The Canary Report

KFC and Susan G. Komen launch huge pinkwashing campaign

Posted on Apr 17, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Environment, Food, Social Justice, Susie Collins

Kentucky Fried Chicken and Susan G. Komen for the Cure team up for the largest pinkwashing campaign in the history of breast cancer.

This commercial introduces the “Buckets for the Cure(tm)” campaign from KFC. KFC is joining the fight against breast cancer with this national campaign aimed at educating more women about breast health, generating support for the cause and attempting to make the single largest donation in the history of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

I was disgusted to see the KFC commercial above announcing their alliance with the Susan G. Komen Foundation to raise funds for breast cancer “education.” Regular readers of The Canary Report know that I have a pet peeve about pinkwashing. As a breast cancer survivor, I am sickened when companies who produce products containing carcinogens jump on the pink bandwagon, suckering the public into buying unsafe products through the guise of caring about our breast health.

Christina Pirello reports at The Huffington Post on Susan G. and KFC: An Unholy Alliance. Pirello says that “according to Neal Barnard, MD, president and founder of Physicians’ Committee for Responsible Medicine (http://www.pcrm.org), both the grilled and fried chicken served up in these pretty pink buckets contributes to the development of cancer, including breast and prostate cancers.”

Spend some time on the Susan G. Komen for the Cure website and you’ll see lots of resources for women to find information once diagnosed. You’ll also find sections advising women about living a healthy lifestyle by eating a healthy diet and maintaining a healthy weight. But how can they really talk about healthy eating when they partner with the very kinds of companies that destroy the health of all people, not just women? How can they accept one penny from companies like KFC whose products create the exact health problems this organization is sworn to defeat? Someone is tilting at the wrong windmill.

Further, as an animal lover and the owner of four precious hens, I hope you think twice about the source of the chicken you eat. KFC practices factory farming, a food production practice so cruel and inhumane that I am unable to even write about it or give you links to learn more. I hope you are being conscious about the sources of your food and thinking twice before eating any factory farmed animals.

Boycott this KFC-Komen campaign!

NOT!

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Tags: Cancer, Children's Health, Environment, Food, Products, Toxic

Short film: The People’s Grocery

Posted on Jan 29, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Food, Media/Videos, Organic Gardening, Susie Collins

Food justice: The People’s Grocery in West Oakland is an inspiration to communities everywhere about the importance of a healthy diet and about knowing where your food comes from. Director of the project Brahm Ahmadi is a hero!

In West Oakland, California, where liquor stores have replaced markets, People’s Grocery is creating a healthy alternative, offering access to organic produce. Through urban gardens and local farms, People’s Grocery supports a culture based on connection to the land, sustainable agricultural practices, and regenerating community.

Brahm Ahmadi is the co-founder and executive director of People’s Grocery. He has a B.A. in Sociology from the University of California and is an MBA candidate at the Presidio School of Management. Brahm combines social enterprise, cooperative economics, urban agriculture, public education and youth development to build healthy and stable inner city communities. He is also Executive Director of the North Oakland Land Trust, which preserves properties in North Oakland for the exclusive purpose of community gardening.

Link (A great site with oodles of online films to watch!)

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Tags: Children's Health, Environmental Health, Food, Healthy Living, Organic, Video, Work

Xtrema cooking

Posted on Jan 20, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Food, Products, Susie Collins

Founder of Xtrema cookware says it’s made of nontoxic material that can be left on the heat indefinitely and not emit toxic fumes even if boiled bone dry.

This Xtrema cookware looks interesting, coated in a nontoxic ceramic glaze that will not emit toxic fumes even if cooked bone dry on high heat. The high heat safety factor is in comparison to Teflon, which studies show emits dangerous toxic fumes when overheated. Xtrema also claims their nylon lids and utensils are nontoxic.

Feature: High temperature, ultra-durable non- scratch finish, inside and out.

Benefit: Xtrema products feature a revolutionary and technologically advanced ceramic non-scratch ceramic glaze on the inside and outside of every vessel. This ceramic-glaze consists of 100% natural ceramic materials and is completely environmentally safe. The glaze will never emit gaseous or toxic odors (at any temperature), it will not be damaged by the use of metal cooking utensils, and will never peel or flake off into the food. The ceramic glaze on the outside of the cookware also provides faster clean-up and helps keep Xtrema cookware looking brand new, year after year.

The flash graphic on the header on their website is a little scary: thick black smoke curling and swirling. But they say their product is as nontoxic as they come.

The founder of Xtrema is Rich Bergstrom, a former Corning representative. I love my Corning baking dish–I’ve had it for 30 years–and I often recommend Corning to canaries asking about cookware. Bergstrom has something interesting to say about Corning:

Corning Ware manufacturing facility in Martinsburg, WV was closed and dismantled in 2002. Corning Ware is still being marketed today by World Kitchen but the product is now being made of stoneware and not the patented pyro-ceram material that made Corning Ware so recognizable.

