Shannon Yee

I do a lot of reading on the computer (although not anywhere near as much as my husband!) and recently read a few articles that I found thought-provoking. One of them, No More Junk Toys: Rethinking Children’s Gifts, was about changing the culture of gift-giving in America and providing toys that are “timeless” and not morally objectionable in any way (ie. fair trade, etc.)

I found this article a little extreme, but with some valid points. We have so many toys in our house and almost all of them have been gifts. I love that our children have so much to play with and most of the toys are great. Yet, still I feel like I should be a more responsible consumer in regards to the companies and practices that we support – directly or indirectly. Usually, I feel like it’s a lost cause and decide that there’s no use even trying to only buy products and shop at places that have sound financial and moral business practices. Lately, I’ve been thinking about this more and more and want to do something, but now I’m at a loss for where to start. Maybe, I’ll take a trip down to my local fair trade store or look online for a list of companies that invest in or support practices that I am morally opposed to.

By following various links, Brian found out about a want-ad on Craig’s List for a nursing mother to provide milk for 7 adults. While I am an advocate of exclusive breastfeeding for babies and extended breastfeeding past the first year and I know and appreciate all of the health benefits of breastmilk, this strikes me as more than a bit strange. First, I have issues with the logistics of this request. For one woman to pump enough extra milk for 7 adults even to have just one glass a day is nuts – like feeding another growing baby. She’d have to eat and drink so much, she’d hardly have time to pump. Plus, building up an excess supply like that is time consuming. I also feel that excess milk would be much better used on newborns or premies who actually need the milk and not on adults whose digestive systems can handle other foods. I guess I just find these folks a little selfish and bizarre.