Pesticide, Disease & The Dirty Dozen
Some folks still doubt that agriculture pesticides are dangerous. They say, “We’ve been using them for years and the population is still growing, so how could they be harming us?” You might need to rethink that position. Just because something doesn’t kill you immediately, doesn’t make it safe. The threat of long term chronic exposure is a real!
Even if a label has the word “Caution,” it may still harm or kill. Sometimes the dose and the timing are all that matters as to whether an organism is slightly poisoned or it dies. (I previously discussed how glyphosate can kill in parts per billion.) Many readers have said that people are not dying by the millions and they can see green plants in fields where the glyphosate is being sprayed, so it is not dangerous.
Coming to this conclusion depends on what you look for. You don’t see people dying in hospitals from these poisons because (according to the medical personnel) they are dying of something other than glyphosate poisoning. Cancer and Parkinson’s are just two diseases that come to mind. Farmers and ranchers, and their families are dying of these diseases at higher rates than the general population. Is it because of the fresh air they are breathing?
Another item rarely discussed is a lack of fertility. Men and women can fail to reproduce after high exposures to pesticides. You won’t find it on the news because it is a touchy subject, and drug and pesticide companies often advertise on news channels.
Pesticide poisoning can kill a pest fast but is usually leads to a slow death for people. Some pesticides are accumulative. That is, they accumulate in the body until the body reacts to the poison. Think lead or arsenic poisoning.
Some poisons build slowly until the nervous system is affected. Some poisons act quickly and affect the gut. When the person dies and from what concentration is a mystery. Let’s not forget the Viet Nam veterans that were sprayed with 2-4-5-T herbicide also known as Agent Orange. These were young, healthy men some who died after returning home. And let’s not forget DDT.
If you were given a poison that caused your heart, lungs, kidneys or pancreas to become damaged and then died, what do you think the medical examiner would put down as the cause of death? Kidney damage or poisoning due to glyphosate or other pesticide toxicity? Same holds true for cancer or heart disease. Modern science does not often look for the true cause of death but just responses to the symptoms.
Millions of people in doctor’s offices and hospitals are being poisoned by the food they eat because of small doses of poison sprayed on the food or applied to the soil.
I suggest that anyone who has not heard of the “Dirty Dozen” food list should look it up. Published by the Environmental Working Group, it’s a list of fruits and vegetables with heavy pesticide residuals. These are foods that are sprayed with toxic pesticides and the pesticides are still present after washing and processing. Included are strawberries, spinach, apple, peaches, pears, nectarines, cherries, grapes, blueberries, green beans, (kale, collards, mustard greens) and peppers (both hot and bell). Celery has been on the list. Eating these foods would be considered healthy but not if they’re covered in pesticides.
The Environmental Working Group also publishes the Dirty Dozen Guide to Food Chemicals. Some are in the foods we eat. A few have been given the designation of GRAS or “generally recognized as safe.” These chemicals are found in children’s breakfast foods, snacks and other frequently consumed foods. These toxins are just a few of the slow poisons.
I once went to pick fresh strawberries. Almost a mile before I arrived at the field, I could smell the stench of pesticides. Those strawberries were likely sprayed more than a dozen times with four or more pesticides. Strawberries are at the top of the list for having the most pesticide residues. Spinach is second. A dirty apple a day may cause a trip to the doctor!
Now the odd part is that when we eat organic strawberries, they are really good for us. The same can be said for all the other dirty dozen. By purchasing organic instead of conventionally farmed produce, you can avoid the risk of being poisoned. This is why the extra price of organic produce is worth every penny to me. I eat organic as often as possible and grow some of my own food organically so that I don’t need to worry about pesticides.
The Environmental Working Group also puts out a list of the “Clean 15”. It is a list of plants that are generally not contaminated with poisons when grown conventionally. The Clean 15 include asparagus, avocados, cabbage, carrots, honeydew melons, kiwi, mangos, mushrooms, onions, papaya, pineapple, sweet corn, sweet potatoes, sweet peas (frozen), and watermelon. This does not mean they don’t have pesticide residue; it only means that it is not as likely to be found on them. I still try to purchase the organic plant when they’re available. I just don’t trust conventional agriculture. And organic produce usually has higher nutrient values.
We all need to eat; we just don’t need to poison ourselves when we do.
I’m not a medical doctor but I have read and researched this issue. I care about it and about your health. I will be teaching a FREE class, “Natural Medicine Prevention and Cures” on February 23 at 2:00 pm. at the Randolph Recreation Center in La Grange. Nothing will be sold and this class is for educational purposes only. Hope you will attend and bring friends.
David E. Will is a local rancher and consultant. He can be reached at 830629-9876 or by email at dwill207@satx.rr.com.