The Certified Organic Food we Eat Should be Free of Pesticides and Other Potentially Dangerous Chemicals
Organic is more than just a label, it's a lifestyle and it starts from the moment food products are grown or raised and when other items are made.If you buy all of the produce you need for your family, you will get all the benefits of organic food if they are certified and you can be assured that they are indeed organic. The benefits actually start from the moment crops are planted or when meat producing animals consume the crop. Organic, means goods that have no harmful pesticides and were grown or produced without inorganic fertilizers or GM content (Genetically Modified) Avoiding Harmful Residues As an example of why crop spray residue is a problem consider the recent study results from the Journal of Environmental Health that concluded that many pesticides registered for use in Europe may damage the human brain and urged European authorities to tighten pesticide restrictions. Weed killers and pesticide sprays are the worst offenders.but "Because many (pesticides) are by design toxic to the brain of insects, it is very likely that they are also toxic to human brains." Phlippe Grandjean of the Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Southern Denmark told Reuters.Laboratory studies conducted by Grandjean suggest that pesticides commonly used in the EU can cause neuron-developmental toxicity and concluded that the developing brains of young children are far more at risk from chemical exposure. Organophosphates, carbamates, and pyrethroids were listed amongst the potentially damaging chemicals. (GE Products are just starting to demonstrate some concern by some researchers.) Benefits of Organic Food for Children Since children are developing and need a relatively large amount of food, they may feel the effects of harmful pesticides more than adults. A study in Mexico also suggested that intake of too many harmful pesticides could hamper development of children. Overall, organic food is better for us because of reducing the quantity of harmful substances that we ingest.
Average children in America are exposed to five pesticides daily in their food and drinking water. Switching to an organic diet for just five days virtually eliminates any sign of exposure to organo-phosphate insecticides among school-age children. Source: Reducing Pesticide Exposures Critical Issues Report, The Organic Center, August 2006 More than 25 percent of fruits, vegetables and cereals contain detectable residues of at least two pesticides, and according to a recent (2)PAN Europe study, nearly 5% of fruits, vegetables and cereals were found to contain dangerous levels of pesticides and more than 10% of the foods sampled contained four different pesticide residues.While these are usually in small quantities, other studies have also linked intake of these residues to symptoms such as headaches, nausea and skin conditions.Unless food is grown with organic pest control, it will contain harmful pesticide residue. Commercial pest control products leave traces behind. organic pesticide and organic insecticides do not. One Belgian study showed that women with breast cancer were more likely to contain traces of certain harmful pesticides in their systems. These are the by products of industrial food production One solution to the problem of pest control is to use organic insecticide, and organic herbicides. These allow organic pest and weed control without diminishing the advantages of organic food. Articles referenced: Buying Organic Isn’t Just for Your Food AnymoreAlthough critics of the green movement will scoff and tell you differently, buying organic is more important than ever. Our environment is being destroyed slowly, and we need to start preserving as much as possible now, so that our children will be able to grow up healthy, and happy.Buying organic food is not the only way to “go green.” Many items such as linens, clothing, and paper can be made from organic products. Beauty and skin care products are increasingly being made with all or at least part of the ingredients being organic. Many of these are made from organic food such as green tea and cocoa butter. Living the green lifestyle encompasses all aspects of our life. Buying organic food can make your meals taste better and some research has even indicated higher levels of antioxidant properties and vitamins. You may be sitting there thinking, this all sounds good, but why is buying organic so important? The truth of the matter is that your children and grandchildren’s futures could depend on it. Traditional farmers use many different chemicals such as pesticides, hormone treatments, chemical fertilizers, and other methods for producing the products we buy today. These chemicals are hazardous to our environment. These chemicals get into the soil, and can spread to other areas, like our groundwater, rivers, and streams. When animals in the wild are exposed to these chemicals, their chances of becoming sick or even dying are increased. Polluting their water supply can cause imbalances in their natural habitats. When a habitat becomes unbalanced, there is a domino effect. Eventually, some species of fish and animals could become endangered or extinct, causing others to suffer the same fate, and so on. Organic products eliminate the need for these chemicals, eliminating the chances for nature to suffer harm.Our water is not the only resource that can be polluted. Farming by traditional methods means spraying chemicals that are harmful to the ozone as well. These chemicals are causing holes in our ozone, and are contributing substantially to global warming.
