Living Centerpieces from FarmBox L.A. at ShiftCon designed by Teachable Mommy
What happens if you bring together brands, bloggers and non-profits for a conference billed as “the first eco-wellness social media conference?” Shift. Shift is what happens. At the inaugural ShiftCon event this past weekend, hundreds of people came together to further the national conversation about the way we eat and live, and how that impacts our health and the environment.
For example, if you knew the EPA classifies bleach as a pesticide, would you still wash your kids’ clothes in it? Would you want them breathing it at school?
What if you knew that the European Union bans over a hundred of the chemicals found in make-up & beauty products due to cancer concerns, yet the U.S. only bans about 10 of them (and the entity regulating the industry is comprised of the same people who make the beauty products)? The average U.S. woman uses 12 – 15 beauty products a day, so how much of those contaminants are getting into your body through your skin?
Would you eat a frozen yogurt if you knew that powders and chemicals that have been linked to cancer had been added to it, or that the CEO of the yogurt company was intentionally NOT giving you a list of ingredients?
A sampling of some of the sessions will give you a feel for the tenor of the conference:
The Future of Labeling GMOs
Why Are We So Allergic
Is Organic an Elitist Trend
Legal Implications of Blogging and Activism
Pesticides – What You Need to Know
Fat Vs Fit – the Truth About FitSpo (I mention this one because I was invited to be on the panel after a scheduled contributor became sick)
FitSpo Panel – Lisa Johnson, Andrea Metcalf, me, and Kia Ruiz (Photo by Ana Lydia Monaco)
After I got home from ShiftCon I looked around my house. Sure enough, many of the brands I support with my purchases were at the conference. I’m lucky that the Isla Vista Co-Op near my work carries many of these brands. If you want to be a shifter, ask your local store or co-op to carry them too. Demand creates change.
These are a few brands I love and recommend to you – Organic Valley Co-op, Rudi’s Organic Bakery, Stonyfield Organic, Molly’s Suds, Uncle Matt’s, Boiron, NatraCare, Nordic Naturals, and Dr. Bronner’s.
Taking a Nap at the Naturpedic Suite.
And a few that will now find their way into my home are Kingdom Organic Cheeses, Healthy Hoo-Hoo, Health-Ade Kombucha, Nutiva, and Naturepedic.
Up at Sunrise for the Boiron 5K at ShiftCon in L.A.
I am not much of an activist, at least not in the way most people think, in that I’m not particularly noticeable. The activists who are out in front and noticeable are game-changers. They push. Loudly. And they make things happen that improve all our lives. I’m more of a shifter. Over time I have shifted my thinking, habits and most importantly, money over to companies and non-profits that support healthy food and products. I believe our nation will improve its labeling and choices when more people shift their money and votes. ShiftCon was a conference for both game-changers and shifters like me. Together we can lead from in front and behind.