Editor’s Note: Good Morning! Today is the last day to get yourself registered for the 30-Day Challenge. Whether you make it to one or all of the events, registering means you get cool bonus material AND get a chance at all kinds of prizes. We are registering people live at Brambles from Noon to 6 p.m. So, come out and say hi, bring chocolate, coffee and – oh yeah – register those passports. Plus, Natural Pastures Cheese Co. will be there doing a demo from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. So, hey. No excuses:)
Time for date night plans as well. Bisque, The Great Escape, Anderton Bistro-Pub and Locals are a great way to kick off an evening with Arlo Guthrie at MusicFest…which is where you’ll be finding us tonight!
Dr. Amy Wells is here today talking shop about pesticides and their effect on kids:
In keeping with this month’s theme of eating local, the topic of pesticide use and its effect on our kids and us is one of ever-rising interest. Never before has the demand for organic produce been so high and it’s evident by the increasing selection of it in the grocery stores.
Since the birth of my son three years ago, organic food and products are a norm in our household. Extended family members and close friends respect our decision to provide pesticide- and hormone-free food to our toddler and often follow up the question “is he allowed to eat this?” with “it’s organic!”
It’s comforting to think we’re protecting our children from toxic chemicals by consuming organic foods, however, in some ways, this can be false security. Pesticides just don’t stop in their tracks at the property lines of the farms.
It contaminates neighboring soils and waterways, and circulates in the air therefore having the potential to travel around the world. Studies have shown abnormally high concentrations of pesticides in the mountains of western British Columbia and in the Arctic Ocean.
It’s postulated that compounds in upper latitudes and colder temperatures precipitate from the air and become trapped in the material in which they settle. This reasoning could also explain why there is higher pesticide levels found in the breast milk of Inuit mothers eating traditional diets.
At the risk of sounding all doom and gloom, the take-home message is merely to illustrate the global inter-connectiveness and how one farmer’s practices does in fact impact the rest of world. By supporting organic, we’re not only lowering our personal exposure to harmful chemicals, we’re also boycotting the use of pesticides on ‘conventional’ farms.
The bummer about pesticides is its ability to travel through the food chain. Much is known about dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (aka DDT) today and its capacity to travel from the soil into the grass that’s eaten by the cattle whose milk we’re consuming. And accumulated DDT levels don’t stop with us.
Research has shown levels of pesticides in breast milk correlate with levels of pesticides in maternal adipose tissue. This means that due to the passage of these toxins via cord blood and breast milk, infants are beginning life with the pesticide load it took its parents decades to accumulate.
Because of this exposure to the fetus and newborn, its ideal for the potential mother (and father) to ‘prepare the terrain’ by doing a detox program and making some lifestyle changes for about 3 months (or longer) previous to conception.
Chlorinated and organophosphate pesticides are two major groups of chemicals used in farming that have some awful effects on human health. Chronic exposure is linked to chronic fatigue syndrome, aplastic anemia, leukemia, multiple myeloma, non Hodgkins Lymphoma, breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, liver cancer, colon cancer and lung cancer.
The immune system is very sensitive to pesticides and with higher levels in the body, there are high incidences of allergies and cancers, and lowered resistance to infections. The endocrine system takes a hit from chronic pesticide exposure due to the weak estrogenic influence of chlorinated chemicals, resulting in reproductive dysfunction such as infertility and miscarriages.
Bone health is also affected by pesticide levels due to its inhabitation of bone building, increasing the risk of osteoporosis. Neurological function is greatly affected by toxic overload.
To help prevent the negative effects of pesticides on the body from unavoidable global exposure, there are some supplements that help clear accumulation, restore deficiencies caused by toxic levels and protect individual cells and organs from damage.
Whey protein, a low sugar diet and Silybum marianum (milk thistle) ensures proper liver clearance of toxic metabolites, such as xenobiotics from the blood. Vitamin A and Thiamine (Vitamin B1) are sensitive to high levels of pesticides in the body and often need to be replenished via supplementation.
Antioxidants, such as Vitamin C and Selenium, are especially important to prevent free radical damage, helping to protect against cancerous changes to our cells. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an omega 3 fatty acid that has been shown to protect the brain against pesticides that have the ability to cross the blood brain barrier. And general lifestyle detoxifying practices, such as low temperature saunas, hydrotherapy and colonic irrigation are beneficial for protecting against pesticide exposure.
Our children are so much more susceptible to the effects of pesticides. Because they have fewer cells and lesser body mass then adults, equivalent levels of pesticides can cause more damage to children than to their parents.
