Conscious Choice: Corporate Social Ills

August 2004 | Choice Feedback

Corporate Social Ills

Instead of heaping all your venom on Wal-Mart, an examination of the policies of all companies is in order. It is ironic that businesses, their stockholders and executives pump huge quantities of money into charities to combat social ills, yet the actions of these companies is a major cause of the same social ills.

James, Chicago

Dear Ms. Rebecca Ephraim:

I WAS wondering when an article is printed in your magazine Conscious Choice like on QRS by Ms. Mandy Burrell, is the fact verified independently by the newspaper or (do) you take... at face value the story of the person who relates (it).

What I am trying to find out if there is any credence to Ms. Donna Ganza’s story that her life was dramatically improved by this Quantron Resonance System. (Any independent proof.)

I have been a great enthusiast about articles in Conscious Choice, and I was thinking of spending $3,000 on this system because I have a lot of health problems.

Russ, Internet

Russ, In these matters, this anecdotal evidence is just that. However, as you can tell from reading the article, Mandy Burrell was very careful in researching electromagnetic energy therapies, interviewing many scholars in the field. Just the same, we did give some tips under the sidebar “Energy Medicine: What You Need to Know” to decide whether to go forward with a particular therapy. As for QRS specifically, we profiled Donna Ganza as someone who found relief via this form, but we cannot vouch for its efficacy.

Rebecca Ephraim, RD, CCN

Health Editor, Dragonfly Media

Light Pollution

I’VE LIVED here in Chicago my whole life, and I’m in my 50s. I grew up on the West Side, and I’m on the North Side now. It’s been good to see “greening” taking place in and around my neighborhood (even though I think we’re paying double and triple the cost for it, but that’s a different topic).

However, what appalls me about what (Mayor) Daley has done is the light pollution. At night, the lighting in Chicago is abysmal. We’ve lost our night! Daley has his people putting up unnecessary lighting all over the city. The city is hideously overlit, and most of the streetlights glare and block out the skyline and the stars. Orange lighting (like we have) is far worse than white lighting, plus the lights being installed spread the light all over, rather than concentrating it downward. It streams into my window at night like a searchlight, and I can’t help but wonder how many people feel the same way.

During the day the city is beautiful. At night, it’s a nightmare.

I urge people to call their alderman and ask that the lighting in the city be changed.

Mark, Chicago

Healthy Junk Food?

LAST YEAR my son entered middle school in the northern suburbs of Chicago. Knowing that vending machines were in the lunchroom I started clipping articles that would support the removal of junk food. Thank you for the insight shared in Conscious Choice on that topic (”The Trouble with Chicago School Lunches,” January 2003).

A group of parents approached the principal to discuss this matter. After some debate, (some parents feel strongly in favor of letting kids regulate diet) it was decided to send out a survey. Of the small percent to respond, it was agreed that we want to keep vending machines and stock them with healthy choices.

Our problem is that our vendor is married to companies that do not have healthy choices. Any chance that you have any sources or leads for us to accomplish this goal?

To my disappointment, the others on the committee are comfortable picking the best from our vendor’s list. They feel that a diet pop is a good choice, as is a sugar substitute in sports drinks. Hydrogenation, food additives and GM foods are not of concern.

If I could only find a vendor that can supply healthy foods.

Debbie, Internet

Editor’s note: We welcome any suggestions from other readers who may know of some avenues to explore for this conscious reader.

More on Tobacco Ads

TOBACCO — OR anything else — isn’t “bad” in and of itself; it is merely a plant. The way we humans use or abuse it is what really makes the difference.

If Santa Fe Tobacco has no additives, chemicals, etc., what’s the problem with the product?

Let’s face it, even yoga and Pilates can be harmful to one’s health if not done properly.

It behooves us to be very careful when deciding who to “blame” for society’s problems; and more likely than not, each of us has contributed to them in some way. Self-righteousness is a dangerous path.

Francine, Internet

Corrections & Clarifications

THE WEB site for the Hooved Animal Rescue & Protection Society was inadvertently left out of our July story, “A Gift of Psychic Powers.” It is www.harpsonline.org.

We want to hear from you. Send your letters to: Choice Feedback, Conscious Choice, 920 N. Franklin, Suite 202, Chicago, IL 60610. [click to e-mail]. Letters should include the writer’s name, address, and phone number. Letters may be edited for clarity or space.

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