If the environment is not reason enough for you to start buying organic food and products, then think about your children. The allowable amounts of chemicals used in traditional farming methods are calculated based on what an adult can safely tolerate. These chemicals are affecting our children before they are even born. Many health problems and birth defects have been attributed to exposure to industrial and agricultural chemicals. Behavioral and developmental defects are possible results of exposure as well as a higher chance of protracting cancer, and lower fertility rates. In short, there’s no reason you shouldn’t buy organic food and many reasons why you should. Consider your future and your children’s future next time you’re in the grocery store. Grab the organic foods and cut out the processed, chemically grown ones.
Ten Ways Growing Your Own Organic Food Can Benefit Your Health and Your Budget1.Get the nutrition you need & enjoy tastier food; Many studies have shown that organically grown food has more minerals and nutrients than food grown with synthetic pesticides. And there’s a good reason why many chefs use organic foods in their recipes -- they taste better.2.Save money; Growing your own food can help cut the cost of your grocery bill. 3.Protect future generations; The average child receives four times more exposure than an adult to at least eight widely used cancer-causing pesticides in food. 4.Prevent soil erosion; More than 3 billion tons of topsoil are eroded from the United States’ croplands each year. In conventional farming, the soil is used more as a medium for holding plants in a vertical position so they can be chemically fertilized. As a result, American farms are suffering from the worst soil erosion in history. 5.Protect water quality; Pesticides -- some cancer causing -- contaminate the groundwater in 38 states, polluting the primary source of drinking water for more than half the country’s population.
7.Keep chemicals off your plate;The EPA considers 60 percent of all herbicides, 90 percent of all fungicides and 30 percent of all insecticides carcinogenic. Pesticides may cause an extra 4 million cancer cases among Americans. 8.Protect farm workers & help small farmers; Farmers exposed to herbicides have six times more risk than non-farmers of contracting cancer. And organic farming could be one of the few survival tactics left for family farms. 9.Promote biodiversity; Mono-cropping is the practice of planting large plots of land with the same crop year after year. The lack of natural diversity of plant life has left the soil lacking in natural minerals and nutrients, and single crops are also much more susceptible to pests, making farmers more reliant on pesticides. 10.Help beautify your community; Besides being used to grow food, community gardens are also a great way to beautify a community, and to bring pride in ownership. Sources: FoodMatters August 5, 2009
Pesticide-Induced Diseases DatabaseThe common diseases affecting the public’s health are all too well-known in the 21st century: asthma, autism and learning disabilities, birth defects and reproductive dysfunction, diabetes, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, and several types of cancer. Their connection to pesticide exposure continues to strengthen despite efforts to restrict individual chemical exposure, or mitigate chemical risks, using risk assessment-based policy. The Pesticide-Induced Diseases Database, launched by Beyond Pesticides, facilitates access to epidemiologic and laboratory studies based on real world exposure scenarios that link public health effects to pesticides. The scientific literature documents elevated rates of chronic diseases among people exposed to pesticides, with increasing numbers of studies associated with both specific illnesses and a range of illnesses. With some of these diseases at very high and, perhaps, epidemic proportions, there is an urgent need for public policy at all levels –local, state, and national—to end dependency on toxic pesticides, replacing them with carefully defined green strategies. The current database, which contains hundreds of studies, itself is preliminary and will be added to over the coming months. We urge readers to send studies to info@beyondpesticides.org that you think should be added to the database. Data Supports Policy Change The database is a tool to support efforts to eliminate the continued use of hazardous pesticides in favor of green strategies that emphasize non-toxic and least-toxic alternative practices and products. The studies in the database show that our current approach to restricting pesticide use through risk assessment-based mitigation measures is not working. This failed human experiment must be ended. The warnings of those who have expressed concerns about risk assessment, such as EPA