Healthy Child Healthy World, Coming Together

For nearly 20 years, Healthy Child Healthy World has selectively collaborated with groups and companies that focus on reducing and eliminating chemical exposure in home products, furnishings, personal care products, and food. In doing so, the organization supports protective policies, and engages the public to take action in their personal lives by making greener, cleaner, and safer choices in simple but meaningful ways. It is a national, non- profit 501c organization headquartered in Los Angeles, CA. It is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors and distinguished group of advisors and is strengthened by community and corporate partners. (healthychild.org) Transmuting Tragedy into Positive Change “The greatest tragedy is for a parent to bury a child. It’s not natural.” I’ve heard this said repeatedly throughout my life. Just as often, I’ve witnessed the flow of profound love combined with grief, caused by such losses, transmuted and redirected into monumental gifts of service to humanity. Healthy Child Healthy World has its roots in one such example. Children’s Health Environmental Coalition, (CHEC), is one demonstration I have been inspired and enlightened by since 1989. Nancy & James Chuda took the tragic loss of their 5-year-old daughter, Collette Chuda, and channeled their pain and passion into a solution. Collette’s death was discovered to have been caused by Wilm’s tumor, a rare form of non-heredity cancer, possibly fed by a combination of environmental toxins. This was a pain too much to bear in apathy. They knew their preventable loss would be multiplying in other families unless the root cause of their daughter’s death was brought to light. If persistent environmental toxins were the normal, acceptable standard in society in our children’s food, home, bedding, toys, water, grass, and air, then Nancy and James would stand up to the challenge and turn their tragedy into a journey of renewal for a society on a downhill track away from regenerative living. Action, advocacy, and dedication have fueled CHEC for 21 years and their pioneering work has evolved into an organization now called Healthy Child Healthy World (HCHW). Every ally of Healthy Child Healthy World shares a simple vision for our children to live in a healthy world thriving and connected by love. Healthy Child Healthy World inspires and educates parents and families to be aware of the healthiest choices for their well being, with the greatest emphasis on our growing babies and children whose exposure to environmental toxins can and does have devastating consequences in birth defects, poor quality of life, cancer and death. Healthy Child Healthy World’s purpose and goals are:

• Expand awareness and understanding of environmental hazards to children’s health
• Help the public learn about healthier practices, solutions, and products in the marketplace
• Encourage daily action and informed lifestyle choices
• Create standards and policies for safer products, foods, materials, and chemicals in the home – promoting safer options and new alternatives
• Advocate for and support corporate policies and governmental legislation that protect children from environmental risks
• Engage communities to make wise choices and responsible decisions so families can flourish

Entertaining Peace on Earth In 1989 I was a grateful founding member of Earth Communications Office (ECO), now re-named Environmental Media Association (EMA). They suggested that all entertainment professionals could educate and illuminate healthier choices for audience members through the messages in our music, films and television programs. This is when I was first awakened and launched into a life dedicated to serving that which uplifts my mind, and art, and actions to a level that contributes to peace on earth, starting with my personal choices. ECO created large gatherings, bringing together producers, writers, musicians, actors and directors on movie studio lots. They had experts share their knowledge about the degradation and rapid decline of viability for life on earth due to human choices. We learned about a wide variety of issues: the loss of vitality and fertility for humans and the soil due to genetically modified foods, and cancer-causing chemicals in “conventional” agriculture versus the holistic blessings of organically grown foods. Every choice was brought to light, from our morning toothpaste, to eco-friendly cleaning supplies and toilet paper options. Seventh Generation, an amazing source for green products, was just beginning. The EMA taught us to trade plastic water bottles for glass or stainless steel and to clean them with alternatives to bleach like grapefruit seed extract or hydrogen peroxide. Another pioneering resource for eco-living, Real Goods Solar Living Center had recently been birthed 90 miles north of San Francisco, California. Real Goods is now owned by Gaiam.com, a stellar eco-living resource online offering inspirational media and solutions for healthy living, environmental wellness and renewal of spirit. EMA presenters celebrated the efficiency of solar and wind power, full spectrum and low-watt compact fluorescent light bulbs, and encouraged us to challenge standard practices to save dolphins from being killed in tuna fishing nets, etc. We heard how our individual choices were magnified by our current population and having a negative effect on the health of children, families, and the earth’s ecosystems. (http://www.ema-online.org/) Personal Passion focused on the Bigger Picture For over twenty years, my vision has focused on identifying those companies and individuals who offer win/win/win products and opportunities, treating consumers respectfully, as human beings living on a planet worth cherishing. This is how we perpetuate beneficial effects. There is a powerful potential in the interconnections being created with Healthy Child Healthy World. The partnerships between Healthy Child Healthy World and aligned companies are a perfect reflection of a wider understanding of humanity’s evolution. We are moving towards restoring and reclaiming our regenerative birthright. All indigenous people have demonstrated their deep reverence and humble cooperation with the earth’s bounty. It is only in severing our respect for the beauty of nature’s gifts and teachings that we have come to be challenged by such widespread devastation. Our personal health, family, community, national and global crises and warnings are clear. Synergy and trusted cooperation are keys to a wave of global renewal that honors children and babies and the highest possibilities for their bright future. Choosing Allies Wisely, Co-Creating the Greatest Good We have the choice to accept war and the poisoning of our children on a daily basis by the normal acts of survival; eating conventionally-grown foods, sleeping on beds full of chemicals in their mattresses, sheets, and pajamas, etc., or we have the choice to embrace our connection as a global family standing for positive change, embodying our cultural and spiritual roots, thereby dissolving the root cause of every crisis. Healthy Child Healthy World brings resources and guidance to parents navigating a world of infinite options, steering them towards simplicity, peace of mind, and vibrant health. Quotes from Parents and Experts, From Healthy Child Healthy World:

Michelle Obama Less than four cents of every health-care dollar is spent on prevention and public health. Our health-care system has become a disease-care system, and the time for change is well overdue. Nell Newman Things are different today from when I grew up, and it's a lot harder to get kids who are entrenched in their habits to go outside their comfort zones. But I really believe it's just a matter of exposing them early to where food comes from: a field, not a box; a tree, not a jar; a fish, not a stick Meryl Streep Why is the truth like organic food? Because it's a little harder to find, and a little more expensive than the alternative, but as demand for it grows, the price you have to pay for it comes down... Gwyneth Paltrow When I would read about what pesticides do to insects and small animals, I thought, Why would I expose my child to that? It didn't make sense Erin Brockovich I'm an advocate for common sense. If an exterminator uses a chemical that makes a spider drop dead right in front of you, what's its effect on a child?