Category: Current Events

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Current Events Health

Melamine Found in United States Infant Formula

Melamine, the harmful chemical found in Chinese infant formula, that killed at least 3 babies and made as many as 50,000 sick, has been detected in trace amounts in infant formula sold in the United States.

The FDA says it found traces of melamine in samples of the top-selling infant formula, but the amounts found no pose no danger.  However, the FDA said just last month that they are unable to determine any level of melamine exposure that is safe. 

As a mother, I wonder how the FDA can make this statement, since scientists have said they have not had enough time to determine how the melamine could affect infant’s kidneys, and bladders, which are not fully developed. 

Melamine can bind with other chemicals in the urine, to potentially form kidney and bladder stones, and in some cases, cause kidney failure.

There have been no reports of any ill infants in the United States.  It does seem to be cause for concern though.  According to Wikipedia, melamine is described as as being “Harmful if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin. Chronic exposure may cause cancer or reproductive damage. Eye, skin and respiratory irritant.”  It is also an irritant when inhaled or in contact with the skin and the eyes. 

Wikipedia  cites a study in which “a toxicology study conducted after recalls of contaminated pet food concluded that the combination of melamine and cyanuric acid in diet does lead to acute renal failure in cats.”

Melamine has been found by the top producers of infant formula, in the United States- Abbott Laboratories, Nestle and Mead Johnson.  These three companies manufacture more than 90 percent of all infant formula produced in the United States, according to the Associated Press.  The AP says a third major formula maker told them that their in-house tests had also detected trace amount of melamine.

The AP story on this, gives examples on how melamine could have ended up in formula- one way is melamine is contained in a cleaning solution used on some food processing equipment and can leach into the products being prepared.

No matter how melamine has ended up in infant formula, it is outrageous and unacceptable.  Melamine clearly can pose a threat, to adults-not to mention babies whose organs are underdeveloped.  Not only can no one say what a “safe” level of exposure is, it appears the only safe level is none at all.  Not to mention what chronic exposure, even at a “safe” or “low level”can do long term, to a baby.

Parents who chose or have to use formula trust these companies to make sure their product is safe.  Clearly this gives parents cause for concern, and the makers of formula need to take immediate steps to assure NO amount of melamine is present in formula.

What parent would knowingly risk exposing their baby to a harmful chemical like this?  Most parents go out of their way to make sure their babies do not come in contact with harmful chemicals. Formula is not cheap, and some parents pay premium prices for it,  And yet-through no fault of their own- parents have been exposing their babies to melamine, because the formula companies they have trusted to provide safe formula, has failed them.

Take a moment and let these formula companies know how you feel about even small traces of melamine in their formula. Here is the contact information for the three biggest formula producers in the United States:

Abbot Labortories: E-mail Link: https://similac.com/contact-us or Phone: 1-800-232-7677 (M-F 8-5, Central Time)

Nestle: E-mail Link: https://www.nestle.com/Common/Header/ContactUs.htm

Mead Johnson (Efamil): E-mail Link: https://www.meadjohnson.com/app/iwp/B2CLoadContactFormInfo.do?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&csred=1&r=3405127602  or Phone: 1-800-Baby123 M-F 7am-7pm, & 8-4:30, Saturday, Central Time

Mead Johnson World Headquarters: Phone: 1-800-429-5000, M-F 7:30-4 Central Time

Cross posted on BlogHer

Categories
Current Events

Wanted for Christmas: Socks With No Holes

My sister is a second grade teacher at an impoverished school in Denver.  She just sent me a heart-breaking plea via e-mail for donations for her kids in her class for Christmas.  Here is part of her e-mail:

“To put it bluntly: I have 26 8-year-old kids. 7 of them are homeless: they either live in shelters or with other family members. Most of them don’t have their own coats, boots or enough food to eat at night. 5 of my kids’ families have lost their jobs recently in the tough economic times we are facing and their futures look even more bleak. The school lunch and breakfast that we serve every day is the only times a few of my kids even get to eat. Five of my kids have family members (a mom or dad or brother) in jail, 2 just lost their cars and have no transportation and the vast majority of my kids don’t have enough books, pencils, paper or even crayons at home to do their homework. 

It’s not that the parents are deadbeats or don’t care: I’ve met all my parents and you’ve never seen a group of parents that are more devoted to their kids and passionate that their kids MAKE IT: they want their kids to rise above their situation and become better than they themselves have it.”

As I read further, I got tears in my eyes seeing what some the children had requested for A Christmas present in a writing assignment (my sister did not edit their responses): 

“…I need some socks because all mine have holes in them.””…I would like two blankets because my house gets cold.”
“…I would like a dol becasue I really want one.”
“…in the store, I would like new shoes.””…I need some pencils at home because I don’t half any and I half to wait until my couzin is done with his homework. Also his homework has a lot of pages to do and it takes forever and ever and I don’t get to finish not much of my homework.”

“…a beautiful, red, sparkly dress. Like a princess.”

