Alan Greene, M.D., is a beloved practicing pediatrician, leading authority, and spokesperson for the green baby movement. Named "the Children's Health Hero of the Internet" by Intel, Dr. Greene teaches at Stanford University School of Medicine.
As Past President of The Organic Center, founding partner of the Collaborative on Health and the Environment and an Advisory Board member of Healthy Child Healthy World, Dr. Greene has an impressively green resume – and a wonderfully down-to-earth perspective. That could be because he has four children himself.
"In my job as a pediatrician at Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford University School of Medicine over the last ten years, I've seen how clinical experience, science, research, and technology have increased the choices that doctors and parents can make," says Dr. Greene. "But there’s also an important new set of choices parents can make that can have a beneficial impact on the environment."
If you use formula at any point, you can make choices about the type that will be healthiest for your baby and kinder to the planet and your pocketbook. The ready-to-use variety is most convenient: open the can and pour. However, the decision to choose powdered formula substantially reduces the amount of waste from liquid single-serving cans that are then either trashed or recycled. (Keep in mind that even recycling requires an expenditure of natural resources in collection, transportation, and processing.) Using filtered tap water and a container of powdered formula is a greener choice you can make for the good of both your baby and our world.
Please note that it may be best to use water without added fluoride for mixing baby formula or baby food. The American Dental Association in November 2006 issued an alert urging parents to avoid fluoridated water for babies because they believe it can damage teeth, not protect them. There are several fluoridated water products for babies; the leading one is marketed as “Nursery Water” and is sold nationwide at Wal-Mart and other major retailers. So take care to read the labels.
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4. Mezzacappa, E. S. “Breastfeeding and Maternal Stress Response and Health.” Nutrition Review, July 2004, 62, pp. 261–268.
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