Page 8 - Spring2008

Letters

MOVED AND GRATEFUL the farmers I have known in the past passion and commitment. With your
Yesterday I attended the hearing who have been in the situation the integrity and commitment you have
involving the raw milk farmers Barb and Smiths and others have gone through, restored my belief in our court systems
Steve Smith and Meadowsweet Farm but without the resources to hire legal and the law.
in New York. They are providing raw counsel provided by the Fund. When I was also moved by the Smiths and
milk products through a limited liability I think of the feelings of helplessness, the many family farmers like them across
corporation, which the state opposes. hopelessness, anger, and rage—to be so the country, as they so courageously do
So much is in my heart after being alone in their plight—and then to witness what they feel called in their souls to do,
present at the hearing. First, how moved in person yesterday the fi ne legal support at the risk of losing their meager liveli-
and grateful I felt by all who have cre- the Smiths had, I am overcome with a hood!
ated the Farm-to-Consumer Legal De- profound sense of pride and joy. I was However, I have to say that I was
fense Fund. How amazing to witness the moved to tears. Never has there been disappointed by the small number of
changes that have been achieved with such a representation for farmers, ever! people from the community who showed
this organization in place. I remember Thank you, David Cox, for your up. In part this was due to the hearing’s

IS YOUR MATTRESS MAKING YOU SICK?

Imagine sleeping for eight hours per night, all the while breathing in dangerous chemicals that have been proven
to be toxic and carcinogenic to human beings. Does this sound far fetched and crazy? Yes, it does. But it is also true.
A new law just put into effect, on July 1, 2007, requires all mattresses sold in the United States to be flame proof. This
was spearheaded by the ISPA (International Sleep Products Association) with the stated purpose of making mattresses safer
from fires. At least, that is their stated position. But on closer inspection, it appears there is a sinister motive. Fire safety is
merely a farce; the real reason is to limit competition by effectively putting smaller mattress companies out of business, as
they cannot comply with this new law. There are over 1,000 mattress manufacturers in the United States, and many will
have to shut down their operations because it is too cost prohibitive to comply with these new guidelines.
Mattress sales are big business. Over 37 million new mattresses are sold each year, and smaller, specialty mattress
manufacturers and imports have been taking away a large share of the big-three sales (Serta, Sealy, Simmons).
The challenge of making mattresses flame proof is that large quantities of harsh chemicals are needed, such as anti-
mony trioxide, decabromodiphenyl oxide, formaldehyde, boric acid, and vinylidine chloride. These are all harsh and toxic
chemicals that can have catastrophic health consequences for American consumers.
As you can imagine, this has caused a consumer backlash, as many people are experiencing symptoms such as rashes,
itchy skin, runny nose, difficulty breathing and light-headedness. The long-term effects of many of these chemicals have
not been determined, and could prove to be deadly by causing various forms of cancer.
There is one piece of good news, however. People who are adamantly opposed to sleeping with these chemicals have
a way out. The law allows anyone to claim an exemption, as long as they have a prescription from a doctor. But there are
only a handful of mattress manufacturers who will even make such a mattress.
Many mattress manufacturers have been in compliance with this law for the last two years, so if you have purchased
a mattress in that time, you could have been affected. Of course, you will never know whether your mattress is dosed
with chemicals because there is no labeling requirement. The ISPA made sure of that, as they don’t want people to know
what they are sleeping with.
The solution is either to live with it (and risk your health), or purchase a toxin-free mattress by getting a prescription
from your doctor. For more information, you may visit www.PeopleforCleanBeds.org or contact me at DrK@Technology-
Bedding.com, (301) 979-9345.
Masood Kureshi, DC, Germantown, Maryland

8 Wise Traditions SPRING 2008