WASHINGTON, May 14, 2011 — Robyn O’Brien wants moms to know that they can take charge of their children’s health, and of the food industry, by making informed choices of what they put on the table.

At a luncheon Thursday sponsored by Stonyfield Farm, a company that makes organic yogurt, author and food activist O’Brien addressed a crowd of bloggers and food allergy activists at the nation’s first certified organic restaurant, Restaurant Nora near Dupont Circle in Washington D.C.

O’Brien, author of Unhealthy Choice: How Our Food is Making Us Sick and What We Can Do About It, began by sharing her story of stumbling into the field of food allergies. In 2006, when the youngest of her four children was just a year old, the baby had an allergic reaction to her first taste of eggs. The O’Brien family eventually learned that all the children had food allergies, and their mom learned more than she ever expected about agribusiness and the way our current model of food production might be contributing to a significant rise in food allergies. Between 1997 and 2002, she said, peanut allergy rates doubled. Her book notes that genetically-modified soy came into widespread use in 1996, use just before this rise in peanut allergies began.

Robyn O'Brien addresses mothers, writers, and food activists at a Restaurant Nora luncheon sponsored by Stonyfield Farm.

“As an analyst,” she said, “I understand the business model.” It makes financial sense to drive up your yield and grow more crops. But as a mom, O’Brien objects to the practice of introducing foreign proteins in order to drive profitability without clearly labeling products as containing genetically-modified ingredients. All consumers should have easy access to this information, but it is especially important for those with food allergies.

In Europe, hormones and certain additives in food are not allowed. “Mothers in other countries are not exposed” to a food system that is unsafe, O’Brien said, noting that there haven’t been long-term human studies on issues on many types of food tweaking. Among the practices she criticized are the use of hormones and antibiotics in raising livestock and the genetic modification of corn and soy, a practice which might be contributing to food allergies, as well.

Corn is subsidized in the United States, making high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) a very inexpensive way to sweeten and preserve foods. Soy is another subsidized crop, but in the United Kingdom, O’Brien said, parents are told to keep soy formula away from children under one.

O’Brien called for a re-engagement with a patriotic spirit to demand no less for American children than children elsewhere in the world. She called it “one of the most patriotic things” we can do to demand safe food for our children who, while they may only be 30% of the population now, are “100% of our future.”

O’Brien engaged in a lively Q&A session after her remarks. While bloggers and food allergy activists enjoyed a lunch of items featuring Stonyfield Farm yogurt, they engaged with O’Brien on questions about the accessibility and cost of organic and nutrient-dense foods. O’Brien described the many ways organic farmers are charged to be able to put an organic label on their products, and she described her family going to meatless Mondays in order to be able to afford more organic food.

Bloggers ask questions of the author and AllergyKids founder.

She cited far fewer trips to the pediatrician’s office and the pharmacy now that her family has changed its eating habits as proof that it’s worth investing in food as preventative medicine.

Now she thinks of investing in health rather than managing disease.

On the question of food deserts in poor areas, O’Brien lauded urban farming efforts in Detroit and said that we have to be willing to take baby steps toward progress. One option is to educate consumers to make smarter choices now that even fast food restaurants have better options, and budget-minded consumers can simply forego the most offending ingredients; like O’Brien at the beginning of her food journey, they can limit and then move to omitting the dye-laden cheese that comes in a mac & cheese box.

In response to a question about the USDA’s food guidelines, O’Brien lamented the one-size-fits-all approach. They’re choosing to focus on obesity by limiting saturated fat, but what about autism and insulin-dependence, she asked? We have become afraid of eating avocados because of their fat content but don’t realize the potential effect of chemicals pumped into things like low-fat cream cheese. O’Brien’s book suggests that families can lessen their exposure to synthetic ingredients by choosing full-fat dairy rather than reduced fat or fat-free options. She says she is more satisfied eating nutrient-dense foods like nuts and seeds than empty carbs.

O’Brien advocates an 80-20 rule: eat very well 80% of the time so that the other 20% of the time, your body can handle a little of foods that are less healthy. We don’t have to be perfect all the time, she said, but she did note that just five days on an all-organic diet can cause chemical levels in a child’s body to plummet. Our cells rebuild and turn over, and we can heal – even cancer – through nutrition. And as moms and writers, she told the crowd, we have the power to make that future a healthy on.

O’Brien describes her journey and details her findings about allergies and the food industry in her book and on the AllergyKids website.

Click here to read Jessica's personal reflections on the luncheon on her blog.

Jessica Claire Haney is a freelance writer, editor and tutor. Her writing has appeared in parenting publications and poetry journals. A former high school English teacher, Jessica is mother to a five-year-old son and a baby girl. She is passionate about holistic health and well-being and is a leader of a chapter of Holistic Moms Network.

Jessica's blog is Crunchy-Chewy Mama, crunchychewymama.com, and her writer's site is jessicaclairehaney.com.

"Like" Crunchy-Chewy Mama on Facebook, and follow Jessica on Twitter @crunchychewy

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