Articles
Brain Food For Kids by Alan Greene, M.D.

Calendar
September 14-18: Teach-In: "Confronting the Triple Crisis: Climate Change, Peak Oil, and Global Resource Depletion"
Washington, DC

October 19-21: Bioneers Conference
San Rafael, California

November 6-7: CEL Seminar: Rethinking School Lunch
Berkeley, California

Articles

Thinking outside the Lunchbox:
Brain Food for Kids by Alan Greene, M.D.

The physical structures of children's brains develop differently depending on what kids eat during the ages when they are rapidly growing, says pediatrician Alan Greene in this month's Thinking outside the Lunchbox essay. Behavior, intelligence, and academic performance are significantly affected not only by the quantity and quality of what children eat, but also by how the food is grown and processed. Greene reports recent research, for instance, that links Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) to iron deficiency, even at levels that have been regarded as normal in the tests used in doctors' offices. In children, hypoglycemia-like symptoms such shakiness, sweating, and altered thinking and behavior may occur at blood sugar levels not heretofore considered hypoglycemic, perhaps because of children's bodies' different reactions to highly processed sugars and carbohydrates.

Alan Greene: "Researchers at the University of Southampton studied over 1800 three-year-old children, some with and some without ADHD, some with and some without allergies. After initial behavioral testing, all of the children got one week of a diet without any artificial food colorings and without any chemical preservatives. The children's behavior measurably improved during this week....The researchers continued the diet, but gave the children disguised drinks containing either a mixture of artificial colorings and the preservative benzoate, or similarly colored drinks from natural food sources. The weeks that children got the hidden chemicals, their behavior was substantially worse. This held true whether or not they had been diagnosed with hyperactivity, and whether or not they had tested positive for allergies."

Read Dr. Alan Greene's essay, Brain Food for Kids >

See other articles in Thinking outside the Lunchbox >

News

"Inspiring" Rethinking School Lunch Seminar Attracts Capacity Audience
The Center's second Rethinking School Lunch seminar, held at CEL's office in Berkeley, included participants from nine states and three countries, representing programs serving a total of 1,250,000 children. Janet Brown, Ann M. Evans, and a line-up of CEL educators and practitioners in school food service and curriculum led the two-day exploration of ways to place nutritious meals at the center of an integrated curriculum. Participants described the seminar as "empowering," "invigorating," "valuable," "simply wonderful," and "real-life grounded." The next Rethinking School Lunch seminar is scheduled for November 6-7, 2007.
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CEL Seminars >

First LiFE (Linking Food and the Environment) Module Published
This month, the National Gardening Association is publishing Growing Food, the first module of the LiFE curriculum developed by Teachers College Columbia University. LiFE, created with support from the Science Education Partnership Awards program of the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Research Resources, is an inquiry-based science and nutrition curriculum focused on food and food systems and aligned with the big ideas of science. The Center for Ecoliteracy and Teachers College are engaged in a partnership based on LiFE and the Center's Rethinking School Lunch strategy. The partnership will include publishing RSL and LiFE curriculum resources, launching an RSL/LiFE website, and professional development to assist educators to adapt the RSL/LiFE materials at local sites.
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National Gardening Association >
Rethinking School Lunch >
LiFE >

CEL Is Content Partner in New Bioneers Environmental Education Website
In June, Bioneers launched a website "to provide inspirational and practical materials and events that educators can utilize to help nourish the next generation of Bioneers." The Center for Ecoliteracy is serving as a content partner for the website. The feature article for the website launch, "A Watershed Moment," is excerpted from CEL senior editor Michael K. Stone's article, "It Changed Everything We Thought We Could Do," which can be read in its entirety on the CEL website. The initial "Insight" piece, "Mending the Web of Life," is by CEL cofounder and board president Fritjof Capra.
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Bioneers Education Website >
CEL Essay "It Changed Everything We Thought We Could Do" >

Janet Brown to Address Annual School Nutrition Education Conference
Janet Brown, CEL program officer for food systems, will address the 40th annual Society for Nutrition Education conference. The conference, "Exploring Nutritional Bio-optimism," will be July 28-August 1 in Chicago. Janet is presenting on "Nutrition Policies at Their Best....Working with Children."
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Society for Nutrition Education >

New Report Analyzes Impact of NCLB on Environmental Education
Interest in environmental education programs had been steadily increasing for three decades, but investment in such programs "came to a screeching halt" when No Child Left Behind (NCLB), with its focus on test scores in reading and math, was enacted in 2002. That's the conclusion of an analysis by a coalition of organizations including the North American Association for Environmental Education, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the National Wildlife Federation, and the Council for Environmental Education. Congressional committee work on reauthorizing NCLB is in process; the coalition's analysis includes a set of recommended amendments.
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Environmental Education in the No Child Left Behind Act >

Community Food Security Coalition Offers Local Procurement Guidance
The Community Food Security Coalition (CFSC) has prepared a downloadable Farm to School Procurement Information Package to help cities, states, and school districts understand and explain the use of local purchasing preferences for food for cafeterias and other meal-service programs. The packet was created in response to confusion over how much local entities are bound by federal regulations believed by some to prohibit procurement that favors local preferences.
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CSFC Farm to School Procurement Information Package >

Congressional Committees Working in July on 2007 Farm Bill
Environmental Working Group president Ken Cook reports that the House Agriculture Committee is scheduled to begin markup of the 2007 Farm Bill July 17, hoping to complete action before the August recess. The Senate committee may start markup this month as well.
Visit
Ken Cook's Farm Bill update >
New York Times story, "The Debate over Subsidizing Snacks" >

September 14-16: Teach-In: "Confronting the Triple Crisis: Climate Change, Peak Oil, and Global Resource Depletion"
Washington, DC
The International Forum on Globalization, the Institute for Policy Studies, and the Global Economic Transitions Project are cosponsoring this teach-in, subtitled "Powering-down for the Future: Toward an International Movement for System Change: New Economics of Sustainability, Equity, 'Sufficiency' and Peace." Confirmed speakers for the teach-in, to be held at Lisner Auditorium at George Washington University, include Maude Barlow, Tony Clarke, Randy Hayes, Richard Heinberg, Wes Jackson, Winona LaDuke, Frances Moore Lappe, Jerry Mander, Vandana Shiva, and David Suzuki.
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International Forum on Globalization >

October 19-21: Bioneers Conference
San Rafael, California
The Bioneers conference is one of the world's largest annual gatherings of visionaries and activists applying practical environmental solutions and innovative social strategies to restore the Earth and communities. Michael Stone will moderate a panel on "Education for a Sustainable World" at this year's conference.
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Bioneers Conference >

November 6-7: CEL Seminar: Rethinking School Lunch
Berkeley, California
When this two-day seminar, based on CEL's Rethinking School Lunch program, was offered in fall, 2006 and summer, 2007 (see report on latest offering above), all spaces were filled in advance. We recommend registering early.
Read more >
Apply online >

Please Note: The next Center for Ecoliteracy newsletter will appear in early September. We wish everyone a healthy and satisfying summer.

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