The Story of Stuff - Annie Leonard [67]
As I’ve said, every person alive today carries in his or her body a diverse range of toxic chemicals, thanks mostly to modern industrial processes and products. Pregnant and nursing women, and developing fetuses and newborn children—the littlest, most vulnerable members of society, with their rapidly growing brains and bodies—are no exception.
There have been a number of studies by medical professionals, government health agencies, environmental health groups, and others to track pollutants in breast milk. The Environmental Workgroup Group (EWG), for example, tested for toxic flame retardants in milk from twenty first-time mothers across the United States.136 These flame retardants are linked to neurological problems, including reduced learning, attention, and memory. EWG’s results showed some of the highest levels of flame retardants in breast milk ever found globally, with average levels seventy-five times higher than averages found in Europe, where some of these flame retardants have been banned.137
In the face of all the anguish and fear that this news brings with it, there are some important things to remember:
The problem is not the mother, but the broader industrial system. We wouldn’t have toxics in our breast milk if we hadn’t developed an industrial model that permeates our communities with toxins, overseen by a regulatory model that really has no clue what’s going on with these chemicals.
Breast is still best. Breast-feeding provides nutrients, minerals, antibodies, and powerful emotional bonding for new babies. It helps mothers recover from pregnancy, and mothers who breast-feed have lower rates of ovarian and breast cancer later in life. (Breastfed daughters may also have lower rates of breast cancer.138) Even in light of the scary news about toxics, environmental health and medical experts continue to recommend breastfeeding.
The problem is not irreversible. Long-term testing of breast milk has shown that once toxic chemicals are removed from use, their levels in breast milk decline. The data comparing U.S. levels to those in Europe, where some flame retardants have been banned since 2004, proves there’s lower contamination in places where the use of chemicals has been effectively restricted.139
“When babies come into this world pre-polluted with hundreds of dangerous industrial chemicals already in their blood, it’s clear that the regulatory system is broken,” says Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group. “The Kid-Safe Chemicals Act will change a lax, outdated system that presumes chemicals are safe into one that requires makers of toxic chemicals to prove their safety before they’re allowed on the market. This bill is a long-overdue move to put public health ahead of chemical industry profits.”143 The chemical industry is rallying its troops of public relations specialists and lobbyists to defeat KSCA, so to get on board and help turn this bill into law, contact the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families Campaign, working in Washington, D.C., and in communities across the country to pass laws to reform industry practices with regard to chemicals. Visit www.saferchemicals.org and saferstates.org to learn more.
Rather than focus on reducing any one population’s (like children’s) exposure to hazardous chemicals, the simplest solution is to phase out toxics altogether and replace them with safe materials. This approach is far more effective, since the level of hazard in a chemical is controllable, while exposure is not, especially with chemicals that persist, disperse, and build up throughout ecosystems. This is where green chemistry comes in. Pioneering green chemists are designing new materials from the molecular level up to satisfy all our requirements (for things to be sticky, strong, colorful, flame-resistant, etc.) while also being fully compatible with ecological and human health. To learn more about green chemistry, visit Clean Production Action at www.cleanproduction.org.
The Front Lines
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