Hmmm. Not sure I can recommend that product anymore, at least not until I am convinced the new material is as superior and nontoxic as the old Corning. Is anyone using Corning purchased after 2002?

Has anyone tried Xtrema? It’s not cheap. This darling tea set is $129 and their most basic skillet about $100. But I think it’s going on my wish list. Right after the new HEPA air filter and organic cotton futon for the bedroom.

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Tags: Children's Health, Food, Healthy Living, Home, Indoor Pollution, Nontoxic, Products

Short film: The Story of Food

Posted on Jan 19, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Food, Media/Videos, Susie Collins

USC Canada’s new short, animated film will get you thinking about our broken food system.

It identifies what’s gone wrong with the modern food system, and what we can do to rebuild it.

Link to more info about the film.

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Tags: Chemicals, Environment, Food, Garden, Health, Healthy Living, Organic, Products, Video

Feeding a flock

Posted on Aug 26, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Food, Home & Garden, Kimberly Shaw

Making an easy home-cooked meal for friends and family can be challenging with food sensitivities.

Post by Kimberly Shaw.

When my daughters are all home for a visit we have a mixture of food sensitivities, allergies and other special considerations. If you add my mother and mother-in-law to the mix, we have even more foods to avoid. It is an adventure to plan a meal that is fairly easy to make and yet enjoyable for all.

I generally go for a themed build-your-own meal, two of my favorite being Southwestern and Italian. Then I set up a yummy buffet and people can pick items what works for them. I try and have options for vegetarians and non-vegetarians.

Southwestern Feast
“Build your own soft taco or taco salad”

Buffet items (organic, if possible):

Tortillas (organic wheat, organic corn and/or organic brown rice)
Mixed green salad
Diced tomatoes
Sliced avocados and/or guacamole
Sliced olives
Sliced or shredded carrots or other vegetables
Cooked brown rice or Mexican style rice
Salsa (can make fruit salsa, if you cannot have tomatoes)
Cheese (cow, goat, soy, and/or rice)
Sour cream or yogurt (milk or soy)
Cilantro
Unseasoned cooked ground beef, ground turkey, shredded chicken and/or tofu
Black beans
Pinto beans

Italian
“Build your own pasta”

Pasta (organic wheat and/or a gluten-free pasta)
Steamed shredded organic zucchini – to use as “pasta” for those who cannot have any type pasta

Sauces – Pesto *, buy or make a tomato based sauce with or without added meat, and/or an Alfredo sauce. *Omit nuts or cheese, if allergic. I just make one with olive oil, basil and garlic.

Serve with steamed vegetables and/or a salad.

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Tags: Food, Healthy Living, Home, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Organic

Working with a health coach: Week One

Posted on Aug 12, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Food, Home & Garden, Susie Collins

This week’s focus: At 52 years old, my brain and body need readily available fuel starting first thing in the morning; no more going without food until the afternoon.

A couple weeks ago, Canary Report contributor Keith Carlson, aka Nurse Keith, left a message on our network asking for a volunteer to coach during his life coach training.

I am doing a 5-week life coach training, and I need a willing person to be my first “client” for three free coaching sessions. Would anyone out there be potentially interested in participating as my “coachee”?

Following this preliminary training, my wife Mary and I will be “hanging a virtual shingle” as health and wellness coaches, and our first clients of 2009 will receive the benefits of our many years of experience and expertise at a very reasonable rate!

I jumped at the chance to work with Keith! He’s making some major life and career changes right now, and I welcome the opportunity to support him in his time of transition. Plus, I’d get some coaching that would be of great benefit. It’s a win-win!

So I’ve just completed my first week into the coaching. During our first phone consultation last week Wednesday, we decided that we’d work on my eating habits. One of my worst habits is not eating at all in the morning but instead filling up on huge mugs of tea and soy milk. I don’t usually eat until about one o’clock in the afternoon. While I’ve been able to get away with this my whole life, I am discovering that my 52-year-old body is no longer truly happy with the arrangement.

Previously, I’ve had no motivation whatsoever to change this habit. I’m not really that interested in food, and to be honest, except for dinner each evening with my husband, I am slightly annoyed that I have to take time out from whatever I am doing to eat. I usually shove something in my mouth while standing up, eating just enough to keep from getting hypoglycemic, and rushing back to whatever task is at hand whether it be work in the office or out in the gardens. In my mind, my adherence to mostly whole organic food seems to justify this behavior.

