http://www.ewg.org/Pesticide Health Effects: The Latest Science
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. Children Are Especially at Risk. More: http://www.foodnews.org/reduce.php
About the Environmental Working Group
The Basics:The mission of the Environmental Working Group (EWG) is to use the power of public information to protect public health and the environment. EWG is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, founded in 1993 by Ken Cook and Richard Wiles.
In 2002, we founded the EWG Action Fund, a 501(c)(4) organization that advocates on Capitol Hill for health-protective and subsidy-shifting policies.
EWG specializes in providing useful resources (like Skin Deep and the Shoppers' Guide to Pesticides in Produce) to consumers while simultaneously pushing for national policy change.
1. To protect the most vulnerable segments of the human population—children, babies, and infants in the womb—from health problems attributed to a wide array of toxic contaminants.
2. To replace federal policies, including government subsidies that damage the environment and natural resources, with policies that invest in conservation and sustainable development.
How EWG Does It
Our research brings to light unsettling facts that you have a right to know. It shames and shakes up polluters and their lobbyists. It rattles politicians and shapes policy. It persuades bureaucracies to rethink science and strengthen regulation. It provides practical information you can use to protect your family and community.
And because our investigations and interactive websites tend to make news, you've probably heard about them. Even if you've never heard of us. Which is fine. We'd rather you remember our work than our name.
Wow and I'm a great lettuce's fan XD
ReplyDeleteyeah everything has pesticides then what may I and my children have to eat for being healthy?
Oh, my God. I eat an apple every day, strawberries as often as I can, lettuce almost every day... I guess we should start eating only organic products. But they are soooo expensive! Or maybe we'd better grow our own vegetables (I don't know where, though: I live in town and don't even have a balcony...).
ReplyDeleteDon't panic!!
ReplyDeleteThey say all you have to do is wash them very carefully or peel them IF POSSIBLE, as one can not peel a strawberry, for instance!! ;-)
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI have been very worried all the weekend because of this issue because I didn't know what products my father used to grow the greens but today, when we were having lunch I have had the opportunity to ask him. Apparently, he only has to use some insecticide or herbicide when the plant has "pulgón"(I don't know how to say it in english) or another insect that give problems, becacuse they are very tiny insect and they are in a very big quantity so isn't possible to take it away by hand. On the other hand, he only uses these products with onions, garlic or potatoes. With the majority of greens, chard, spinach, lettuce, parsley, carrot... he doesn't need use these products. He has said to me that when I find some snail or slug in the vegetables, those insects are the guarantee stamp.
With fruit the thing isn't so well. My father don't use to grow fruits so I have to buy it. As Lucía has said we have to wash or peel them but in summer there are a lot of fruits that we eat without peel them. On the other hand, I suppose that fruit that had a thick peel such as watermelon, melon, banana, pineapple... will be protected from that insecticides thanks to that thick peel, won't you? I will have to investigate.
I have said to my husband that he has to relieve my father of growing greens when he is older and cannot do it but he hasn't look very happy.
Cheers,
Cristina.
Cristina! That was not the point of the information but just be aware of what we have at hand!
ReplyDeleteIf you read the previous entry about Food Markets you will find the other side of the story: good, healthy and pesticides free food in big cities where may be , local markets aren't as available as in smaller cities or closer to the countryside where many people (with small pices of land) have always followed a more traditional and healthy way of growing vegetables, fruit, etc.
Have you read the other one about no impact man? he could do it in NYC!!!
Good examples to feel more relaxed!
I am sorry Lucía, it wasn't my intention straying from the point. I haven't read the previous post (the last few days you have added a lot of post)but I have just read it and it is very interesting, in other moment I will write a comment.
ReplyDeleteI think that for people who live in big cities is much more difficult to find ecologic foods (in that sense I feel very lucky)and if they find this kind of food they are very expensive and they aren't within everyone's budget. Whenever we win something, we lose something too and I think that this is an example. Our towns and villages are become more and more deserted and cities more and more crowded and new ways of carrying these organic and natural foods have to be invented.
On the other hand, I think that it is really neccesary that organizations like EWG exist because someone has to make sure that what we eat is righ, even so, always it will be cases
of frauds, contamination such as someflower oil a lot of years ago, mad cows... the more I think in this issue the more I am scared.
Cheers,
Cristina
Thanks Cristina for for post!
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with you!
Thanks a lot for the list and I think that I might start working on a vegetable garden. Even though I live in an appartment I think I can work something out in flowerpots and in my parents in law house. They got a big garden where I can work.
ReplyDeleteLet's get started.
Regards.... W
I think we can not avoid the pesticides in our food. In fact almost every vegetable we eat has been treated with a pesticide and although it may be apparently no harmful at last it seems it is. I am always shocked with the cancer figures in rural areas: it seems they have a healthier life than the ones who live in cities, they eat more fresh vegetables and fruit. So probably they are eating the same toxicity products as we are
ReplyDeleteI think we can not avoid the pesticides in our food. In fact almost every vegetable we eat has been treated with a pesticide and although it may be apparently no harmful at last it seems it is. I am always shocked with the cancer figures in rural areas: it seems they have a healthier life than the ones who live in cities, they eat more fresh vegetables and fruit. So probably they are eating the same toxicity products as we are.
ReplyDeleteHi Paloma, take into acount that we are speaking about one kind of food, which grow from the soil. However, people in rural areas eat another kind of food too. For example, the slaughter of the pig is very famous in rural areas and as you know, people make delicious meals with it, black pudding, spicy dry pork sausage, salami, Catalan sausage, people in rural area give a good use of everything from the pig. On the other hand, smoking is bad for our healht and both men and women are smoking more and more and not only smoker people are affected but a passive smoker has nearly the same posibilities of suffer from cancer than the own smoker.
ReplyDeletePlease Paloma, don't take this the wrong way because isn't my intention bother you but I think that both in the city and in the rural areas we can eat in a healthy way or in the bad way, only depend on our good intention.
Cheers,
Cristina González
Of course I don´t get bothered Cristina, this is a forum where we all share ideas and we don´t need to agree in everything so please don´t worry at all.
ReplyDeleteBut what I meant to say is considering that people living in the countryside breath a purer air than the one we have in big cities, they eat apples directly from the trees and not from a refrigerator, tomatoes taste to tomatoes etc but at last, you realise that they use pesticides on the tomatoes or in the fruit trees because if not, they wouldn´t get any harvest, the corn is adultered as well so the result is both in cities or in the countryside we are eating the same polluted or not food. And although I like a lot all the related pig stuff we have to agree it´s not very healthy.
I live in a big city but I know quite well the life in the small hamlet in the north of Spain. All cattle are feed apart from natural grass with fodder which contains a lot of chemical products so at the end, what are we eating?
Hi Paloma,
ReplyDeleteIf I agree with you, what I tried say to you before is that unlike a lot of people think, the food in the countryside isn't as healthier as it seem at first glance and that as regards cancer, diet isn't the only factor that cause the death by cancer.
Sometimes I discuss this issue with my husband and children, then we say to the children as a joke that we are going to rear animals in the garden and they got happy. :-)
Cheers,
Cristina.
I never thought this topic was so sucessful. It seems you really care about what we eat!!
ReplyDelete:-)
I totally agree with my namesake, all about the pig thing, it's totally true, and I don't want to start talking about the smokers... because I'm against them all.
ReplyDeleteI think Cristina has made a very point of view in all her comments.
Cheers, Cris