“a Bratz Babby”

“Operation Hulk”

“…a bike so I don’t have to share with my brother and cuzzin.”

“…I would like a nice dress that comes with a crown.”

“…chapter books at home because I can onlee read the baby books of my brother.”

 

 A message like this really puts it in perspective.  I was bummed this morning because a kitchen set I spotted on Craig’s List for Cole, was already sold.  But Cole, and Ryan will have other presents, and they have a warm house to sleep in, socks with no holes in them, and more pencils, crayons, and books than they know what to do with.

My sister said Wal-Mart gift cards are the most helpful, because most schools get tax-exempt status from Wal-Mart and then they can purchase whatever they do not receive in donations. 

Instead of spending the money on a kitchen set, I plan to send my sister a Wal-Mart gift card, to help assure every child in her class gets ONE Christmas gift.  I also plan to get another gift card for my local school, because the sad thing is, this is not a unique situation.  Sadly, there are too many kids in exactly the same situation as the kids in my sister’s class.

My sister said I could post her school information, and if you can help out, she and the kids would be eternally grateful.  Perhaps she will be able to take some pictures of the kids with their gifts, and I can post some pictures of them in the future.

Please think about also making a donation to your local school- the thought of a child not having a gift on Christmas is so sad, let alone when a child just wants some socks with no holes in them, or a pencil so they can do their homework.  I think my sister says it all with this sentence:

There is nothing more heartwarming than the smile on a child’s face when they are used to getting nothing (which reinforces to them that they don’t matter and they don’t deserve anything) and someone, somewhere, shows that they care about that child and that they MATTER to someone.

Please note: My sister said they can accept anything (pencils, chapter books, socks, crayons, etc.) EXCEPT FOR CASH and CHECKS.  Again, Wal-Mart gift cards would be the most helpful, and would also be the least expensive to mail to her.  She needs donations in by December 12th.

If you can make a donation, you can mail it to:

Alsup Elementary School
C/O Mara Corzine
7101 Birch Street
Commerce City, CO  80022

Thank you for considering making a donation, and helping make a child’s Christmas a little brighter.

Cross-posted at Blogher

Categories
Breastfeeding Current Events

Breastmilk in Ice Cream?

A news station out of Vermont, claims that PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) sent a letter to Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream, asking them to use breastmilk in their ice cream, instead of cow’s milk. 

Evidently PETA decided to make this request because of a Swiss restaurant owner, who will be purchasing breastmilk from nursing mothers, and using it place of cow’s milk in 75% of items.

When I first read this, I chuckled.  Obviously PETA’s angle is using human milk would be better for the cows.  On one hand, there is a saying, human milk for human babies, cow’s milk for baby cows.  In theory, isn’t human milk better for humans?  After all, we are the only species who drink another species milk.

It is a given that breastmilk contains antibodies to protect babies from countless diseases and illnesses.  However, in recent years there have been reports that donor breastmilk has helped adults with some illnesses. 

From a Mothering Magazine article, discussing the benefits to adults:

Besides healing common minor afflictions, breastmilk has recently been in the news for helping to treat more serious illnesses. Adult cancer patients have been drinking breastmilk in an attempt to boost their immune systems and cope better with the side effects of chemotherapy.2 While this is not a common practice, a milk bank in California has supplied a group of pioneering patients with breastmilk for the past few years. One lucky recipient of this donor milk, Howard Cohen of Palo Alto, California, strongly believes that ingesting breastmilk daily has helped his prostate cancer go into remission.3

Donor milk is used to treat a variety of health problems. I spoke with Pauline Sakamoto, RN, MS, executive director of the Mothers’ Milk Bank in San Jose, California, about some of the other ways breastmilk benefits people. “Historically, human milk has been used for diseases and health conditions of adults and children and as a superior food for babies. These folk cures have been tested throughout time. Currently, there has been more interest in the scientific community to test the components of human milk’s effect on different health problems that plague us today. Hopefully, in the near future, we will validate the incredible power that our body has to promote growth, heal itself, and preserve its integrity via human milk.

Breastmilk may even kill cancer cells. In 1995 physician and immunologist Catharina Svanborg and a team of research biologists at Sweden’s Lund University discovered in breastmilk a protein compound, alpha-lactalbumin (they gave it the acronym HAMLET), that selectively induces apoptosis in tumor cells.4 In other words, HAMLET makes cancer cells commit suicide. In fact, it has killed every type of cancer the researchers have tested it against. HAMLET has also been used to successfully treat virally infected warts, which were reduced by 75 percent in volunteers who received daily treatments with an ointment containing the protein. The same viruses that cause warts are also linked to cervical cancer, genital warts, and some types of skin cancer.

Kellymom.com also has a page called Healing with Breastmilk, which has links to several articles and studies of medicinal uses of breastmilk. 

Just like cow milk, human milk has to be sterilized for safety when being used as donor milk.  Personally, I don’t think there would be any more risk from human milk than cows milk, if proper sterilization processes occurred.  But from a practical standpoint, I think this is a idea that would never fly.

