Natural Family News

A news station in the BBC has caused quite a stir online with their piece on “Extraordinary Breastfeeding”. Great Britain apparently has lousy breastfeeding rates overall, but this piece focused on mums who practice extended – and sometimes *really* extended – breastfeeding. Get any group of moms together, ask them at what age a child should be weaned by, and you will get a wide variety of answers. There are comments from moms on the news piece above that state that breastfeeding beyond 6 months of age is abuse. Others feel like 2-3 years should be the limit. Still others say 5 or older. Who’s right? The probable answer is no one. I don’t think that anyone can list a hard and fast rule about when a child should wean. Anthropologists seem to be in agreement that historically children were breastfed well into their third year and beyond. Ultimately when to wean is a very personal decision, and one that I believe should be left for individual families to work out on their own.

A recent news piece is rehashing the pros and cons of cosleeping. It does a relatively decent job of presenting both sides, though it does appear to lean towards the “cosleeping is dangerous” camp. They do mention some of cosleeping’s benefits, and make some recommendations of how to do so safely. However, they fail to mention the problems with the CPSC’s study and their findings, and all but one of the listed dangers of cosleeping are related to unsafe cosleeping practices, not cosleeping itself. It’s like saying that crib sleeping is dangerous because the crib slats could be too far apart and cause entrapment of the baby’s head. The problem there isn’t inherently crib sleeping – it’s the design of the crib. Beds that are too soft, big gaps between headboards and footboards, etc. are hazards that can be eliminated. If you’re interested in a more scientific view and in depth discussion of sleep practices, I would recommend you check out Dr. James McKenna’s Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Laboratory at the University of Notre Dame.

The 2006 Green Power Top 25 list, released late last month, includes a diverse set of U.S. companies, organizations and government institutions that have voluntarily bought the most renewable energy and are part of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Green Power Partnership. EPA also announced its Green Power Partners are now purchasing more than 4 million megawatt hours of renewable energy, an increase of nearly 100 percent since the end of 2004. The 2006 Top 25 green power purchasers are buying enough energy to power more than 300,000 homes a year, which is also comparable to removing the emissions of nearly 400,000 cars from the road annually. More than half of the Top 25 EPA green power purchasers are comprised of U.S. corporations, a number that continues to increase every year.

“EPA’s partners continue to meet President Bush’s call to diversify our nation’s energy supply by promoting alternative and renewable energy sources,” said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. “These leaders in environmental stewardship are making the voluntary decisions to switch to green power – helping to decrease our nation’s overall dependence on foreign sources of power.”

The U.S. Air Force once again leads the green power Top 25 list, purchasing more than 1 million MWh annually for Air Force bases across the country. The Air Force has held the No. 1 spot since the Top 25 list started in September 2004. Whole Foods Market surpassed both Safeway, Inc., and Johnson & Johnson to lead all corporate purchasers after increasing their purchase to more than 450 thousand MWh annually of renewable energy. EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy follow the U.S. Air Force in purchase size for government institutions in the Top 25.

Green power is electricity generated from environmentally-preferable renewable resources such as solar, wind, geothermal, biogas, and low-impact biomass and hydro resources. Green power accounts for nearly two percent of America’s electricity supply, but voluntary purchasing of renewable energy is accelerating renewable energy development.

The complete list of Top 25 EPA Green Power Partners is as follows, listed in order of purchase size:

1. U.S. Air Force
2. Whole Foods Market
3. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
4. Johnson & Johnson
5. U.S Department of Energy
6. Starbucks
7. The World Bank
8. Safeway, Inc.
9. U.S. General Services Administration (Region 2)
10. HSBC North America
11. City of Sand Diego, Calif.
12. New Jersey Consolidated Energy Savings Program
13. Advanced Micro Devices/Austin, Texas Facilities
14. WhiteWave Foods
15. Staples
16. Austin (Texas) Independent School District
17. Mohawk Fine Papers, Inc.
18. The Tower Companies
19. FedEx Kinko’s
20. U.S. Amry/Fort Carson
21. University of Pennsylvania
22. Montgomery County, Md.
23. Hyatt Regency/Reunion & DFW Airport Hotels
24. Western Washington University
25. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

The Green Power Partnership is a voluntary EPA program that seeks to increase the use of green power among leading U.S. organizations. Partners in the program switch to green power for a portion of their electricity needs in return for EPA technical assistance and recognition. The Green Power Partnership currently has more than 600 Partners, including Fortune 500 companies, states, federal agencies, trade associations and universities.

