Last week, I stated some concerns regarding this Oil Hemorrhage. Although some of the answers are not as comforting as I hoped, the Department of Health and Human Services responded to a few of my concern. Check out what they had to say about the health and well-being of us as well as the effects to the fish and other sea life. “Oil Spill Stirs Study, Debate Over Health Impacts”
Recently stumbled upon this article on CNN.com where they explained how many pesticides are in a actually in certain servings of fruits and veggies. There’s even a video that you can watch if you don’t feel like reading the article. 🙂 But here are the F&V that you should definitely buy organic because they have the most pesticides:
The Dirty Dozen: “contain 47 to 67 pesticides per serving. These foods are believed to be most susceptible because they have soft skin that tends to absorb more pesticides.”
- Celery
- Peaches
- Strawberries
- Apples
- Domestic blueberries
- Nectarines
- Sweet bell peppers
- Spinach, kale and collard greens
- Cherries
- Potatoes
- Imported grapes
- Lettuce
The Clean 15: the non-organic f & v’s because they have the least amount of pesticides
- Onions
- Avocados
- Sweet corn
- Pineapples
- Mango
- Sweet peas
- Asparagus
- Kiwi fruit
- Cabbage
- Eggplant
- Cantaloupe
- Watermelon
- Grapefruit
- Sweet potatoes
- Sweet onions
Did you know that 86,000 chemicals have been registered in the US? Try to guess how many of them have been tested by the EPA for safety. Well, you might hope all of them have been tested – but the actual answer is only 200, according to the Pesticide Action Network (panna.org). One of the commonest, bisphenol A (BPA) was not tested before being used in many products, including food containers. Corporations have been allowed to keep secret the names of risky chemicals if disclosure would reduce the company’s profit. This loophole has recently been closed. Not a moment too soon.
You’ve probably heard that bee colonies in the US have been collapsing, as the bees abandon their hives or die. This is serious, since bees pollinate (make fertile) the crops we depend on (not to mention bees’own rights). Many causes have been proposed, and perhaps many factors have played a role in this Colony Collapse Disorder. But some good news is reported today by Pesticide Action Network . A federal judge has banned the sale of the herbicide spirotetramat, whch was shown in studies (including some by its own manufacturers) to harm bees.This herbicide has already been banned by France, Germany, and Italy. Even little Slovenia beat us to the punch on this important action.
In case you needed another reason to embrace organic food, research has found links between exposure to pesticides and the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. One study examined over 700 residents of California’s agricultural region the Central Valley, and found that people living within 500 meters of fields sprayed with the fungicide maneb and the herbicide paraquat from 1974-1989 were more likely than comparable people to develop Parkinson’s — 75% more likely. I don’t know about you, but that scares me! And let’s not forget that people most likely to be heavily exposed are the farm workers who produce the food we eat. Pesticides and other poisons are, in my opinion, dangerous double-edged swords. Remember too that not all chemicals poured into our environment have been tested for safety — either alone or in combination. So next time you shop, buying organic food is one way you can help preserve the health of the planet and yourself.
