Katy Farber is a teacher, author, and founder of the blog, Non-Toxic Kids. She is also the author of two books about education, Why Great Teachers Quit and How We Might Stop the Exodus and Change the World with Service Learning. Katy has written for various news, parenting, non-profit and educational publications, including Moms Clean Air Force, Educational Leadership, CNN’s School of Thought Blog, Problogger, Fox News opinion, and many others.
Katy Farber
Katy Farber is a teacher, author, and founder of the blog, Non-Toxic Kids. She is also the author of two books about education, Why Great Teachers Quit and How We Might Stop the Exodus and Change the World with Service Learning. Katy has written for vario
Blog Post List
![](https://www.momsrising.org/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/10571972_09b0857aee_m.jpg?itok=SxivAXdp)
June 22, 2015
How can parents motivate kids to get outside and read this summer? We know that students can lose about a half to a full year of reading skills and comprehension over the summer, and that too many kids are staying inside on devices or screens. Summer is the perfect time for books that inspire kids to get outside and explore the nature around them. Here are books of a wide range of student ages to jump start young readers and motivate them to develop a love of nature and the environment. Grades K-2: Treasure Town by Doug Wilhelm . This rollicking early reader is sure to engage your K-2 grade...
MomsRising
Together
![](https://www.momsrising.org/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/IMG_1491.jpg?itok=JCwDoAeV)
May 21, 2014
If you follow environmental health news, you likely know that many products on store shelves contain harmful ingredients linked to asthma, developmental disorders, infertility, cancer and other harmful health effects. Products on store shelves do not have to be proven safe before they are sold. While our federal government does nothing on this issue (and protects companies instead of public health) states are left to create legislation to protect their citizens. Vermont has done just that! As readers know, I've been working to protect families from harmful chemicals in consumer products for...
MomsRising
Together
May 8, 2014
My mom is an adventurer. A passionate reader and investigator of life. A compassionate advocate for helping people. She taught me I didn't have to be a certain way just because I was female. That gave me the greatest freedom of all-- to be myself. Thanks, mom! Happy Mother's Day.
MomsRising
Together
![](https://www.momsrising.org/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/teacher.jpg?itok=QNfqxXUe)
May 7, 2014
This week is Teacher Appreciation Week--a week when teachers are doted upon with tasty treats, mugs, and thoughtful cards. While these tokens of appreciation are lovely, might I suggest a different kind of gift for teachers, one that lasts year round? Parents and community members: instead of giving us your thanks, make a commitment to advocate for teachers. By publicly supporting teachers and demanding the tools we need to help your children succeed, we can truly make schools better together. R eal change in our schools must come from the inside out--using teachers to shape, lead, and...
MomsRising
Together
May 7, 2014
After a long day of teaching, I grabbed my 7 year old, and headed to find the only Walgreens in Vermont. "At the corner of healthy and happy" was actually 45 minutes away. Thankfully, my daughter entertained herself by singing songs from Frozen with great emotion. Our job, though, was very serious.
MomsRising
Together
![](https://www.momsrising.org/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/TFNC-MR-TwitterChat.png?itok=YfQd-MFm)
April 28, 2014
Are you growing a garden this year? Have a few pots of herbs and veggies? Then please join us for our weekly Twitter chat called #EcoTIpTue tomorrow. We will have lots of tips for how to grow a productive, healthy garden. Best of all, the featured guest will be Tom Philpott , writer, farmer and food & ag correspondent at Mother Jones magazine. Tom is the cofounder of Maverick Farms , a center for sustainable food education in Valle Crucis, North Carolina. Toxic Free North Carolina will join us as well and share many valuable resources! When: Tuesday April 29 Time: 9 PM EST Where: On...
MomsRising
Together
![](https://www.momsrising.org/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/TFNC-MR-TwitterChat.png?itok=YfQd-MFm)
April 28, 2014
Are you growing a garden this year? Have a few pots of herbs and veggies? Then please join us for our weekly Twitter chat called #EcoTIpTue this week. We will have lots of tips for how to grow a productive, healthy garden. Best of all, the featured guest will be Tom Philpott , writer, farmer and food & ag correspondent at Mother Jones magazine. Tom is the cofounder of Maverick Farms , a center for sustainable food education in Valle Crucis, North Carolina. Toxic Free North Carolina will join us as well and share many valuable resources! When: Tuesday April 29 Time: 9 PM EST Where: On...
MomsRising
Together
April 7, 2014
When you consider the wide reaching impacts of climate change, highlighted by the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, it is easy to want to bury your head in the sand. It is easy to turn on the TV, read a book, or think about what to have for dinner. But when something threatens the health and future of our kids, well, moms don't tend to walk away. World scientists, governments, and health activists have been making the connections between climate change and public health for years. Here's some of what they found. Climate change is linked to: increases in...
MomsRising
Together
March 31, 2014
Did you see that Seventh Generation has taken a leadership role on cleaning up our toxics laws? We’ve been blogging for years about the fact that over 80,000 chemicals are in products we use everyday – and they’ve never been tested for safety. Our kids are being exposed to chemicals that can alter their hormones, cause learning problems, early puberty, and many chronic diseases. Chemicals used regularly in consumer products are linked to cancers, infertility, early puberty, obesity, reproductive system problems, and learning disabilities. Since the Toxic Substances Control Act was passed in...
MomsRising
Together
March 19, 2014
80 percent of antibiotics used in this country are used for food animals. What is wrong with that picture? 1. The more we use them, the less effective they become. According to the Center for Food Safety and Save Antibiotics , drugs become less effective, and bacteria more resistant with overuse. So while antibiotics have saved hundreds of thousands of lives, if they are used for food animals regularly, this might not always be the case. 2. Antibiotics are routinely administered to healthy animals in order to speed growth and compensate for unsanitary conditions. The use of antibiotics is not...