EPA updates the list of green power purchasers quarterly. For more information on green power, visit: http://www.epa.gov/greenpower. For more information on EPA’s Top 25 list, visit: http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/partners/top25.htm

Apparently one Steelers fan finds watching the Super Bowl to be of greater importance than having her child. Carrie Welling of New Kensington has convinced her doctor to induce her labor the day before the big game so that she won’t have to miss a thing. I find this whole trend of induction totally for convenience to be greatly disturbing, and it ought to be malpractice.

The USDA has plans to put a national animal registry and surveillance plan into place. This plan would require you to register your animals, even if you have only one livestock animal– one chicken, one horse, one goat, one sheep. If you take your animal to a vet, and your animal is not registered, your vet would be required to report you. Read here to learn more about why you should oppose this plan.

Sign a petition to help stop this plan in Texas.

More information on current plans in Texas.

More information on national plans.

There’s an interesting opinion piece by Jeff Leach written recently that discusses how vaginal birth and breastfeeding promotes colonization of the baby’s intestinal tract by beneficial bacteria. He does a great job discussing the issue, and is a witty writer to boot. It’s definitely a worthwhile read.

LAFARGE, Wis., Feb. 1 /PRNewswire/ — The Heart of Farming, a new monthly
multimedia storytelling feature that connects America’s new generation of
organic farmers to their urban counterparts, has been launched by Organic
Valley Family of Farms, the cooperative that helped pioneer organic
agriculture in the U.S.
Available on the Organic Valley website at
http://www.organicvalley.coop/heart , The Heart of Farming is shot, edited,
and produced by award-winning photo journalist Carrie Branovan, exclusively
for Organic Valley Family of Farms. Branovan has been traveling across the
nation photographing organic farmers for the past five years. While she
walked through pastures, waited for the rain to pass, and sat at the farmhouse
kitchen table sharing pie and coffee, she was treated to some of the best
stories she had ever heard. This year, Organic Valley’s web team asked her to
share those stories with a larger community. The farmers’ voices and
beautiful photographic images are now blended together and embellished with
locally produced music. The result is an entertaining, thoughtful and
inspiring slice of life.
“The Heart of Farming is about the values that are shared by urban and
rural folks who think outside the box, and challenge existing paradigms,” said
Branovan.
Branovan noted that The Heart of Farming is a “creative vehicle that
connects the organic community — values to values — with the folks that
produce their food.” Farmers are able to tell stories in their own voices,
expressing their thoughts about a diverse range of topics.
“Organic farmers represent a renaissance population that thinks beyond
conventional farming methods, challenges popular thought, and often reinvents
what their parents and universities have taught them about chemically
intensive farming. These farmers are unusually intuitive, bright, talented,
and gregarious; they share a strong sense of justice and social
responsibility,” said Branovan.
The first Heart of Farming episode features farmers Laurie and Lee
Arboreal and 4-year-old daughter Iris, first generation market gardeners in
central Michigan. Viewers are treated to a story from Laurie, and invited to
reflect on managing life’s challenges, against a background of vibrant organic
images of food, flowers and family. Branovan pauses to ask, “Is it that
philosophers make great organic farmers, or that living a life close to the
rhythms of the earth creates philosophers? Maybe both!”
“The Heart of Farming is an authentic voice for a brand that has pioneered
the organic movement,” said Theresa Marquez, chief marketing executive of
Organic Valley, an unprecedented cooperative model owned by 730 organic family
farmers across the U.S. “It is an excellent example of Organic Valley’s
commitment to connecting citizen consumers to the farmers who produce their
food, renewing America’s pride in its agrarian roots, and celebrating the
growth of the organic movement.”
Each month’s Heart of Farming episode will be featured in Rootstock,
Organic Valley’s monthly e-magazine. To subscribe, follow the prompts to
become a member of Farm Friends at http://www.organicvalley.coop .