Here's a shocking headline: Pesticides are bad for you. Really? Who woulda guessed? From CNN: "Study: ADHD linked to pesticide exposure." Here's the core of the story:
Researchers measured the levels of pesticide byproducts in the urine of 1,139 children from across the United States. Children with above-average levels of one common byproduct had roughly twice the odds of getting a diagnosis of ADHD, according to the study, which appears in the journal Pediatrics.
The pesticides in question are organophosphates and it's no big newsflash that they are harmful to humans. They are nerve toxins and they aren't a new class of pesticides. Rachel Carson wrote about them in Silent Spring in 1962. From the article:
Environmental Protection Agency regulations have eliminated most residential uses for the pesticides (including lawn care and termite extermination), so the largest source of exposure for children is believed to be food, especially commercially grown produce. Adults are exposed to the pesticides as well, but young children appear to be especially sensitive to them, the researchers say.
Detectable levels of pesticides are present in a large number of fruits and vegetables sold in the U.S., according to a 2008 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture cited in the study. In a representative sample of produce tested by the agency, 28 percent of frozen blueberries, 20 percent of celery, and 25 percent of strawberries contained traces of one type of organophosphate. Other types of organophosphates were found in 27 percent of green beans, 17 percent of peaches, and 8 percent of broccoli.
Buying organic for foods like berries, apples, celery, and peaches is a way for individuals to deal with this problem, but this is a problem that nobody should have. As I said before, it's not news that organophosphates are bad for you. These pesticides should have been banned decades ago.
Pesticide Action Network has released a press release about this study, which I've included below. They also recommend a few sites for more info:
What's On My Food
Pesticides and Children
The Truth About Organophosphates
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