Reduce Pesticide Risk

Extensive pesticide residue testing by the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that conventionally produced fruits and vegetables are three to more than four times more likely, on average, to contain residues than organic produce. Conventional produce is also nine times more likely to contain multiple pesticide residues, at levels three to ten times higher than corresponding residues in organic samples.

“Widely accepted organic farming principles and the certification rules governing organic farming in most countries prohibit the use of nearly all synthetic pesticides, including chemical weed killers, insecticides, and most fungicides used to control plant diseases. For this reason, many people are turning to organic food as a practical, common sense way to reduce pesticide health risks,” writes researcher Charles M. Benbrook, PhD.

Who’s Most Vulnerable?

Although investigators believe that pesticide levels in conventionally produced foods pose only minor risks to healthy adults, they agree that certain groups are more susceptible to toxins. The developing fetus, infants, children, people who are exposed on the job (i.e., farm workers), and those with compromised immune systems may be especially vulnerable to health problems following exposures to synthetic pesticides. Author, cancer survivor, and ecologist Sandra Steingraber, PhD, is concerned about the “windows of vulnerability” where even small levels of pesticide exposure can increase a person’s risk of adverse health effects.

Agriculture practices affect human fertility, explains Dr. Steingraber. For example, atrazine, the most common herbicide in the United States, can interfere with the hormone that triggers ovulation. Some studies show this toxin is linked to ovarian and breast cancer, appears to be an endocrine disrupter, and may even affect sperm.

The beginning of life and the first few weeks in which the human body starts to form are crucial. Pesticides can sabotage normal development. Even air pollution can be a prenatal issue, she says. Not surprisingly, pesticides have been linked to early miscarriage. “Women are being exposed to chemical abortion even if they want to have children,” Dr. Steingraber says. Emerging evidence suggests that pesticide exposure may result in birth defects including cleft palates, holes in the heart, webbed toes, and other deformities.

Studies from California indicate that women living close to agricultural fields where chemicals are sprayed face an elevated risk of having a stillborn child due to birth defects. Dr. Steingraber points to findings from Midwestern studies conducted in agricultural areas that showed babies conceived in the spring face the highest rates of birth defects and other abnormalities, linked to the use of chemicals during key developmental times.

Children, from conception through their first years of life, are much less able than adults to detoxify most pesticides. They are also highly vulnerable to endocrine disrupters and developmental neurotoxins. Yet nearly three-quarters of fresh fruits and vegetables consumed most frequently by U.S. infants and children contain pesticide residues.

The blood-brain barrier does not completely form until a child is six months old. Because insecticides are neurological toxins, exposure during critical developmental stages can be disastrous, Dr. Steingraber adds. The adage “Dose makes the poison” does not always reflect the true risk. In these circumstances, “Timing makes the poison” may be more accurate.

An advocate of breast-feeding and a nursing mother herself, Dr. Steingraber will tell you that human breast milk is contaminated with pesticide residues due to the mother’s body burden of chemicals. Getting chemical contaminants out of breast milk, she notes, would require widespread adoption of a different agricultural system that does not use these chemicals.

Go Organic

A growing number of U.S. farmers have already taken steps to minimize the use of—and consumers’ exposure to—toxic and persistent pesticides by adopting organic agricultural practices. Organic farmers build a sustainable future for every aspect of the planet—soil, water supply, and the health of animals and humans. Consumers who want to minimize their own—and the Earth’s—exposure to toxic and persistent chemicals can do so by buying organic foods and organic fiber products. And they can choose organic agricultural methods for home pest control and lawn care.