Therefore it’s up to us, as parents, to limit our kids’ exposure to pesticides, to use preventative lifestyle strategies and lobby for or support healthy global farming practices.
© Dr. Amy Wells, Naturopathic Physician
This is a scary topic for sure, but it does make me think a lot about what we eat every day and how it’s produced. I try to buy organic most of the time. But, I make a few compromises too.
What do you always buy organic? And what things do you not worry do much about when it comes to organic foods?
I’ve got a copy of Deborah Koons Garcia’s incredible documentary The Future Food for one random commenter.
Bethany won yesterday’s giveaway.
This giveaway is closed. Michelle won!
12 of the most contaminated fruits and vegetables:
1. Strawberries 2. Bell Peppers 3. Spinach 4. US cherries 5. Peaches 6. Mexican Cantaloupe 7. Celery 8. Apples 9. Apricots 10. Green Beans 11. Chilean Grapes 12. Cucumbers
I always buy berries and nuts organic, as I understand they carry high levels of toxins. Looking at Amy’s top ten list though, I think perhaps I should think twice about which peppers and cucumbers I buy, as they are staple veggies in our house. I have always thought of them as not as worrisome in the pesticide department because they are easy veggies to scrub. Does washing veggies reduce pesticide exposure?? Or is that a little self-delusional!
Buying organic fruits and veggies is easy. They’re everywhere. We also buy pesticide/hormone free meat from a local farmer and stock up our freezer. What I find difficult is finding bread and milk. We go through a lot. I need to find a cheap and handy source. Where can you buy a 4L jug of 1% that is organic. From a convenience and cost point-of-view, I can’t seem to justify buying the smaller size jugs of milk that would last less than a day…..
Thanks for the great post! I also had my first baby three years ago, & since my pregnancy try to buy organic. While it has been challenging to get the grandparents on board, I feel great about the choices I make for our family. This post reconfirms my efforts, thanks again
We *try* to buy organic when we can. But… we also know that this is a multi-billion dollar industry in Canada… and it’s all about profit – just like any other product. (However… much of it is “triple-bottom-line”… which feels a lot better!)
So – our organic choices simply come down to price. We buy a lot of “organic” items from Shoppers Drugmart (check out their selection! fantastic!) – although much of it is still highly processed. When we MUST buy crackers and mac+cheese this is the place we go. It’s super affordable.
Veggies & Fruit – we seldom buy “organic” because honestly – it’s just way to expensive. However, SuperStore has a lovely shelf in the back with *really* ripe items. We find organic produce there for 1/2 off. Usually it’s stuff we use for soup and baking. The Farmer’s Market it the exception to this – but we usually only buy enough for a picnic when we do go.
When it comes to our family we view our spending habits as an equally important “health” issue. I won’t break the bank or spend needlessly just to get an “organic stamp” on my food.
…some great news for all of us interested in organic foods – http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/06/30/organic-certification-canada536.html
Great topic. The EWG has a shopper’s guide to pesticides listing 12 of the worst offenders and 15 of the cleanest. Necatrines, kale and carrots are among the dirtiest. You can find the guide here http://www.foodnews.org/index.php and download it for free.
While I understand the price issue and I respect people’s financial situations (as we are far from wealthy and watch every penny ourselves), buying pesticide-free food and supporting farmers that have made a very difficult political and socio-economic choice by using organic farming practices is – I believe – critical path in creating a global community that is sustainable in the long term.
Every time you buy conventional produce packed with pesticides, you are making a political choice and vice-versa
And, Bethany, I have to wholeheartedly disagree with you on the multi-billion dollar industry comment. Organics that are grown in Canada almost solely come from small farmers who are working hard at sustaining themselves and creating a livelihood that is based on solid practices that nurture the Earth rather than garner the largest crop in the shortest amount of time. If only it was a multi-billion dollar industry…
Organics that you see at most grocery stores are American or from other countries and that is, in fact, their industry, not ours. Label checking is a fascinating eye-opener – as are films such as King Corn, Island On The Edge, The World According to Monsanto, Hijacked Future and The Future of Food.
When you pay the higher price, maybe eat a bit less, make changes in your eating lifestyle that allow you to eat organic more often you are supporting a food production system that works in the long term.
Slow food costs a bit more money because, in the end, it’s better for you, better for the planet and preventative health care.
Bethany…
I have to say I really don’t understand your comment about the multi-billion dollar industry in reference to organic food. Is NON-organic food NOT a multi-TRILLION-dollar industry? If we can all agree that making money to sustain ones business is a key mandate in any corportaion/business then why bring it up?
