Which would you buy?

So last week was incredibly crazy . . . on top of my already too busy schedule, both of my daughters were in two different plays and I was doing all I could just to make sure everyone was in the right place at the right time and that I didn't get too far behind with everything else in my life. So . . . we basically ran out of fresh fruit and veggies, and I could not make it to the farmers' market, farm stand, or even a health food store during the times they were open. The only place open at 9:30 at night when I finally found a minute to shop was the local chain supermarket.

I did okay on fruit--found some organic oranges. But I wanted to make a salad for dinner the next day and my choices for lettuce were conventionally-grown heads of lettuce at $1.99 or organic, washed romaine lettuce in a plastic container for $4.99. I found the produce guy and asked if he had organic lettuce not in plastic and he said no (they go bad too quickly). So I asked if the any local lettuce--again the answer was "no." So maybe my overly-tired and stressed state had me making too big a deal of this, but I just didn't know which one to get. I picked up the conventionally-grown head and then put it back. I picked up the organic, packaged lettuce and then put it back. Did I want to feed my family pesticides or did I want to pollute the earth with yet more plastic and the energy it takes to make the plastic container--not to mention that $5 for a head of lettuce seemed a bit crazy. I went back and forth, and even in the checkout line was still questioning my decision.

So tell me . . . what which one would you buy? (I'll tell you what I did and why next week.)

GE Alfalfa

Things are not looking good for the battle against the approval of genetically engineered alfalfa, which has been going on for the last 12 years. There is a good possibility it will be approved--thanks to our very pro-biotech USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack.

And the solution is not as easy as simply avoiding alfalfa sprouts. GE alfalfa could have major consequences for so many foods. Alfalfa is feed to dairy and meat animals . . . and when you buy dairy and meat, you can be sure it's not going to have a label saying that the animals had been fed genetically engineered products. In addition, even if you consume organic or grass-fed animal products, there is no way to guarantee that the alfalfa they ate wasn't contaminated with the GE variety. There is just no way to keep the genetic engineered alfalfa from contaminating the non-GE kinds.

GE alfalfa is engineered to be resistant to Monsanto's Roundup herbicide--so the chemical herbicide can be applied liberally through all stages of the plant growth, causing much more of this herbicide to be used. (Just like the roundup-ready soy that has been grown for some years now). Not only do the plants and soil become saturated with the chemicals, the overuse of Roundup is creating "superweeds" which have become resistant to the chemical--similar to the problem with the overuse of antibiotics.

So what can you do???? Call President Obama at (202) 456-1111 and urge him to instruct Secretary Vilsack to reject the approval of Monsanto's genetically modified alfalfa.

Here are some articles with more information:

www.rodale.com

Organic Consumers Assocation

Pesticides in food

Here are some interesting facts right from the US Government:

- The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that one of the main sources of pesticide exposure for US children comes from the food they eat.

- Over 400 chemicals can be regularly used in conventional farming as biocides to kill weeds and insects. For example, apples can be sprayed up to 16 times with 36 different pesticides.

- According to the EPA's "Guidelines for Carcinogen Risk Assessment," children receive 50% of their lifetime cancer risks in the first 2 years of life.

Check out this fact sheet from Organic Consumers Association for more information and references.

Also, here's a great site called  What's In My Food where you can search a food and find out what pesticides are in them. 

And the moral is . . . .  buy organic or from local growers who grow chemical-free.

Organic vs. conventionally grown produce

I always recommend avoiding fruits and vegetables grown with pesticides--especially for children. Studies have linked the consumption of produce treated with pesticides to birth defects, neuroblastoma (an increasingly common brain cancer), leukemia in children, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, among other health problems. Children are especially susceptible because they eat 2 to 4 times more produce than adults relative to their body weight and exposure occurs as their organs and bones are still growing.

Organic produce is better nutritionally as well. Studies published by the Organic Center (http://www.organiccenter.org/) found higher antioxidant levels in organic produce and some research suggests that they maybe higher in vitamins A and E as well.

Many people feel they can't afford to buy all organic food. If you have to pick and choose, check out the lists put out by the Environmental Working Group (http://www.ewg.org/). They have a list of the "dirty dozen" (conventional crops with the highest pesticide levels). These are the ones to be sure to buy organic. They also provide a list of "consistenly clean" produce--foods with the lowest pesticide levels that don't necessarily have to buy organic.

Dirty Dozen

Peaches
Apples
Sweet bell peppers
Celery
Nectarines
Strawberries
Cherries
Lettuce
Grapes (imported)
Pears
Spinach
Potatoes


Consistently Clean

Onions
Avocados
Sweet corn (frozen)
Pienapples
Mangoes
Sweet peas (frozen)
Asparagus
Kiwi
Bananas
Cabbage
Broccoli
Eggplant

Pesticides found in urine of children

Government promises to rid the nation's food supply of brain-damaging pesticides aren't doing the job, according to the results of a yearlong study that carefully monitored the diets of a group of local children.The peer-reviewed study found that the urine and saliva of children eating a variety of conventional foods from area groceries contained organophosphates, the family of pesticides spawned by the creation of nerve gas agents in World War II.

When the same children ate organic fruits, vegetables and juices, signs of pesticides were not found. After eight to 36 hours of the children switching to organic food, the pesticides were no longer detected.

The study has not yet linked the pesticide levels to specific foods, but other studies have shown peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, nectarines, strawberries and cherries are among those that most frequently have detectable levels of pesticides. Broccoli, on the other hand, is usually found with lower pesticide levels.

Chuck Benbrook, chief scientist of the Organic Center, a nationwide, nonprofit, food research organization said that the pesticide limits that EPA permits are far, far too high to say they're safe. And,there's been a steady increase in pesticide-contaminated imported foods, which are capturing a growing share of the market." The study found that pesticide levels in urine were higher in the winter months when more produce is imported.

Your best bet is to buy from local farmers that grow organically or minimize their pesticide use.

For more info, go to: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_10066.cfm

New pesticide known to cause tumors

Farmers are supposed to be phasing out methyl bromide, a fumigant used on strawberries and other crops, because of it's ozone depleting chemicals - though the government keeps pushing for exemptions so that the US can continue to use it because they hadn't found a replacement.

Rather than helping farmers shift to growing methods that don't require toxic and harmful chemicals, the EPA has approved methyl iodide for widespread use in the U.S., putting farmworkers, families and rural communities at risk. Methyl iodide vaporizes quickly, causing it to drift far distances. The state of California has categorized it as cancer causing, and the EPA admits it causes thyroid tumors. In a letter to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson on September 25, 2007, the nation's leading chemists asked EPA not to approve methyl iodide without further scientific review. The chemical has been used to induce cancer in laboratory experiments and causes neurological and thyroid problems, as well as miscarriages in studies with laboratory animals.

Strawberries and other crops can be grown successfully without toxic chemicals - farmers all around the world are doing it. Go to this link to send an email to the EPA asking them to revoke this decision:
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizations/oca/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=15898