MomsRising
Together
March 12, 2014
You've probably heard of BPA , the chemical that was in baby bottles, sippy cups, and water bottles. There's been lots of concern about this chemical as an endocrine disruptor-- it's ability to alter hormones, causing all sorts of health problems, such as obesity, cancer, heart disease, early puberty and learning disabilities. Back in 2008, consumers learned about the problems of BPA and demanded that companies remove it from products for children. Most did, and in 2012 the FDA banned BPA in baby bottles and sippy cups. Flash forward to 2014, and we have many BPA free plastics for sale and...
MomsRising
Together
February 21, 2014
Where do you get water for your family? This week we discussed the many problems of bottled water on our weekly Twitter chat, #EcoTipTue. And boy, where there a LOT. We had special guests from Corporate Accountability International and Food and Water Watch tweeting with us, as well as many of our weekly participants. Here's a few things we learned and shared during the chat. 1. Bottled water is NO safer then tap water-- in fact, it is LESS regulated. Bottled water can be sourced from virtually anywhere . And much of the time it is simply tap water that has been packaged in plastic and sold...
MomsRising
Together
February 14, 2014
What's more important than keeping baby safe? Not much! Last week during our #EcoTipTue Tweet Chat we discussed how to have a toxin free baby with Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families; Earth Mama Angel Baby, and many great participants. Here are some of the resources that were shared and discussed 1. Avoid antibacterial soap made with triclosan ), which has been linked to fertility problems and learning disabilities, according to our friends at Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families. Other concerns about these soaps is that they can lead to antibiotic resistance and lower immune system functioning...
MomsRising
Together
February 3, 2014
300,000 people without access to water? Tanks that stored chemicals without regulation just upstream from a water treatment facility? Chemicals pouring into the Elk River, with confusing advisories and virtually no safety information on the specific effects of the chemicals? We ask ourselves how this happened-- and the answers are very clear. By not acting to protect one of our most important natural resources: fresh, clean water. We are disturbed by the photos shared online of discolored water and worry about the health impacts on families. We can't let this happen again, anywhere. We must...
MomsRising
Together
January 25, 2014
I love hosting the MomsRising weekly tweet chat called #EcoTipTue. Truly. It is an honor to learn and tweet with people who know what they are talking about and are passionate about improving our world. So I was delighted to have National Geographic Science blogger Greg Laden on our weekly show. He is a bioantropoligist, author and blogger who writes regularly about climate change. Here are some interesting facts about climate change that were shared during the chat. 1. Most climatologists agree that extreme weather is linked to anthropomorphic climate change . Greg shared these tweets about...
MomsRising
Together
January 11, 2014
How can you make 2014 your family's healthiest yet? That was the topic of this week's MomsRising tweet chat. The guests and participants in #EcoTipTue had lots to share about making 2014 healthy, green and toxin free. It's each week at 9pm ET, and we'd love to have you join us. We discuss all things health, environment, toxics, and climate related. Here are 10 ideas for a healthy, happy new year. Please add yours in the comments. 1. Our special guest Leah Segedie shared several ways to start 2014 off right! "Make 2014 healthier for ur family by shopping organic, BPA free, and buy natural...
MomsRising
Together
December 11, 2013
Oh, the pressures of being pregnant! So many people telling you what to do. Eat this, not that! Don't worry about weight gain. Worry about weight gain. Worrying about weight gain will give your baby anxiety. Ahhhh! It can be so overwhelming at times. Thankfully, there are many things that pregnant women can do to reduce their exposure to environmental toxins. MomsRising partnered with the Reproductive Health Technologies Project this past week for our weekly tweet chat called #EcoTipTue. Sara Alcid was our special guest and she shared lots of important information for pregnant women, their...
MomsRising
Together
November 20, 2013
What’s in your child’s jewelry box? If you anything like many parents, its full of various play jewelry, presents from friends and family, and your own cast offs. Is anything in your child’s collection from Walmart, or Claire’s? Our friends at Washington Toxics released an alarming report about jewelry specifically from Walmart . Turns out, much of it is loaded with toxic heavy metals—like lead and cadmium. In some cases, the amount was more than 1,000 times the recommended level for lead. Now, should there even be a “recommended level for lead” ? Not when doctors and researchers regularly...
MomsRising
Together
November 12, 2013
The EPA is asking for our input. From people like you and me. Regular parents. They want to know what you think about climate, clean air and child's health. This week, MomsRising is hosting a teleconference and TwitterChat with none other than Gina McCarthy, head of the EPA. Here's why I am attending this important event, and I hope you will too. You can join too, here: http://action.momsrising.org/signup/RSVP_EPATeleconference/ I'm attending this event to speak on behalf of my students. As a teacher, I've seen many students in my classes who suffer from asthma. They have to limit their...
MomsRising
Together
October 28, 2013
Parents are descending on Washington D.C. next week to demand toxic chemical reform and to protect our kids and the public health-- and I'm with them in spirit for the Stroller Brigade and Toxics Action Day. I'm a BIG fan of parent activism, grassroots, real folks, bringing their message to Congress. And boy, do we desperately need them. We had a shot at chemical reform recently with The Chemical Improvement Act, but it needed a LOT of work to better protect public health . Congress can't give up, though. The Toxics Substance Control Act is over 30 years old, and lets 80,000 untested...
MomsRising
Together
- 1 of 2
- ›