The bigger question is what is healthier? We all know what is easier to obtain, what is quicker to grow and why… but is that healthier? Again… I think we all know that it ISN’T. So… why does organic food cost so much more? Certainly it takes longer to grow and the yields are less so that’s a factor, but organic food also doesn’t have the massive production machine behind it to lessen the costs across the board. Yes you’re right that some companies have, in name only, jumped on the organic bandwagon for profit alone. But the essence of the movement is one of health, sustainability and ecological responsibility. Hard to argue with that.
As Robin said above… buying LOCAL organic food is a vote. If grocery stores started to see less and less imported/processed foods going off of their shelves they would switch to what the consumer wants. It’s that “make money” thing again. So you have to ask yourself… what would you rather have as a choice? Fresh, Local organic food or imported processed or pesticide laced “food”? The shift to organic labeling is a sure indicator of what most of the public wants… now we just have to push for real organic, healthier and more sustainable food practices. You do that by buying local organic foods as much as you can.
There’s an old Chinese proverbs that says “cheap is not cheap, expensive is not expensive”. Basically it means that the higher priced item is better quality and buying it will give you longer term benefits than the quick-fix cheaper item.
So the question I have is… when do you want to risk your families financial “health”? Now at the grocery store or later at the hospital?
Eating local organically grown food is preventative medicine that we try and embrace each day.
In our home, 95% of everything we eat is organic. We tell people that by buying organic:
- you’re getting good quality good tasting nutrition, pesticide and GMO free
- you’re making the best choice for the world that your child is growing up in in terms of soil, air and water pollution and protection of beneficial insects
- you’re making an ethical choice that will be better for the farmers that grow your food
Organic food is best for your whole family – it makes sense!
Fruit and veggies are my main organic buys. Sometimes, if it is out of my budget or not available, I just don’t buy the product that week. We live in an area that produces so much local, pesticide free food it would be a shame not to take advantage of it. Eating seasonally helps and visiting local farms helps also. I have a daughter who is celiac, our grocery bill skyrocketed after her diagnosis as eating gluten-free is super expensive. We made adjustments in other areas of our life to compensate for this – it is her health and well-being at stake – it is not an option. I feel the same way about organic food – you are making a choice about your family’s health when you shop.
We purchase a wide variety of organic produce and other products. I totally support Marieke’s response by shopping seasonally and choosing produce that is reasonably priced.
The number 1 product that we always, without fail, buy organic is Peanut Butter (Nuts to You, Smooth, not the valencia is our favorite). We make many other organic choices but that one tops the list for sure.
The number 1 thing that we rarely buy organic is Milk. Similar to Heather I just can’t justify it. I’ve actually toured several Comox Valley Dairy farms and a couple in the Fraser Valley. I have to say that I have great confidence in the quality and health of our milk supply. I think there is a terrible problem here with consumer mis-information and American media influence. BC farms are very strictly regulated and the dairy farmers that I have met take their roles very seriously. Hormones are NOT allowed. Antibiotics are only used when absolutely necessary (just like for most of us humans), and when cows do require antibiotics their milk is separated from all rest and either discarded or given to the calves. The trucks that pick up milk from our local farms pickup huge volumes at once (I can’t remember exactly) and usually pick up from more than one farm to fill the tank. Samples are taken at each farm at EVERY pick up because they take any contamination so seriously – the want to be able to trace it back and make the offending farmer pay for the loss of the whole truck’s worth of milk. I hadn’t bought a jug of organic milk in a couple of years. Recently I did purchase a jug of organic milk – just because it happened to be a good price and I thought I would see if I could taste any difference – I realized afterwards that the milk had come all the way from Ontario and it went ‘off’ before it’s due date. Which just further confirmed my faith in our no-hormone, no-antibiotic Island milk supply! I would love to know more about the levels of DDT in our milk as Dr. Wells mentions. I wonder how the levels in milk compare to what we are exposed to in our environment and in other foods?
Thanks for such a great post! It was very interesting to learn about nutrients that can help clear our bodies of toxic chemical exposure. And very interesting to read everyone’s comments.
It is a fallacy to think that organic produce is necessarily safe. This kind of food ingredient may have heavy metal contamination, pathogens, and natural steroids. Modern pesticides, on the other hand, are labile. They degrade rapidly in alkalinity, and can be broken down by specific microbes as well. Dose is the key to toxicity and hence the PHI system is an effective safeguard against poisoning people. Children have safely eaten food grown under pesticide regimens for decades and in millions.