Dana Nachman is a Mom on a Mission!
August 29, 2023
Dana Nachman is Healthy Child Healthy World’s August 2023 finalist for our Mom on a Mission® award. Read her first-person story below on how she became an advocate for children’s health.
By Dana Nachman, Director of The Human Experiment, August 2023 Mom on a Mission Finalist
In 2008 I learned through my work as a television news producer two facts that blew my mind!
1. Products that we use in our home and on our bodies are not vetted for their safety by an independent body before they get onto the market.
2. Indoor air quality in most homes is much worse than outdoor air quality (even if you live next to an oil refinery!).
I had heard so much about activism and policy changes around minimizing smog and the problems associated with outdoor air quality, but the concept of your home being polluted had never even crossed my mind. When I’m shocked about something, it usually turns into my next documentary.
I had two small children at the time. My daughter was 3 and my son was 1 and concern about the health consequences of chemicals in our home was not on my radar. This information made my mama bear instincts kick in. As I started to dig into this issue, I was overwhelmed by the information I was reading online. I started trying to clean up our home. Every time I made a change to a safer product I felt empowered to do more. But still I wanted to do something bigger, something that not only would benefit my family but also work toward change for all families.
So, I embarked on this four-year odyssey to make the first far-reaching documentary to tackle the health impacts of toxic chemicals that surround us. The film is called The Human Experiment and our goal is to help the amazing activists (many of them moms) who are trying to tackle this environmental crisis. We want our film to be a tool to convince other moms, politicians, companies… everyone really, that our health and the health of our children should be a top priority. For too many companies think money is the only bottom line. We want our film to convince audiences that we can not stand for this any longer. Companies and our government have to work with us to make sure that we are safe and that our children are safe.
This has been one crazy ride. I’ve learned a lot about tackling an issue with so much money and power invested in keeping the status quo. Change is hard but I know together we can do it!
Know an amazing mom who is making a difference? Nominate her to be one of our Mom on a Mission® finalists! Learn more about Healthy Child Healthy World’s 2023 Mom on a Mission campaign by visiting Healthychild.org/mission. A special thank you to our sponsors Ology and Unreal.