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."
For many families, the kitchen is the center of domestic life and the favorite room in the house. We come home, we head for the kitchen to have a quick snack, a glass of water or cup of tea. You’ll be spending more time than ever in the kitchen with your baby, who will also come to associate this room with good smells and tasty meals.
The kitchen is also a room where your efforts to go green can have an immediate and powerful impact not just on the health of your child but also the planet. Every bite of food you and your baby take is an investment in your bodies’ future.
Plastic Guide
To avoid plastics that can be harmful to your baby and the environment, get to know the easy-to-identify plastic recycling codes you’ll usually find on the underside of the bottle or packaging. Look for these numbers and symbols before you buy; they will help you find products that are kinder to the environment and safe for your baby.
The safer plastic choices are coded 1, 2, and 4. Try to avoid 3, 6, and most 7s. Although technology exists to recycle most plastics, some centers offer only recycling of select plastics (such as numbers 1 and 2).
Code 1: PET or PETE (polyethylene terephthalate). Found in soda, water, and cooking oil bottles. Can be recycled once, then it’s made into new secondary products, such as textiles, parking lot bumpers, or plastic lumber—all unrecyclable products.
Code 2: HDPE (high-density polyethylene). Found in toys and bottles containing milk, juice, detergent, water, shampoo, and motor oil. Recyclable once into products similar to those for code 1 plastics.
Code 3: PVC (polyvinyl chloride). Found in pipe and tubing, shrink wrap, and a few food and detergent containers. May be discarded at the recycling plant. AVOID
Code 4: LDPE (low-density polyethylene). Found in soft, flexible plastics such as those used in bags for dry cleaning, produce, and garbage.
Code 5: PP (polypropylene). Found in hard but flexible plastics, such as those used for ice cream and yogurt containers, drinking straws, syrup bottles, and diapers.
Code 6: PS (polystyrene). Found in rigid plastics, such as those found in coffee cups, meat trays, plastic cutlery, and take-out food containers. AVOID
Code 7: Other (including polycarbonate, nylon, and acrylic). This is a grab bag symbol. It includes polycarbonate, an important source of BPA, and found in baby bottles. But it also includes some of the newer, compostable green plastics, such as those made from corn, potatoes, rice, or tapioca. AVOID number 7, unless it is labeled as one of these new bio-based plastics. ....read more
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