THERE ARE VERY FEW TOPICS THAT I WILL GET ON A SOAP BOX ABOUT AND THIS ONE HITS AS CLOSE TO HOME AS ANY WOULD... PINK RIBBONS AND REMEMBERING MY AMAZING MOTHER WHO PASSED AWAY FROM BREAST CANCER AT AGE 41. I was just 20 years old and figuring out what to do with my life when my mom succumbed to her battle with cancer at a young age. Over the years, I have read and investigated the causes of cancer to help understand how and why this could have happened to her and millions of others. Now, almost 30 years later, cancer has become an epidemic of sorts. 1 out of every 4 deaths in the U.S. are from cancer over 500,000 will die of cancer in 2014 and 1.6 million have come down with this disease. Like so many importat issues in our culture, money, greed and profits can skew the public perception and mis-guide what is most important for us to understand about a particular issue. In this case, the pink ribbon month of October raises my blood pressure a bit as I see a huge marketing behemoth blossom again. Below is an excerpt from the RE-THINK THE PINK campagin. We need to re-focus our efforts and money toward the CAUSES of this tragic disease vs. early detection and breast cancer awareness. Yes, early detection is vital to saving a life, so it is important of course. Awareness yes, we are all aware that people are dying thank you very much. The problem is that all of this is a distraction from the 500lb gorilla in the room - the chemicals and cancer causing toxins that are literally killing us. Many of the companies that are sponsoring breast cancer awareness month have products filled with chemicals and cancer causing toxins!!! It is a bit of a hypocrisy if you ask me. I donate money to the Breast Cancer Fund as they are focused on PREVENTION of this disease and creating awareness of how to avoid cancer causing toxins and how to support companies and organizations who are living in prevention awareness. breastcancerfund.org/ EXCERPT BELOW FROM MAMAVATION.COM mamavation/2014/09/pinkwashing-how-companies-profit-off-your-charity-while-breast-cancer-still-kills.html It’s October again, which means it’s time for everything to start turning pink. From soup labels to sports player’s gear, the color pink surrounds us everywhere we look, informing us that it’s breast cancer awareness month. Are you aware that 1 out of every 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her life in the U.S.? These high numbers are frightening. Can women protect themselves from getting breast cancer, or are we all at risk from becoming a statistic? PINKWASHING IN THE U.S. Many causes of breast cancer are environmental, which means we have a chance to prevent it. Unfortunately, it can be challenging since many American companies participate in pinkwashing. Pinkwashing is the act of appearing to support the fight against breast by slapping a pink label on a product that most likely contains ingredients or elements linked to causing cancer. Many companies even raise the price of products or create a limited edition product to boost their profits, while only donating a meager portion of that profit to research treatments. Pinkwashing is a especially problem in popular brands of women’s beauty products like makeup and fragrances but your whole family is at risk from deodorants, sunscreen, lotion, fragrances and more. It doesn’t stop there. BPA in those pink soup cans can be carcinogenic as well. But why are we focused on research rather than prevention? Because many of those companies and brands sell products loaded with chemicals linked to cancer – and prevention means boycotting those products. And if you’re wondering if the FDA helps prevent carcinogens from getting into products, you might be surprised to learn that only 11 chemicals have been banned from cosmetics in the history of the FDA – compared to 1,328 banned in Europe. In addition, the FDA has no authority to issue cosmetic product recalls. Because there is not enough regulation, your family is exposed to dangerous chemicals in everyday products. PREVENTING BREAST CANCER What can you do to prevent breast cancer for yourself and your family? Eat a clean, organic/Non-GMO diet rich in antioxidants and nutrients and cut out the “fake” foods. Clean out toxins in your home and personal care products, from beauty products with formaldehyde to shampoos with parabens. Detox your food containers by removing plastic, cans, Teflon and other cancer-causing chemicals and products. Search the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Database to learn which complex-sounding chemicals are safe and natural – and which are deadly. #RethinkthePink: Stop buying products from companies that engage in pinkwashing as they stock your stores full of toxins – and profit off this deadly disease.
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 05:41:05 +0000
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