2006.
— The number of farmers in the co-op doubled over the last three years
from 361 farmers in 15 states in 2002 to 723 farmers in 22 states in
2005.
— The estimated average national organic price paid by the co-op to its
farmers ($21.80 per hundredweight) was more than 40 percent higher
than its conventional counterpart ($15.35 per hundredweight).

For further information about Gen-O and the Organic Valley cooperative,
prospective farmers are invited to call the Organic Valley Farmer Hotline at
1-888-809-9297, or visit the Organic Valley Farmers website at
http://www.farmers.coop .

Organic Valley Family of Farms is America’s largest cooperative of organic
farmers and is one of the nation’s leading organic brands. Organized in 1988,
it represents 723 farmers in 22 states and realized a record $245 million in
2005 sales. Focused on its founding mission of keeping small and mid-sized
farmers farming, Organic Valley produces 200 organic foods, including organic
milk, soy, cheese, butter, spreads, creams, eggs, produce, juice and meats
which are sold in supermarkets, natural foods stores and food cooperatives
nationwide. For more information, call 1-888-444-MILK or visit
http://www.organicvalley.coop .

You may be wondering what are these ads on our site. While we want to provide you the best and most up to date news of interest to families living a natural lifestyle, we also need to pay for the website and other expenses. We have teamed with a few advertisers that we think will be of interest to our readers in order to provide shopping opportunities to you, as well as underwriting the cost of the web site.

The Green Guide is an excellent resource that offers tips, articles, reviews and more. When you buy a subscription, you are getting a valuable resource. But you are also helping support Natural Family News, as we receive a percentage of each sale. During the holidays, the Green Guide is running a special where you get one subscription free when you buy one subscription. That means for $20 or less you can get a subscription for yourself and for a friend.

Mothernature.com is a site that has been around for quite some time. They offer vitamins, herbs, teas and many other items for your natural lifestyle. They also offer many gift ideas. Their prices are very competitive and if you normally buy these sorts of things online, you should check them out before placing your next order.

We have recently added a new advertiser. The picture in the upper right corner is a portal to chitika mini-malls. This is a brand new program that allows website publishers to offer an easy way for their readers to find items of interest at a good price. You can even use the search box to find a great deal on any item you’re shopping for.

Thanks for taking the time to read about ways that you can help support Natural Family News. We look forward to years of bringing you news for your natural family. Happy reading and happy shopping!

There was a recent story about a California woman who recently gave birth, bringing the number of total children in her family to 17. Wow! Some people may find that really horrible, but I have to say that I thought the children that they interviewed had great attitudes. One of them said that at least they don’t get bored. I can’t imagine rasing that many kids on a maintenance worker’s salary, but, apparently, they manage. They live in a seven room house, but it is unclear whether that refers to the number of actual rooms or the number of bedrooms.

I found out another interesting fact from this article. The Census stops counting when households reach 7. That means as far as the census is concerned, my family is now as big as it will ever be.

ACOG NEWS RELEASE

For Release: November 30, 2005
Contact: ACOG Office of Communications
(202) 484-3321
communications@acog.org

Vaginal Birth Not Associated With Incontinence Later in Life

Washington, DC — Contrary to the belief held by some, vaginal birth does not
appear to be associated with incontinence later in life, a new study has found.
The study, published in the December issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology,
found that incontinence was more strongly related with family history.

An estimated 30-50% of adult women suffer from urinary incontinence, and
vaginal delivery is often considered to be the major risk factor for stress
urinary incontinence. While 62% of urogynecologists previously surveyed
would support performing elective cesarean deliveries to prevent
incontinence in the long term, the benefit of this practice has not been proven.
Risk factors for incontinence include body mass index, hypertension, and
integrity of the pelvic floor, all of which tend to run in families.

Researchers from the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York
studied 143 pairs of biological sisters. All of the women were at least 45 years
old and postmenopausal. All but two pairs of sisters were Caucasian.
However, one sister of each pair was nulliparous (no deliveries) and one was
parous (at least one vaginal delivery). The women answered questionnaires
and underwent clinical testing to measure incontinence.

The researchers found that the rate of incontinence was 47.6% for nulliparous
women and 49.7% for parous women, a statistically insignificant difference.
They did discover, however, that 63% of the pairs shared continence status
(i.e. either both were continent or both were incontinent). The researchers say
that their findings run contrary to the conventional wisdom that nulliparity
protects against incontinence and are similar to findings from their earlier
study of nuns who had never given birth and yet still had high rates of
postmenopausal incontinence.

While further research is needed to determine if there is a genetic component
to incontinence, the researchers say that this study indicates that family
history is more strongly associated with incontinence than a history of vaginal
delivery.

Contact: Gunhilde M. Buchsbaum, MD, University of Rochester Medical
Center, Rochester, NY, at gunhilde_buchsbaum@urmc.rochester.edu.

# # #

Everyone knows that changes in cabin pressure during takeoff and landing can cause pain inside your ear; adults are often advised to chew gum and parents are advised to give young children something to eat or drink to help alleviate the pressure. For babies, the recommendation is that they either nurse or suck on a bottle or pacifier. But while some poor woman was trying to fly home with her 7 month old baby, she was repeatedly asked by a flight attendant to stop nursing and wait until the plane landed where she could feed in the terminal. When the woman tried to tell the attendant that it was her legal right to breastfeed her child on the plane, the attendant responded that it was “company policy”. Apparently they would rather disturb the other passengers with a screaming baby than risk having a nursing baby offend those seated nearby. You can read about it here.

Illinois’ governor has asked that junk food be banned in elementary and middle schools (apparently it’s okay for high school students). The state Board of Education has responded by proposing guidelines that consider the nutritional content (i.e. percentage of fat, calories, etc.), rather than the category of food. Under this proposal, whole milk would be banned but baked chips would be allowed. Do I really even need to comment on this, or are you all thinking what I’m thinking? You can read more about this “excellent” plan here.