Natural Family News

Increasing numbers of college campuses are setting aside space for student-run farms. Some of these students do this as a hobby, while others are hoping to own their own farms someday. (read more)

It gives me hope for the future to read about this trend. I’m hopeful that we’ve begun to reverse the trend towards mega-farms. Perhaps by the time my children are grown, it will be much easier for them to find a local micro-farm that will provide them with locally grown, organic produce.

Members of the Professional Association of Teachers (PAT) in England are proposing that the use of the word “fail” be banned from classrooms. They argue that it is demoralizing to students and should be replaced with the phrase “deferred success”.

read more here

Or, you could just teach your kids at home and quit worrying about it altogether.

A recent Italian study found that the more aspartame rats were given, the more likely they were to develop leukemias or lymphomas. European “health” experts say that the amount required to affect humans would be well above the acceptable daily intake levels. (read more)

My favorite quote in the article? “If a risk to humans does exist, it will almost certainly be very small.” I’m sorry. Very small? Is there a reason to use aspartame if there is *any* risk that it will kill you? What is the up side to using it, other than profits for the companies that market it.

A new study in Obstetrics and Gynecology found an increased risk of yeast infection associated with intrapartum antibiotic use. The study followed 435 mother-infant pairs for at least one month after birth. Of the mothers in this group, 173 (39.8%) received intrapartum antibiotics; most of them were receiving prophylaxis for Group B Strep. Among those who received antibiotics, 46 (10.6%) of them developed developed either breast candidiasis or neonatal thrush. The authors of the study conclude that further study is warranted.

read the article here

I must admit that my first thought is “no kidding”; the breastfeeding community has been aware of this for some time now. But if it takes getting press in a major medical publication to cause doctors reconsider such widespread antibitoic use, then so be it.

Well, apparently it’s happened again. A mother in Louisiana says she was asked to leave a coffee shop for breastfeeding her baby. It’s a shame that this has become such a regular occurrence in the U.S.; women in restaurants, malls, and all sorts of public venues have been made to feel like they were doing something wrong by tending to the needs of their babies. If you want to bare your skin for the purpose of sexually arousing the men around you, that’s fine – but a mom doing her best to nurse discreetly is “offensive”. It’s a sad, mixed up world.

read the article here

In spite of the fact that ethanol uses more energy to make than is actually usable, the United States supplements research on it to the tune of $3 billion per yera. So, why are we spending $3 billion on alternative fuels that don’t work instead of on alternative fuels that do?

(read the article here)

CHICAGO—Farm Aid founder Willie Nelson and co-founder John Mellencamp today announced that the nation’s leading family farm advocacy organization will mark its 20th anniversary by returning to Illinois—the state where it all began.

Farm Aid 2005 Presented by Silk Soymilk will urge Americans to choose food from family farms. The 20th anniversary celebration will kick off with a week of food and music events in Chicago. Pre-concert events will showcase the city’s efforts to promote family farm food by linking rural and urban communities. The events will culminate with Farm Aid’s 20th anniversary all-star fundraising concert to take place on Sept. 18 at the Tweeter Center in Tinley Park, IL.

The 20th anniversary concert will feature Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews, plus other top artists to be announced later. Farm Aid week in Chicago will include the County Fair at the Garfield Conservatory on September 17, a film festival, possible small-venue performances, educational and restaurant events, as well as the release of Farm Aid’s book, FARM AID: A Song for America. During the week, Farm Aid will spotlight activities at Chicago-area farmers markets.

Farm Aid began in 1985 when Willie Nelson, inspired by comments from Bob Dylan at Live Aid, along with Neil Young and John Mellencamp, hosted a day-long music benefit for family farmers in Champaign, IL. From that moment forward, Farm Aid’s activist board has shown relentless commitment and dedication, motivating support from millions of Americans and providing hope for struggling family farmers.

“From small towns to folks in the city, everybody knows family farm food is the best,” said Farm Aid President Willie Nelson. “It’s good to be back in Illinois where it all started. This state is showing how good food can connect places like Champaign and Chicago. It inspires us to think about family farmers every day. I’m looking forward to playing on the Farm Aid stage, playing music with my friends.”

“Farmers have a tremendous impact on the quality of food that we eat,” said Farm Aid Board Member John Mellencamp. “Farm Aid is always a great show, but even more important is that Farm Aid helps the consumer and the family farmer work together for the benefit of all of us.”

Since its beginning, Farm Aid has traveled the country, supporting local organizations working to strengthen and promote family farms. From Washington state to Washington, DC, Farm Aid has established a platform for family farmers to help create a movement that increases the supply and demand for family farm-identified food. Farm Aid’s vision is to offer as many opportunities as possible for farmers to provide us with good products—food and alternative fuels that protect our land, our health and our environment.