Administrator under Presidents Nixon and Reagan, William Ruckelshaus, have been borne out by three decades of use and study. Mr. Ruckelshaus in 1984 said, “We should remember that risk assessment data can be like the captured spy: If you torture it long enough, it will tell you anything you want to know.” EPA’s risk assessment fails to look at chemical mixtures, synergistic effects, certain health endpoints (such as endocrine disruption), disproportionate effects to vulnerable population groups, and regular noncompliance with product label directions. These deficiencies contribute to its severe limitations in defining real world poisoning, as captured by epidemiology studies in the database. An enlightened policy approach to proposed or continued toxic chemical use, in an age where the adverse effects have been widely and increasingly documented, is to first ask whether there is a less toxic way of achieving the toxic chemical’s intended purpose. Simply, “Is there another practice that would make the substance unnecessary?” This approach does not preclude and should demand the prohibition of high hazard chemical use, those chemicals that are simply too dangerous. The alternatives assessment approach differs most dramatically from a risk assessment-based policy in rejecting uses and exposures deemed acceptable under risk assessment calculations, but unnecessary because of the availability of safer alternatives. For example, in agriculture, where the database shows clear links to pesticide use and cancer, it would no longer be possible to use hazardous pesticides, as it is with risk assessment-based policy, when there are clearly effective organic systems with competitive yields that, in fact, outperform chemical-intensive agriculture in drought years. Cost comparisons must take into account externalities such as water pollution and water utility expenses, associated with chemical-intensive farming. The same is true for home and garden pesticide use and defined integrated pest management systems with prescribed practices and only specific substances as a last resort. The database suggests clearly that we must take strategic action to shift away from pesticide dependency. Public policy must advance this shift, rather than continue to allow unnecessary reliance on pesticides. Regulatory restrictions must be tied to alternatives assessment that move chemicals off the market or prohibit their marketing as safer approaches and technologies emerge. For more information download and print this article from the Summer 2010 issue of Pesticides and You, which summarizes the database, as well as the database press release.
info@beyondpesticides.org
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6.Save energy; Modern farming uses more petroleum than any other single industry, consuming 12 percent of the country’s total energy supply. More energy is now used to produce synthetic fertilizers than to till, cultivate and harvest all the crops in the United States. 
There are Also Less Harmful Pesticides
Pesticides and Insecticides, what’s the difference? ‘Pesticide’ is the general term for a chemical that kills pests. Pests can be weeds, insects, nuisance rodents, diseases, etc. An insecticide is a type of pesticide.
Insecticides kill insects. Herbicides kill weeds. Rodenticides kill rodents. & Fungicides kill fungi.
What makes a pesticide less harmful?
A pesticide is less harmful if it controls what we want to control and does not harm other creatures in the environment. For example, we like to use pesticides that won’t hurt people or pets. Less harmful insecticides control the “bad” bugs and leave the good bugs alive. A less harmful pesticide would control gypsy moths, aphids, or nuisance wasps, but wouldn’t kill butterflies, honey bees, ladybugs, or praying mantises. Pesticides that don’t stay in the environment long are usually less harmful than those that stay in the soil, water, or air for a long time.
Why should I think about using less harmful pesticides?
Because pesticides that kill insects might also hurt humans, birds, fish, dogs, cats, etc. Even though we might not look much like insects, our bodies use some of the same things to make them work. If an insecticide kills an insect by destroying its nervous system and your nerves are basically the same as an insects’ nerves, then the pesticide might harm you too. If you are spraying an insecticide in the house you should think about your children and your pets. If you’re using a pesticide outside please think about birds, fish, and other animals that might contact the pesticide. You might be killing the ‘good bugs’ that are in the environment. Insects like praying mantises, ladybugs, and honey bees are very helpful to humans and the environment, so we should try to protect them. What insects can I control if I use less toxic insecticides?