Well, it simply must stop. My brain and body now need readily available fuel starting first thing in the morning, with subsequent meals and snacks sustaining me throughout the day. It was interesting having the discussion with Keith about motivation, because I am in no way motivated to change this habit merely for my own benefit. But when Keith pointed out that if I had better fuel in me all morning, the people with whom I come in contact would benefit– that’s what sparked my interest. If my brain and body had better fuel, I could work faster and with more clarity during those morning hours, and then slide into the afternoon without the jarring realization that I was running on empty.

I truly enjoyed our hour-long talk and look forward to our next weekly coaching session this afternoon. Keith is caring, compassionate and knowledgeable about health and well being, and as a registered nurse, he has years of experience under his belt on health issues. And because he also has Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, as do I, he relates to the added burden that someone like myself endures.

I think the most important concept I came away with during out first talk is about being “intentional” in changing the habit. Keith explained that you have to do a new habit for at least 21 days before it starts to dislodge the old routine. I thought, “Yeah, I can intentionally do this for three weeks!” So we came up with a new routine, which I put in place (mostly) this past week. The new routine also encompasses the surrounding activities to my morning meal, setting me up to intentionally ease into my day, rather than bolting out of bed and going straight to the computer.

1. Get up out of bed, put my feet on the floor, raise my arms up above my head, fingers laced, stretch up and and take a deep breath. Connect with earth and sky and signal my body that we are up!

2. Go to the bathroom, brush teeth, wash face.

3. Change clothes.

4. Make the bed.

5. Go make my tea, then sit down and have something to eat! I’ve been having these types of things: English muffins, yogurt, banana, and/or oatmeal with fruit, photo above.

6. Go outside and feed the chickens.

7. Come back in and go into the office.

The whole routine takes less than 20 minutes. I will admit that I messed up on a couple of days and discovered late morning that I had not eaten. But I will also freely admit that on the mornings when I remembered to do the routine, I felt great! I never reached the stress level in early afternoon of my body being completely depleted of fuel. And that’s such a good thing!

Thanks, Keith!

Keith Carlson, RN, blogs at Digital Doorway.

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Tags: Food, Healthy Living, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Organic, Support

Summer soups

Posted on Jul 31, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Food, Home & Garden, Kimberly Shaw

Soups are easy to make in the morning before it gets too hot outside. Then all you have to do is heat them up later for a lazy summer day lunch or dinner.

Post by Kimberly Shaw.

Here are two of my favorite summer soups:

Lentil Soup

8 cups filter water or organic vegetable broth*
1 clove organic garlic, minced
1 medium organic onion, chopped
2 large organic carrots, chopped
2 stalks organic celery, chopped
1 ½ cups organic dried lentils
1 ½ teaspoons fresh organic thyme or ½ teaspoon dried organic thyme
1 tablespoon fresh organic oregano or 1 teaspoon dried organic oregano
2 tablespoons fresh organic parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon paprika (if you can use, otherwise omit)
½ teaspoon sea salt

In soup pot, bring water or broth to boil. Add garlic, onion, carrots, celery and lentils. Return to boil. If using dried herbs, add them. Simmer and cover on low heat for 60 minutes. If using fresh herbs, add the fresh thyme and oregano during the last five minutes. After removing from heat, stir in the parsley.

Makes about 4 servings. This soup also freezes well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chicken, Cilantro and Lime Soup

Basic recipe:
1 medium organic onion, chopped
2 teaspoons organic extra virgin olive oil
8 cups filter water or organic low-salt chicken or vegetable broth or stock*
2 cooked organic chicken breasts, cut into pieces
1 cup organic zucchini, diced
¼ cup organic cilantro, chopped
1/3 cup organic lime juice
sea salt and pepper to taste (if you can use pepper)

If you can have corn, add:
1 cup organic whole-kernel corn

If you are not avoiding nightshades, add:
1 medium organic green bell pepper, chopped
1 large organic tomato, chopped

In large soup pot, saute onion (and bell pepper, if using) in olive oil on low to medium heat until tender, about 6 minutes. Then add water, stock or broth, chicken, zucchini (and corn and tomatoes, if using) and heat to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and add cilantro and lime. Season to taste with sea salt and pepper, if desired.

You can garnish with organic cilantro, organic lime slices and/or organic avocado.

Makes 4-6 servings, depending on extra ingredients added.

*In the winter I like to make my own stock, but in the summer I tend to go for “easy” and avoid heating up the stove and kitchen as much as possible. There are several brands of organic broths available at health food stores. Please check ingredients carefully, as some contain nightshades and even possibly hidden MSG. When I am not making my own, I tend to do well with Imagine Foods Organic Low Sodium Chicken Broth or Imagine Foods Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Broth (this does contain tomato).

To make your own broth, here are some easy recipes:

Cheap Like Me

Vegan YumYum

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Tags: Children's Health, Environmental Health, Food, Healthy Living, Home, Organic

Genetically modified, conventionally grown or organic?

