The perfect Valentine's Day

By Meredith Salmi-Bydalek, The Arc Greater Twin Cities

Ingredients for a perfect Valentine’s Day:  Flowers, chocolate…and a visit to the Minnesota State Capitol?! That’s right, folks, my V-Day included a trip to our Capitol building because I love Minnesota’s kids and want our fine state to implement policies to keep icky toxins out of their bodies.

At this year’s Healthy Legacy Day at the Capitol, concerned parents and citizens delivered heart-shaped Valentines to the state’s lawmakers asking them to support two pieces of legislation:  One, removing formaldehyde from children’s products in Minnesota and two, requiring companies to report if their products include one of the Minnesota Department of Health’s nine priority chemicals.

As in years past, I attended as an advocate with The Arc Greater Twin Cities, a local advocacy organization for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. The Arc Greater Twin Cities is a proud member of Healthy Legacy because we believe products should not contain chemicals that are proven developmental toxins. With disabilities like autism on the rise, it’s essential we take a hard look at all the chemicals we’re exposed to in everyday products.

However, this year I got to wear another proud hat as well:  Expectant mom. Having a baby girl due in May has made it even clearer to me the need for chemical reform in our state and country. Despite my knowledge of what chemicals go into children’s products, I’ve found that many just cannot be avoided and it makes putting a nursery together a scary thing. What’s even more frightening, though, is that alternatives to toxic chemicals do exist, but manufacturers have not been pressed to use those safer alternatives. That’s where all of us come in. We must demand that our elected officials stick up for Minnesota’s kids and show them some love by passing laws that remove toxins from the products all of our kids use every day.

You can see more from our day at the capitol in this cute video!