“Right now, America is on the cusp of a “good food” movement, promoted and supported by Farm Aid,” said Farm Aid Executive Director Carolyn Mugar. “The American public recognizes family farmers as their resource for food that is local, humanely-raised, organic, and sustainable, and consumers are reaching for these foods in grocery stores, at farmers markets, in schools and even in hospitals. This demand offers growing economic opportunity for family farmers to thrive. Farm Aid will continue to work to increase the options for all family farmers in order to secure a safe, healthy food supply for our future.”

“I am pleased to welcome Farm Aid to Chicago to celebrate its 20th anniversary,” said Mayor Daley. “Chicago is committed to supporting small businesses and improving the quality of life for its residents, and Farm Aid helps family farmers do their job of producing the highest quality food for our City and for people all over the country.”

For the third year, Silk Soymilk is the presenting sponsor of the Farm Aid concert. “Silk Soymilk is proud to present Farm Aid’s 20th anniversary concert,” states Mike Keown, Senior Vice President of Marketing for WhiteWave Foods. “We salute the important role that family farmers serve in promoting sustainable agriculture and providing healthy food to American families. We look forward to this celebratory event in the Chicago area—centrally located in the heart of our nation’s Farm Belt.”

Tickets for Farm Aid 2005 Presented by Silk Soymilk are on sale July 30 at 10 a.m. CDT and are available at all Ticketmaster outlets, the Tweeter Center box office, charge by phone in Chicago at (312) 559-1212, or online at www.tweetercenter.com/chicago. For more information about Farm Aid’s 20th anniversary, visit www.farmaid.org.

Farm Aid will offer special advance sale tickets to its FarmYard members. To become a member of Farm Aid’s FarmYard, visit www.farmaid.org.

For directions, venue rules and regulations, parking and general information, please visit www.tweetercenter.com/chicago or call (708) 614-1616.

Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp organized the first Farm Aid concert in 1985 to raise awareness about the loss of family farms and to raise funds to keep farm families on their land. Dave Matthews joined the Farm Aid Board of Directors in 2001. Farm Aid has raised more than $27 million to promote a strong and resilient family farm system of agriculture. Through public education and direct grants, Farm Aid supports national, regional and local efforts to build and strengthen family farm food systems.

To learn more about what you can do to help local farmers visit www.farmaid.org

Choice Tea was recently awarded an award for waste prevention and recycling. This is a company I already buy from, but I’m happy to see that they’re doing all they can to be environmentally-conscious, as well. They make good tea, too.

(read the article here)

According to data obtained by the Associated Press, about a dozen women died last year from blood clots believed to be related to use of the birth control patch. Dozens more survived strokes or other clot-related problems. Most of these were in their late teens or early twenties – normal, healthy young women.

For nonsmoking women under the age of 35, the risk of developing a nonfatal blood clot while on the pill is 1-3 in 10,000. The risk of death is 1 in 200,000. The birth control patch carries a higher risk: about 12 in 10,000 users will develop nonfatal blood clots, and 3 out of every 200,000 women will die.

Is it really worth risking death or serious injury to avoid getting pregnant? Especially when there are other methods of preventing pregnancy – such as the fertility awareness method – that are scientifically proven to be as effective as contraceptives and don’t carry that risk. True, they may not be as convenient as popping a pill, but it beats dying. The problem is that most women on contraceptives are not even aware of the risks they carry or that there are other alternatives. These are tragic, needless deaths.

read the article here

From time to time, a product comes across our screen that is just too interesting not to share– even if we can’t quite make it fit with our regular categories. This product is one of those. It’s a bucket. It’s a bathtub. It makes me giggle. I think the idea behind it is probably very useful (we actually bathe with our babies, but, hey, to each his own). I’m sure it’s better than the regular baby bathtubs that caused all my children to scream in terror.

Okay, at first this article made me mad– hopping mad. And then I got to the end. It’s written by– drum roll, please– a head custodian! Okay, nothing against the head custodians of the world– I wouldn’t want a world without them, but how does being head custodian give him any right to comment on who is best suited to educate anybody? By his own logic, shouldn’t he leave that to the experts?

(read the article here)

Home superior to hospital birth
Source: British Medical Journal 2005; 330: 1416-22

The largest prospective study of planned home births to date evaluates the safety of such births supported by direct entry midwives.

Among low-risk women, home births assisted by certified midwives achieve similar rates of intrapartum and neonatal mortality as hospital births, with lower rates of medical intervention, reveal Canadian researchers.

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