Post by Auset on Mar 21, 2004 14:33:43 GMT -5
How Many Pesticides are in Your Food? Find Out Now!
By Dr. Joseph Mercola with Rachael Droege
Break down the word “pesticide” and you’ll notice the Latin root “-icide,” which means “to kill.” Simply put, pesticides are poisons designed to kill, injure or impair an organism.
Pesticides were developed to protect crops from insects, rodents and other pests, as well as to control weeds, mold, bacteria and disease. The ideology is that this industrialized farming, complete with chemical pest control and synthetic fertilizers, would allow farmers to reap bigger harvests and larger returns for their crops.
However, it is becoming increasingly clear that traditional farming is leading to declining yields due to soil degradation and there are indications that eating foods laced with these chemical residues are leading to a number of negative health effects in humans.
Further, organic farmers, who use natural methods such as insect predators, barriers, crop rotation, hand weeding, and cover crops to control pests and weeds, can produce crop yields and cash returns that are competitive and even superior to crop yields and returns produced by traditional farming methods.
Nonetheless, many American farmers use chemical pesticides. There are five basic categories of pesticides that are currently used on crops. These include:
Insecticides to control insects
Rodenticides to control rodents
Herbicides to control weeds
Fungicides to control mold and fungus
Antimicrobials to control bacteria
The Problem With Pesticides
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 60 percent of herbicides, 90 percent of fungicides and 30 percent of insecticides are known to be carcinogenic, or cancer causing . And as written on the EPA site, laboratory studies show that pesticides can cause health problems such as:
Birth defects
Nerve damage
Cancer
Blocking the absorption of important food nutrients necessary for normal healthy growth in children
Other long-term effects
Pesticides are especially dangerous to children since they are still developing and may not be able to fully remove pesticides from their body. There are also periods during development when exposure to pesticides, or any toxin, can cause permanent damage to their system.
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for complete article see: mercola.com refer to Table of Contents issue #514
CAVEAT EMPTOR: Let the buyer beware(y)
By Dr. Joseph Mercola with Rachael Droege
Break down the word “pesticide” and you’ll notice the Latin root “-icide,” which means “to kill.” Simply put, pesticides are poisons designed to kill, injure or impair an organism.
Pesticides were developed to protect crops from insects, rodents and other pests, as well as to control weeds, mold, bacteria and disease. The ideology is that this industrialized farming, complete with chemical pest control and synthetic fertilizers, would allow farmers to reap bigger harvests and larger returns for their crops.
However, it is becoming increasingly clear that traditional farming is leading to declining yields due to soil degradation and there are indications that eating foods laced with these chemical residues are leading to a number of negative health effects in humans.
Further, organic farmers, who use natural methods such as insect predators, barriers, crop rotation, hand weeding, and cover crops to control pests and weeds, can produce crop yields and cash returns that are competitive and even superior to crop yields and returns produced by traditional farming methods.
Nonetheless, many American farmers use chemical pesticides. There are five basic categories of pesticides that are currently used on crops. These include:
Insecticides to control insects
Rodenticides to control rodents
Herbicides to control weeds
Fungicides to control mold and fungus
Antimicrobials to control bacteria
The Problem With Pesticides
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 60 percent of herbicides, 90 percent of fungicides and 30 percent of insecticides are known to be carcinogenic, or cancer causing . And as written on the EPA site, laboratory studies show that pesticides can cause health problems such as:
Birth defects
Nerve damage
Cancer
Blocking the absorption of important food nutrients necessary for normal healthy growth in children
Other long-term effects
Pesticides are especially dangerous to children since they are still developing and may not be able to fully remove pesticides from their body. There are also periods during development when exposure to pesticides, or any toxin, can cause permanent damage to their system.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
for complete article see: mercola.com refer to Table of Contents issue #514
CAVEAT EMPTOR: Let the buyer beware(y)
