On Friday my co-worker Stephanie Schlegel told me about Oprah’s ‘No Phone Zone’ campaign that asks us to take the pledge to make our automobiles a no-phone zone. So I headed on over to the Oprah Winfrey Show’s Facebook page and clicked on the ‘No Phone Zone’ link where I saw four videos. I didn’t immediately watch the videos. Instead, I paused and stared at the faces of Kelly Cline, Shelly Forney, Jerry Cibley, and Jennifer Smith.

Join Oprah and the rest of us who have taken the ‘No Phone Zone’ pledge and let’s save lives because the life we could be saving might be your life. And if you need a little push, like I did, just watch the stories of Kelly Cline, Shelly Forney, Jerry Cibley, and Jennifer Smith and I think you’ll agree that a phone call or text message is not worth risking your life or someone else's life. Take the pledge.

For more info visit the Oprah.com's 'No Phone Zone' page.

#nophonezone

We watch from afar the devastation that is wreaking havoc all across Haiti after it was hit with a 7.0 earthquake. Images of death and destruction stream across our television screens. Every story grows more heartbreaking and brings you to tears. One such story hit me hard yesterday and that was of an 11-year-old girl who had been trapped under the rubble, was cut free and later died from her injuries.

Clinton Haiti Relief Fund
Even Chelsea Clinton is helping in a unique way by teaming with SoulCycle in New York City with a 90-minute cycling fundraising session on Thursday, January 21. 100 percent of the proceeds will go to Haiti through the Clinton Haiti Relief Fund.

Zanmi Lakay
For my SF Bay Area friends, if you’re up for some yoga on MLK day then head on over to Bernal Yoga in San Francisco. Yoga instructor Debbie Steingesser is doing a Haiti Relief Donation class with live music by Marla Leigh. 100 percent of the proceeds will go to Zanmi Lakay, a Bay Area-based “non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for current and former street children in Haiti by providing educational and economic opportunities and resources to help these children while they are on the streets and to help build a life for them off the streets.”

Jen Pantaléon who runs Zanmi Lakay will be on hand at Bernal Yoga on Monday sharing documentary photos from Haiti and answering questions. Jen and her husband Guy, who is Haitian, are heading to Haiti on January 26 for a trip that had been planned prior to the earthquake. Obviously, their trip’s focus has shifted and now more than ever they can use donations to aid in the relief efforts and continue their work in helping Haitian children.

To donate to Zanmi Lakay visit their site here. And for more information about the Haiti Relief Donation yoga class visit Bernal Yoga.

The blogosphere is buzzing this morning about the news that Polaroid has teamed with Pop Diva Lady Gaga. Last night at a press conference (and in a press release issued last night), Polaroid revealed that Lady Gaga is its new Creative Director. Polaroid plans to collaborate with Lady Gaga and introduce a specialty line later this year.

Only time will tell if Lady Gaga can help Polaroid rise from the ashes. But one thing is for sure, she is one smart, beautiful and talented lady!

It’s that time of year again where many of us reflect on our accomplishments of the past year and set new goals for the coming year. I’ve never been a big fan of making New Year resolutions because statistics show that most of us can’t keep them. However, I do make them, but what I am a big believer in is consistently setting and working towards new goals throughout the year and continuing one’s education for life.

One of my goals for the coming year is to be committed to clean eating and remembering to vote with my dollars for clean, sustainable, non-GMO and organic foods. And in doing so, it’s my small way to vote against the corporate and government corruption of putting profits before people, animals and our environment.

This is not only a personal issue of mine, but it’s also a national crisis. Our food supply is one of the unhealthiest in the world and yet we are one of the richest and supposedly one of the most educated nations in the world. I say supposedly because we tend to bury our heads in the sand when it comes to our self-responsibility of maintaining a healthy BMI, exercising regularly, clean eating, and understanding our food supply. Most of us have no idea where the food we eat comes from and what’s done to it before it winds up on our plates.

Those who control the food system want to keep it this way and continue to put profits before people. For years we have let greedy government officials and corporate executives have the power because every time we buy the cornucopia of unhealthy products that they have put before us, we are essentially telling them that’s what we want. It’s simple supply and demand.

I think it’s time to stop putting profits before people, and stop buying from companies who produce unhealthy and non-sustainable products and buy only from companies who genuinely care and produce clean, sustainable, non-GMO and organic foods. Because it is only then that they’ll stop producing the harmful foods and products that line the shelves of American grocery stores.

How do we do this? We vote with our dollars every time we shop and eat out. In addition, we have to educate the market because right now the marketing of lies and spin through advertising and other marketing vehicles bombard the average consumer on a daily basis. We all have the power to educate others by simply telling our family, friends, co-workers and neighbors. And we can take it a step further by blogging about it, researching and writing books, or even producing a documentary, such as the one done by Filmmaker Robert Kenner and Eric Schlosser, investigative journalist and author of Fast Food Nation.

Food Inc. lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli—the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.

Food Inc. trailer available at: www.foodincmovie.com

If you haven’t seen Food Inc. I encourage you to see it, host a screening of it and help educate others about this crisis. With the power of social networks there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be spreading the word about this crisis to protect our own health and that of future generations.

As you reflect on your past year’s accomplishments and set New Year resolutions, I encourage you to join me in making a commitment to clean eating and voting with your dollars by purchasing clean, sustainable, non-GMO and organic foods.

Remember, at the end of the day the most powerful and effective way to make our voices heard is to vote with every dollar we spend.

Related Links:
AP INVESTIGATION: Monsanto Seed Biz Role Revealed
10 simple things you can do to change our food system
Environmental Working Group “The Power of Information”
Top 10 Environment Stories of the Decade -- That You Might Have Missed