Mom, Will This Chicken Give Me Man Boobs?: My Confused, Guilt-Ridden, and Stressful Struggle to Raise a Green Family

By Robyn Harding

After moving to ultra-eco-conscious Vancouver, Robyn Harding vows to decrease the size of her family's carbon footprint. Ten-year-old Ethan worries about getting moobs from hormones in the food supply, so Robyn commits to buying organic. She quickly discovers that to keep the family in organic milk, she'll have to sell a kidney. Then, eight-year-old Tegan becomes obsessed with the diminishing polar bear population. Soon Robyn finds herself making litterless lunches, greening her home, and valiantly trying to de-commercialize Christmas and birthdays. To make matters worse, she befriends a three-children, no-car single mother who shuttles her offspring and their various musical instruments (including a cello) around by bike and trailer. Who can compete with that? Harding deals with the challenges of ethical consumerism with spirit and wit, pondering how far her family has come, how far they're willing to go, and whether she can go green and stay sane -- and keep her kidneys.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1553653904
• ISBN13: 9781553653905
• Release Date: April 2009
• Publisher: Greystone Books
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.4" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Hilarious and informative.

I was already a fan of Robyn Harding so I ordered this book mistakenly thinking it was another fiction book. It's not fiction - it's her real life account of trying to green her family. I'm not a mom and didn't expect to really relate to it, but to my surprise, I ended up LOVING this book. It's hilarious and informative at the same time. I found myself laughing while reading it then applying a lot of the changes to my own life. Really fun read - for parents and non-parents alike.

A fun romp in eco guilt for those of us trying to go green

Robyn Harding's attempts to go green make for some LOL moments in this funny book. If you have tried to go green, then you'll know that it can be an exercise in confusion. The choices - fair trade or travel miles? Phthalates or eco friendly glass? GMO soy or mercury containing fish? - are often difficult to evaluate, and Robyn Harding's tales of exploring those issue are hilarious. The book does contain some information on the choices, but the focus is on the exploration of a busy parent's answers to green consciousness more than a how to book. Given to dithering myself, I enjoyed this book.