Petition for Safer Baby Bottles

Calling all eco-mamas:

MomsRising is a nonprofit that serve the interests of mamas, babies, and families. Here's a message from the organization about the danger of chemical leaching from baby bottles:

The evidence is mounting. After years of concern about the safety of baby bottles, children's care products, and other food and beverage containers that contain the chemical bisphenol A (BPA), the verdict is in--and it's not good.

Yesterday the Canadian government announced it is planning to ban the use of BPA in baby bottles, and declared BPA dangerous. And, earlier this week, the Los Angeles Times reported that the U.S. based National Institutes of Health (NIH) concluded that there is "some concern" that babies, fetuses, and children are in danger because BPA harms animals at the low levels found in nearly all human bodies. Sadly, a recent study found this chemical in all five leading brands of American baby bottles.

It's enough to sink any mother's stomach.

Let's take a second to take a collective deep breath, and then mobilize for major action. Sign a petition calling for the CEOs of the leading manufacturers of baby bottles to stop the use of BPA in our baby bottles and other children's products.

TAKE ACTION: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1768/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=1177

Sign on now and we'll send the petition to the CEOs of Avent, Disney/First Years, Dr. Brown's, Evenflo, Gerber, and Playtex in collaboration with Center for Health, Environment, & Justice and other organizations. The more signatures, we have, the more the CEOs will get the message that consumers want healthy products, not toxins. With the current media attention on BPA, this is a critical moment to take advantage of that momentum and push these CEOs to stop using it in baby bottles.

WHAT DOES BPA DO? Growing children are especially at risk to chemicals as they face greater exposure per pound of body weight. Even fetuses are susceptible as chemicals, including BPA, cross the placenta in pregnant women. Over 130 studies suggest that BPA exposure, even at low doses, is linked to many health problems, including early puberty, breast and prostate cancer, obesity, attention and hyperactivity disorder, brain damage, altered immune system, and lower sperm counts.

This is a widespread issue which we need to address together. A 2007 study by the Environment California Research and Policy Center found that all five leading brands of baby bottles leached BPA at levels found to cause harm in numerous laboratory studies.

WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO? A recent Washington Post article offered tips on how to limit exposure to BPA.