Posted on Jul 26, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Food, Home & Garden, Kimberly Shaw

For those with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, it is very important to avoid GM produce.

Post by Kimberly Shaw.

About 70% of grocery store foods now contain genetically modified ingredients. For those with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, it is very important to avoid GM produce. If your body does not recognize a food it will treat it as a foreign agent. This often results in allergic or other adverse reactions.

Sometimes it is hard to tell how an item is grown.

For produce or animal products, just check the PLU code on the package or sticker:

* Has a four-digit number – “Conventionally Grown”
* Has a five-digit number beginning with 9 – “Organically Grown”
* Has a five-digit number beginning with 8 – “Genetically Modified” (GM)

Avoid processed drinks and foods. Most of them contain GM ingredients, unless they are organic.

Avoid farm-raised fish and conventionally raised meat and chicken.

For more information:

Seeds of Deception

What are the dangers of genetically modified foods, and what are GMOs, anyway?

Photo by Susie Collins

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Tags: Chemicals, Children's Health, Environmental Health, Food, Healthy Living, Home, Law, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Nontoxic, Organic, Policy, Products, Toxic

Enjoying simple pleasures

Posted on Jul 19, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Food, Home & Garden, Kimberly Shaw

“Simple pleasures are always the last refuge of the complex.” -Oscar Wilde

Post by Kimberly Shaw.

(Editor’s note: Please help me welcome Kimberly Shaw as a contributor at The Canary Report! Kimberly blogs at Adventurous Canary and is an author, educator, filmmaker and natural health consultant. She’s currently making a film documentary about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. She’ll blog here at The Canary Report on organic food, easy-to-make recipes, herbs, personal care products, and the enjoyment of everyday life in the midst of allergies and sensitivities. You can read her full bio here. Welcome, Kimberly! Aloha, Susie)

For many with food allergies and sensitivities it feels like a love-hate relationship when it comes to eating. We may love food, but hate the way it makes us feel or react. For some it feels like treading through a minefield to find something we can actually eat and enjoy.

It is easy to focus on what we cannot eat. Sometimes it is depressing to consider all that we need to avoid. I have found if I dwell on the “no list” I miss enjoying the “yes list.”

When I focus on what I can eat, meals can become an everyday celebration! Just the simple act of appreciating and savoring simple foods becomes something to enjoy, not something to dread.

I may not be able to have many of the ingredients in a fine gourmet meal, but I can wash some organic cherries, make some organic tea, get out a favorite bowl, sit outside in the breeze and slowly relish each bite. While you might not be able to have cherries or tea, there are some things on your “yes list” that you can enjoy.

Oscar Wilde once said, “Simple pleasures are always the last refuge of the complex.”

In our complex world, especially of avoidance, let’s celebrate and enjoy the simple pleasures, the foods we can eat!

Photo by Kimberly Shaw.

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Tags: Food, Healthy Living, Home, Leisure, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Organic

Film: The Future of Food

Posted on Jul 19, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Food, Home & Garden, Media/Videos

Film offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled U.S. grocery store shelves for the past decade.

Click on link at end of post to view entire film. Here’s the first 10 minutes.

Link to film’s website.

Click here to view the entire film (one hour, 30 minutes).

Thanks, Ruth!

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Tags: Chemicals, Environment, Environmental Health, EPA, FDA, Food, Healthy Living, Law, Organic, Pesticides, Policy, Pollution, Products, Research, Toxic, Video

Help launch What’sOnMyFood? website

Posted on Jun 18, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Food, Government Regulation, Home & Garden

The Pesticide Action Network launches interactive website.

The Pesticide Action Network reports:

Today we launched PAN’s new What’sOnMyFood? website.

The searchable site reveals what pesticides are found on which foods, in what amount, and – for the first time – links pesticide residues to the health effects associated with exposure to each of the chemicals.

Spread the Word » What’sOnMyFood? is an outreach tool meant to build momentum toward real pesticide reform — we need your help to make it work!

In addition to highlighting the health risks of pesticide residues, the What’sOnMyFood? database points to the hazards of pesticide use before food even reaches the kitchen table. By taking readers deeper into the public problem of pesticides, the site shows how widespread use of agricultural chemicals threatens the health of workers and rural communities, as well as harming wildlife and contaminating ecosystems.

Examples of pesticides facts found with What’sOnMyFood?

• 22 different pesticides were found on one strawberry sample.
• 79% of conventionally produced carrots contain linuron, a pesticide known to cause developmental or reproductive health problems.

Share this tool with 3 friends today! » Thank you for helping us launch this important new website.

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Tags: Chemicals, Children's Health, Environment, EPA, FDA, Food, Pesticides, Policy, Products, Research, Toxic, Water, Work