Green Child Magazine Winter 2013 | Page 28

the More you Know eco: Years ago at Thanksgiving, our neighbors Richard and Lula, recounted a discussion they’d had over the number of feathers she found while preparing their Butterball turkey. Richard had shrugged and said, “Every industry has a tolerance policy… there’s probably a 5-feather margin of error on any bird that size.” At the time, I worked in marketing for an apparel manufacturer and agreed that there was a shrinkage tolerance on cotton t-shirts. As I thought about my own words, I realized everyone around me wore the same lost-in-thought expression. And then Lula’s eyebrows raised as she said, “Well, shouldn’t the margin of error on food be more strict than t-shirts?” 28 For filmmaker Ed Brown, a similar realization came one day as he drank a glass of water that “smelled and tasted like a swimming pool.” Then he learned that there are “acceptable levels” of chlorine and other contaminants in water. After his wife miscarried twice between having two healthy children (with no obvious reasons), Ed suspected there was more to the chemical connection than most of us realize. So he started asking questions. Ed went beyond your average online search to find his answers. He sought out environmental experts and government leaders, and thankfully, he brought his video camera along the way. The result is the eye-opening documentary Unacceptable Levels, www.unacceptablelevels. com, which carefully explains the chemical revolution… surprisingly without throwing a lot of blame around. We spoke to Ed about the film, his research, and how he maintains a “we’re all in this together” message throughout. GCM: So the concept of “acceptable levels” inspired you to make changes in your own life. At what point did you realize you couldn’t keep this to yourself?