shopper’s guide to pesticides

In these economic times we all know buying organic can become a bit pricey, so the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has just put out its 5th edition (shoppers guide to pesticides). The EWG has done the work for you in compiling this “pocket guide” so it is up to you to be responsible in the purchase of produce for yourself and your loved ones. It is all about choice, and being aware…..

As I was raised around pesticides on my family’s farm as a child, this is a subject that I hold dear to my heart.
Having lost my father to ALS, Lou Gehrigs Disease, I am a firm believer that pescticides should be no longer…..

Here are some of the latest scientific findings by the EWG and reasons why you should stay away from pesticides:

Pesticide Health Effects: Every year, new research is published demonstrating the toxicity of pesticides to human health and the environment, often at doses previously declared “safe” by the pesticide industry and the government. As acknowledged by the U.S. and international government agencies, different pesticides have been linked with a variety of toxic effects, including:

Nervous system effects
Carcinogenic effects
Hormone system effects
Skin, eye and lung irritation

Pesticides are unique among the chemicals we release into the environment; they have inherent toxicity because they are designed to kill living organisms – insects, plants, and fungi that are considered “pests.” Because they are toxic by design, many pesticides pose health risks to people, risks that have been acknowledged by independent research scientists and physicians across the world.
An EWG simulation of thousands of consumers eating high and low pesticide diets shows that people can lower their pesticide exposure by almost 80 percent by avoiding the top twelve most contaminated fruits and vegetables and eating the least contaminated instead. Eating the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables will expose a person to about 10 pesticides per day, on average. Eating the 15 least contaminated will expose a person to less than 2 pesticides per day. Less dramatic comparisons will produce less dramatic reductions, but without doubt using the Guide provides people with a way to make choices that lower pesticide exposure in the diet.

So click on this link and support an organization who is “doing the right thing!”

http://www.foodnews.org/