What’s in your fruits and vegetables?

Before you take a bite of that delicious peach or place that fork full of lettuce in your mouth from your local supermarket. Have you ever stopped to think, what is actually in this food?  There is reason for concern. With today’s growing industrialized and commercialized world food market, consuming major doses of toxins is a daily occurrence. In fact, according to Environmental Working Group,  insecticides, herbicides, and genetically modified fruits and vegetables are recognized as a global threat to humans, animals,  and our environment. Commercial agricultural companies such as Monsanto (producers of Round Up) release thousands of compounds annually, most with no testing of their health impacts and with the approval of the FDA. The cost is billions of dollars a year, but when it comes to our human health and planet, the cost is incalculable.

So what ‘s danger of  pesticides and herbicides?

Well according to the Pesticide Action Network North America, consuming even small doses of pesticides and other chemicals can cause lasting damage to human  health, especially during fetal development and early childhood. Health issues mentioned are developmental and behavioral issues such as Austism, ADHD, and even certain types of Cancer. Even certain pesticides contribute to male infertility according to the Environmental Health Perspectives. Today, our scientists  know enough about the long-term consequences of  ingesting these powerful chemicals and they strongly advise us to minimize our consumption of pesticides.

So what to do?

Eating organic is the surest way to avoid synthetic pesticides and genetically engineered foods, so shifting the diet to emphasize certified organic foods is important for all of us. For more information, on how you can eat organic, contact local San Francisco Bay Area Nutritionist, Mandisa Fabris, C.N.E. for a free convenient phone consultation.

References:

1. “Nowhere to Hide: Persistent Toxic Chemicals in the U.S. Food Supply,” by Kristin Schafer, Pesticide Action Network North America, 2000 (www.panna.org).
2. Sharpe, Richard. “Men under threat: The decline in male reproductive health and the potential role of exposure to chemicals during in-utero development.” Briefing by ChemTrust: http://www.chemtrust.org.uk/Press_and_Media.php
3. Environmental Working Group, “Overexposed: Organophosphate Insecticides in Children’s Food,” 1998, pp. 1-3. www.ewg.org/reports/ops
4. Environmental Working Group. “Body Burden.” 2003. www.ewg.org/reports/bodyburden2/execsumm.php
5. U.S. EPA Report, ”About Pesticides,” 2000-2001.
6. The Dirty Dozen “http://www.foodnews.org/