What Kind of Chemicals are in Organic Baby Formula?

Yipes! According to this article in the Washington Post, the standards for the USDA organic seal are getting relaxed, and the scariest thing, for me, is the hexane used to process organic baby formula.

The whole point of organic food, to me, is to limit the amount of pesticides and other toxic chemicals in my system. For babies, this is even more important as they have smaller bodies and so will have a larger percentage of chemicals in their system if they should ingest these chemicals. Using a chemical like hexane, a known neurotoxin, in the processing of baby formula is simply unconscionable–other than breastmilk, which may not be available if a mother is sick, unavailable or has any of the many well documented problems with breastfeeding, there are no other alternatives to baby formula. This also means that many parents, thinking they were doing better for their kids by choosing the more expensive organic formulas, may not have been giving their children any advantage at all.

It was bad enough when it was discovered that organic formulas had excess sugars, but at least sugars are a naturally occurring substance. Today’s news is an order of magnitude worse, in my opinion, as it shows the willingness of federal agencies to be influenced by the food lobbies…leading them to undermine the very youngest citizens most in need of protection.

Lead Found In White House Garden!

Oh no, the New York Times reports that lead was found in the White House Garden! Lest we be too concerned, the levels were not deemed unsafe…but still, it’s probably for the best that Barack and Michelle seem to have put the childbearing to rest, as lead can damage the littlest ones. Let’s hope Bo the Wonderpup hasn’t been pawing the produce too much, either.