Currently, it is illegal for women to sell their breastmilk, so any milk given to Ben & Jerry’s (or any other food establishment) would have to be done as a donation.  Furthermore, in order to replace all cow’s milk with breastmilk, there would have to be a lot of donors.  It is hard enough at times to make enough milk for your own baby, let alone for donation.

I know some mothers who have donated their surplus of breastmilk to milk banks, for babies who need it for medical emergencies.  This is a very loving gift they give, and the mothers who do this are not paid.  I would like to think that mothers who donate their milk, would be more likely to donate it to a milk bank for critically sick babies, than to Ben and Jerry’s so they can make ice cream.   

Suppose the industry could find enough women to donate their milk.  Sadly, I think most people are grossed out by consuming human breastmilk.  In this society, we are used to consuming animal products, but we are not used to consuming a human product like breastmilk. 

While PETA is thinking out of the box on this one, I think it will be a very, very, long time before we start seeing breastmilk replacing cow’s milk in dairy products.

What do you think?  If human milk was pasteurized/sterilized, would you buy a dairy product with breastmilk in it?

Categories
Current Events

Political Bumper Stickers & Signs- Yes or No?

(Cross-posted on BlogHer)

It must be election season, because I see more and more political bumper stickers popping up on cars, and signs in yards.

I am uncomfortable pasting a sticker on the back of my car, announcing who I am going to vote for, or whom I am supporting in this (or any) election.  On one hand, I understand why people do it- they are excited about their candidate(s), and want to make a statement. 

But on the other hand, I realize that some people take elections very seriously, and it kind of scares me if I would happen to come in contact with someone who, let’s just say wasn’t supporting the candidate I was.   

There is that old saying, never to discuss politics or religion, and I understand why.  Politics is one area, where people just have strong feelings, and a lot of times it is in black and white- no middle ground.  The attitudes I have found more likely than not, have been if you are voting for X, you are “right,” but if you would even consider voting for Y, you are “wrong.”   

I have had very few political conversations with people who support their candidates strongly, but can understand why someone else would want to vote for the other person, or the other side.  It doesn’t matter if we are talking Democrat or Republican, Independent, or Libertarian- it happens in every political party.

If I put a bumper sticker on my car for the candidate I believed in, there are going to be people who don’t think that is the “right” choice.   Would my car be vandalized in a parking lot?  I have had my car keyed a few times, for a lot less than having a political bumper sticker on my car.  Would I be subjected to road rage?  I don’t know.

Another issue for me, I don’t want to have my political beliefs become a barrier between the people I know.  I am guilty too, of doing what I just wrote about above.  I met a really nice lady the other day, and we happened to be pulling out of the same place, at the same time, and I saw her political bumper sticker on the back of her car.   Five minutes before that, the thought of which presidential candidate she was supporting, hadn’t even crossed my mind, but now I found myself thinking about it.  If I had, had the opposite candidate’s sticker on my car, what would she had thought about me?  Would it, present a barrier in us becoming friends?  I don’t know. 

If feel this way about bumper stickers, then you can probably imagine that I would never in a million years, put a political sign in my front yard!  What if none of the neighbors supported my candidate?  Would I be the neighborhood outcast?  Would my house be vandalized?  What if the candidate someone was supporting didn’t win?  Would they remember my house displayed the “wrong” candidate’s sign?  Would I be compromising my family’s safety?

I live in mid-size town, and every election year, there are reports that political signs get stolen and vandalized.  It happens to signs from both political parties.  Unless it is just a bunch of kids, not knowing what they are doing, obviously some Republicans are damaging and removing signs from yards supporting the Democratic candidate, and vice-versa.  What would it take, for this to go one step further?  I don’t know. It just isn’t a risk I want to take with my family, my house, or my car.

Finally, call me old-fashioned, but if you have read this far, you have probably noticed that I haven’t said which candidate at this point, I believe I will vote for.  And I’m not going to.  Not in this post, or in any post.  I firmly believe that everyone has a right to decide for themselves, and they are capable of making that decision, on whom they are going to vote for.  I don’t think it is anyone else’s business, whom I am going to vote for.  That is the whole reasoning behind casting a secret ballot- you don’t have to tell if you don’t want to.

Chances are, you know or have a pretty good idea who you are going to vote for.  I doubt revealing who I am probably going to vote for, will change your mind, and I don’t really see any great things coming from telling someone who I am going to vote for, only to find out they are going to vote for the opposite person.  Awkward at best.

So now you know that I am a definite No, on sporting political bumper stickers and signs, what do you think?  Do you have an Obama/Biden or McCain/Palin bumper sticker on your car, or a sign in your yard?  Or are you like me, and would never do this?

Categories
Current Events

September 11th

To all the families and friends of the victims of September 11th, my heart goes out to you.  As a nation and individuals, we will never forget all the innocent lives lost on that horrific day.