Things you should know about Pesticides.

Courtesy of panna.org

A while back I did a post on what it means for a food to be considered organic, one of them being no synthetic (chemical) pesticides are ever used. Non-organic fruits and vegetables are sprayed and treated with pesticides which the EPA acknowledges are toxic.

Here's what the EPA says about pesticides:

Pesticides are designed to (in most cases) kill pests. Many pesticides can also pose risks to people. However, in many cases the amount of pesticide people are likely to be exposed to is too small to pose a risk. To determine risk, one must consider both the toxicity or hazard of the pesticide and the likelihood of exposure. A low level of exposure to a very toxic pesticide may be no more dangerous than a high level of exposure to a relatively low toxicity pesticide, for example.


So they're saying that in small doses, severely toxic pesticides pose about the same amount of risk as excessive doses of relatively low-toxicity pesticides. So what's the risk they're talking about?

The "risk" of pesticides.

The risk of consuming pesticides depends on the pesticide. Considering most non-organic produce contains more than 30 different chemical pesticides, if you're eating non-organic produce, you're likely being exposed to all of these risks. In general, pesticides have been linked to cancer, ADHD, and birth defects. Specifically, some pesticides are considered carginogens, meaning they are cancer-causing. Some affect the nervous system, which is responsible proper brain-body function and also diseases like multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, and even carpal tunnel. Other pesticides mess with your hormones (like insulin and thyroid) and your endocrine system. 

Not worried about your endocrine system?

You should be, because it plays a huge part in your mood, metabolism, tissue function, and reproduction. Problems with your endocrine system could mean metabolic disease, infertility, depression, excessive weight gain, ADHD, and more.

So, seriously, how much risk do we have?

Good luck finding a straight answer to this on the internet. The truth is that the EPA approves the use of pesticides based on how they have assessed the risk factors of both individual pesticides and combinations of pesticides. These can be viewed here. They also put limits on how much of a pesticide can be used, the clothing that must be worn when it's sprayed, etc. etc, because this stuff is sooooo seriously dangerous. So, if the EPA's guidelines are strictly followed by the farmers spraying the pesticides, then the EPA's conclusion is that there is "reasonable certainty of no harm" of consuming pesticide residues on produce.

So they're "pretty sure" that it's "relatively safe" to consume pesticides on food if the pesticides are used in accordance with the EPA's guidelines. That's too many gray areas for me.

How much pesticide consumption is ok? That's the big question! If you google this stuff, there's tons of radicals out there that say you'll probably get cancer if you eat a non-organic strawberry, and others that say they're totally safe. Pesticides the way we use them now have not been around very long, and in recent years we have seen an explosion of the diseases that pesticides cause. Correlation? Possibly. Probably.  It has, don't forget, been proven that pesticides are linked to severe health complications. So, you kind of have to be your own guide here. The EPA doesn't have a statement on just when your pesticide consumption will harm you. The studies done on human consumption of pesticides are fairly limited. Of course, we can't pump people full of toxic pesticides and wait for them to croak, right?? (Or, is that what we're already doing at a slower process??).

I digress.

If you want my opinion, I think it's safe to say that eating non-organic produce once wont kill you, but eat it constantly and you could be in trouble. Pesticides do build up (in your colon) over time, so I'd rather not take a chance here.

The bottom line.

I know I've got a crappy attitude toward this, but there are alternatives to chemical, synthetic pesticides. Most people don't even know what the risks of pesticides are, and those who do know are probably breaking the bank to avoid them. If you're willing to spend a little more money, you can get the no poison guaranteed fruits and veggies. It's a little more expensive to buy organic fruits and vegetables, which is a bummer, but I don't mind paying extra to know that I'm not exposing myself to a chemical that, in the right amount, can harm me. Check out The Dirty Dozen to avoid the produce with the highest amount of pesticides.

PAN (Pesticide Action Network) works to reduce pesticide use worldwide. Check it out if you too have a crappy attitude toward pesticides.

Oregon State on History of Pesticides

Everything the EPA has to say about their approval of Pesticides