NEWLETTER #51

September 2, 2004

HARVESTING

ORGANIC BOUNTY

REDUCE THE PESTICIDE THREAT TO YOUR FAMILY

As farmers prepare for the autumn harvest, September is an ideal time to ponder the impact of farming practices and methods on our world, our families, and ourselves. For organic farmers, a good harvest depends on careful measures to replenish the soil and nurture the land. An added benefit is that organic farming helps reduce health risks that have been linked to the use of synthetic pesticides.

How can the organic sector adequately communicate these benefits? The dilemma is that few scientific studies evaluate the effects of organic food and farming. Recognizing this gap, the Organic Trade Association has established a not-for-profit organization, the Organic Center for Education & Promotion, to help gather scientific information concerning organic agriculture and products--and to communicate these findings to consumers.

SOLID RESEARCH

In May, the Organic Center released the results form its first State of the Science Review, a report entitled, "Minimizing Pesticide Dietary Exposure through the Consumption of Organic Food," prepared by consultant Charles M. Benbrook PhD, and posted on its Web site (www.organic-center.org). This paper finds that choosing organically grown fruits and vegetables can significantly decrease the frequency and level of your dietary exposure to pesticides, thus reducing the magnitude of one factor that can contribute to a variety of health problems.

In the United States alone, more than one billion pounds of pesticides enter the environment each year, exposing us to toxins daily in the food we eat, the water we drink, the air and dust we breathe, as well as on surfaces inside our homes, at work, and in public places. Extensive pesticide residue testing by the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that conventionally produced fruit and vegetables are three to more than four times more likely, on average, to contain unwanted residues than organic produce. Conventional produce is also nine times more likely to contain multiple pesticide residues, at levels three to ten times higher than corresponding residues in organic samples.

"Widely accepted organic farming principles and the certification rules governing organic farming in most countries prohibit the use of nearly all synthetic pesticides, including chemical weed killers, insecticides, and most fungicides used to control plant diseases. For this reason, many people are turning to organic food as a practical, common sense way to reduce pesticide health risks," writes Dr. Benbrook.

MOST VULNERABLE

Although scientists generally believe that pesticide levels in conventionally produced food pose only minor risks to healthy adults, they agree that developing fetuses, infants, children, people who are exposed on the job (i.e. farm workers), and those with compromised immune systems may be especially vulnerable to health problems following exposures to synthetic pesticides. Author, cancer survivor, and ecologist Sandra Steingraber, PhD, is concerned about the "windows of vulnerability" where even small levels of pesticide exposure can increase a person's risk of adverse health effects.

Agricultural practices affect human fertility, explains Dr. Steingraber. For example, atrazine, the most common herbicide in the United States, can interfere with hormone that triggers ovulation. Some studies show this toxin is linked to ovarian and breast cancer, appears to be an endocrine disrupter, and may even affect sperm.

The beginning of life and the first few weeks in which the human body starts to form are crucial. Pesticides can sabotage normal development. Even air pollution can be a prenatal issue, she says. Not surprisingly, pesticides have been linked to early miscarriage. "Women are being exposed to chemical abortion even if they want to have children," Dr. Steingraber says. Emerging evidence suggests that pesticide exposure may result in birth defects including cleft palates, holes in the heart, webbed toes, and other deformities.

Studies from California indicate that women living close to agricultural fields where chemicals are sprayed face an elevated risk of having a stillborn child due to birth defects. Dr. Steingraber points to findings from studies conducted in Midwestern agricultural areas that showed babies conceived in the spring face the highest rates of birth defects and other abnormalities, linked to the use of chemicals during key developmental stages.

Children, from conception through their first years of life, are much less able than adults to detoxify most pesticides. They are also highly vulnerable to endocrine disrupters and developmental neurotoxins. Yet nearly three-quarters of fresh fruits and vegetables consumed most frequently by U.S. infants and children contain pesticide residues, making organic important for kids.

The blood-brain barrier does not completely form until a child is six months old. Because insecticides are neurological toxins, exposure during critical developmental stages can be disastrous, Dr. Steingraber adds. The adage "Dose makes the poison" does not always reflect the true risk. In these circumstances,
"Timing makes the poison" may be more accurate.

An advocate of breastfeeding and a nursing mother herself, Dr. Steingraber will tell you that breast milk is contaminated with pesticide residues due to the mother's body burden of chemicals. Getting chemical contaminants out of breast milk, she notes, would require widespread adoption of a different agricultural system that does not use these chemicals.

GO ORGANIC

A growing number of U.S. farmers have already taken steps to minimize the use of--and consumers' exposure to--toxic and persistent pesticides by adopting organic agricultural practices. Organic farmers build a sustainable future for every aspect of the plant--soil, water supply, and the health of animals and humans. Consumers who want to minimize their own--and the earth's--exposure to toxic and persistent chemicals can do so by buying organic foods and organic fiber products. And they can choose organic agricultural methods for home pest control and lawn care. As we celebrate Organic Harvest Month this September, let us reflect on the joys of the harvest, and give thanks to our organic farmers who are reaping much more than the tasty fruits, vegetables, grains, and dairy products we can enjoy with our families.

THE ORGANIC DIFFERENCE

Conventional fruits and vegetables with the highest contamination include apples,

Pears, peaches, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, celery, spinach, and sweet bell

Peppers. Studies of synthetic pesticide residues detect significantly lower levels in

Organic -- versus conventionally grown -- foods.

SELECTED SOURCES

"Minimizing Pesticide Dietary Exposure Through the

Consumption of Organic Food" by Charles M. Benbrook, PhD.

An Organic Center State of Science review, (www.organic-center.org)

"Organic Agriculture as good Prenatal Care: Pesticides and Children's Health," by Sandra Steingraber, PhD, the Organic Trade Association's 2004 All Things Organic