Sometimes it is hard to know which insecticides are supposed to control which bugs. It’s even more difficult to know what your less toxic control options might be. In order to help you use less toxic pesticides, we are providing you with a list of some less harmful insecticides and the insects that will be affected by them.
Bt – Bacillus thuringiensis controls some caterpillars and beetle larvae. Boric Acid – will control ants, cockroaches, silverfish, and termites. Diatomaceous Earth – a natural pesticide dries pests out, which is why it’s effective on pests that need a lot of water, such as slugs, millipedes, and sowbugs. Horticultural Oil (2 kinds) – Dormant Oil is used during the winter season. It will control aphids, spider mites, and scales by suffocating them. Summer Oils are used while the plant is growing. Summer oils control aphids, mites, thrips, scales, and mealybugs. Oils are good controls for hemlock woolly adelgid. Insecticidal Soap – will control soft-bodied insects such as aphids, leafhoppers, scales, and whiteflies. It may be sold as “Safer’s Soap.” Iron Phosphate – will control slugs and snails. Very safe and very effective. May be sold as “Slug-go” or “Escar-go”. Neem (Azadirachtin) – will control gypsy moths, leafminers, thrips, caterpillars, and mealybugs. Neem oil is also a fungicide. It may be sold as “Bio-neem” or “Azatin”. Pyrethrum – a natural insecticide that will ‘knock down’ most insects, but unless something like piperonyl butoxide is added, the insects will not be killed. Pyrethroids – are the synthetic versions of pyrethrum and they are effective against most insects. However, they do last longer in the environment than pyrethrum. Sabadilla – will control caterpillars, leafhoppers, thrips, stink bugs, and squash bugs. Sabadilla may be sold as “Natural Guard” or “Red Devil”. Traps – Not all traps are created equal! Japanese beetle traps, for example will catch a lot of beetles, but they also bring many more beetles to the area. Other traps, like pantry traps, are excellent for controlling insects. Please keep in mind that just because a pesticide is “organic” or derived from a natural product, does not mean that it is safer than a synthetic chemical.
A natural product, does not mean that it is safer than a synthetic chemical. It is your responsibility to read the pesticide label and follow all directions on it.
Compliments of:
. This publication was made possible by funding from the U.S. E.PA. PA Dept. of Ag., Penn State IPM and Penn State Cooperative Extension. Franklin County Cooperative Extension 191 Franklin Farm Lane Chambersburg, PA 17201 (717) 263-9226 Fax (717) 263-9228 FranklinExt@psu.edu
Studies Link Range of Major Diseases to Pesticides, New Database Launched
Washington, DC, August 18, 2010 – Links to pesticide exposure are being found in a growing number of studies that evaluate the causes of preventable diseases ‐‐including asthma, autism and learning disabilities, birth defects and reproductive dysfunction, diabetes, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, and several types of cancer. A new database, released today, tracks published epidemiologic and real world exposure studies. The studies challenge the effectiveness of risk‐assessment‐based regulation which is intended to manage adverse disease outcomes, but is criticized for allowing the uses of chemicals that can be replaced by green technologies and practices. To capture the range of diseases linked to pesticides through epidemiologic studies, the national environmental and public health group Beyond Pesticides launched in the summer issue of its newsletter, Pesticides and You, the Pesticide‐Induced Diseases Database to track the studies. “A read through the scientific literature on pesticides and major preventable diseases afflicting us in the 21st century suggests that one of the first responses called for is an all out effort to stop using toxic pesticides,” said Jay Feldman, executive director of Beyond Pesticides. The database begins an ongoing effort by Beyond Pesticides to maintain this comprehensive database of the studies that the group says “supports an urgent need to shift to toxic‐free practices and policies.” The group is calling for alternatives assessment in environmental rulemaking that creates a regulatory trigger to adopt alternatives and drive the market to go green.” Under risk assessment, we constantly play with ‘mitigation measures’ that the Pesticide‐Induced Diseases Database tells us over and over is a failed human experiment,” said Mr. Feldman. The alternatives assessment approach differs most dramatically from risk assessment in