petpost.co.nz / CC

There's a lot of buzz right now about proposed legislation designed to revise decades-old regulations of toxic chemicals, which could be wonderful news. Unfortunately, language in the proposed bill—known as the "Kid Safe Chemicals Act"—would protect neither children nor the environment, and it would spell death via poisoning for a staggering number of animals

There is a major P.R. push for this legislation, in the form of a new campaign that you may have heard of—the Million Baby Crawl. This campaign comes from none other than the longtime cruelty-free company Seventh Generation.

We have alerted Seventh Generation to the problems associated with its campaign and hope to work with the company to get better science and animal protection language inserted into the Kid Safe Chemicals Act.

Great strides have been made in biology and toxicology during the past few decades that provide a better understanding of chemicals' hazards without relying on cruel and misleading animal tests. Non-animal test methods are faster and cheaper, so more information about more chemicals can be obtained quicker than through animal testing. Modernization of the underlying science is a crucial piece of any new chemical-management legislation, and it's critical that any new legislation promote the use and further development of modern, humane test methods.

Make no mistake: We are all in favor of protecting kids' health and the environment, but the current method of testing chemicals—poisoning and killing thousands of animals per chemical—provides data that just isn't useful. And considering that there are more than 80,000 chemicals that would undergo testing if this proposed legislation passes, that's an astronomical number of animals!

Who cares about the millions of animals who will suffer and die in these tests? We know you do!

Sign up here if you are interested in doing more. Updates will follow.

Posted by Karin Bennett

movies.yahoo / CC

"I am deeply concerned that unhealthy school lunches are contributing to our nation's childhood obesity epidemic. School is tough enough already—schools shouldn't have to put up with lunches swimming in fat and cholesterol. It's time for healthier options."
—Tobey Maguire

The Spider-Man star has teamed up with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine to encourage public schools to escape the unhealthy web (yeah, I went there) of greasy cafeteria fare and offer healthy vegetarian options. He also says that as a father, "[T]his issue is tremendously important …"

If only all dads were that fly. (All right, I'm done. Promise.)

Posted by Shawna Flavell