rejecting uses and exposures deemed acceptable under risk assessment calculations, but unnecessary because of the availability of safer alternatives. For example, in agriculture, where the database shows clear links to pesticide use and multiple types of cancer, it would no longer be possible to use hazardous pesticides, as it is with risk assessment‐based policy, when there are clearly effective organic systems with competitive yields that, in fact, outperform chemical‐intensive agriculture in drought years. This same analysis can be applied to home and garden use of pesticides where households using pesticides suffer elevated rates of cancer. Earlier this year Beyond Pesticides released its Organic Food: Eating with a Conscience guide that explains how foods grown with hazardous chemicals contaminate water and air, hurt biodiversity, harm farmworkers, and kill bees, birds, fish and other wildlife even though the finished commodities, often referred to as “clean,” may have minimal or nondetectable residues. The guide can be found at www.eatingwithaconscience.org. The Pesticide‐Induced Diseases Database, which currently contains 383 entries of epidemiologic and laboratory exposure studies, will be continually updated to track the emerging findings and trends. To view the database, go to
www.beyondpesticides.org/health.
Organic Baby Products For the Health of Your Little Ones
The miracle of life is an extraordinary thing and having a baby is not to be taken lightly. Parenthood comes with many responsibilities, one of which is protecting your infant from harm. With this in mind, many companies are making organic baby products. Babies develop so rapidly that it is important to be sure you can do everything you can to remove toxins and harmful products from their environment.
In order for anything to be considered organic, it has to be certified by an inspector recognized by the USDA. Organic products are made and grown without pesticides, fertilizers, antibiotics, hormones, genetically altered materials, or any number of other chemicals and methods used in production. If it is not naturally found in the plant or animal it comes from, or the environment from which it originated, it should not be found in organic baby products.
Everything from diaper rash creams, to foods, to clothing can be made from organic materials and ingredients. Studies done on traditional items have had some alarming results. One study done on personal care products such as shampoos, soaps, diaper rash creams and lotions, found different toxins that can affect anything from reproductive organs and future fertility to increasing the likelihood of cancer. Organic baby products for personal care use all natural ingredients that won’t harm your baby like those that contain chemicals.
Many people buy clothes and pajamas for their children and take comfort in the fact that there are flame retardants applied when producing them. The truth is, your baby probably isn’t going to burst into flames, and the drawbacks outweigh the benefits. If the fire is close enough to your baby to set their pajamas on fire, you probably already have bigger problems.
The chemicals used to make the pajamas flame retardant wear off eventually, are toxic, and sometimes release fumes into the air for your child to breathe. These chemicals are linked to decreased brain function in infants, along with having other negative effects. If you must buy clothes that are flame retardant, get the ones made of organic cotton or wool. These fabrics are naturally fire retardant without the dangerous chemicals.
Many baby foods are organic also. These foods tend to taste better and are better for your baby. They don’t contain the chemicals and additives that can cause allergic reactions or food sensitivities. Many parents find their children more willing to eat organic offerings. This is great news, as organic foods tend to have higher amounts of nutrients like antioxidants. All you have to do is search for the jar, box, bag, or plastic cup with the USDA seal.
Other organic baby products that you should consider when planning your child’s nursery are the mattress, rocker, carpet, paints, and any blankets or sheets. Items made of wood should have organic stains or beeswax as the coating.
Over the years, chemicals and additives have become common place in production of every day items. Originally thought to be beneficial, new research is showing that these chemicals are harmful and can have effects on your baby that will last well into adulthood. By using only organic baby products, you can reduce your infant’s risk of exposure to many diseases and defects.