Organic Farming Is Good for Human Health
Organic farming is essential to promoting human health because it’s designed
to grow food without the use of toxic substances that are strongly linked to disease and interfere with healthy development.
Today, the increasing use of pesticides in the U.S., and around the world, is a
matter of serious concern. According to a report released in 2011 from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), pesticide sales in the United States were approximately $12.5 billion, over one-third of the $40 billion world market in 2007.1
While the official position of government regulatory agencies is that there are
acceptable levels of pesticide exposure below which there is “a reasonable certainty of no harm,” many people choose to try to reduce dietary exposure to pesticides by selecting organic foods and beverages. Studies show that they are
making the right choice: assessments of pesticide residue data on organic and
nonorganic fresh fruits and vegetables, researchers found that organic produce
has a small fraction of the pesticide
residues compared to nonorganic produce. Much of the residues found on organic produce were “consistent with
unavoidable contamination because of
drift, persistent residues in the soil, or
contaminated irrigation water supplies.” 2
Less Pesticides in Food Means Less
in Your Body. The average child in America is exposed to 10 to 13 pesticides daily
through food and beverages, based on an
analysis of food consumption and pesticide residue data collected by the USDA. 3
However, scientific evidence shows that eating organic foods can decrease the levels of pesticide metabolites detected in children. A 2003 study found that “
children fed predominantly organic produce and juice had one-sixth the level of
pesticide byproducts in their urine compared with children who ate nonorganic
foods.” 4 A follow-up study in 2006 found that metabolites in children’s urine indicating exposure to malathion and chlorpyrifos decreased from detectable to non-detectable levels “immediately after the introduction of organic diets.” 5
Based on cumulative data from USDA and peer-reviewed studies, a 2008 report, Simplifying the Pesticide Risk Equation, from Organic Center projected that an
industry-wide conversion to organic produce would eliminate more than 95 percent of pesticide dietary risk. 6
Pesticides Increase Risk of Cancer. According to the American Institute for
Cancer Research, there are an estimated 12. 7 million cancer cases around the
world every year, with this number expected to increase to 26 million by 2030.7
A strong and undeniable link between cancer and environmental and dietary
exposure to pesticides was confirmed in a 2010 report from the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Service’s President’s Cancer Panel. In this report, the Cancer Panel, made up of some of the nation’s most respected oncologists, shows
that exposure to chemicals commonly used in nonorganic agriculture have been
linked to almost every type of cancer, including brain, breast, colon, lung, ovarian, pancreatic, kidney, testicular and stomach, as well as cancer of the central
nervous system. 8 Written in conjunction with the National Institutes of Health
and the National Cancer Institute, the report, Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk:
What We can Do Now, examined the impact of environmental factors and the
use of synthetic chemicals in regard to
cancer risk. After reviewing extensive
data and science on the issue, the report recommends, “to reduce risk of
cancer, American consumers should
eat food grown without pesticides and
synthetic fertilizers.”
Reducing Risk to Rural Families.
While the President’s Cancer Panel’s
report points out that pesticide exposure can increase risk of cancer in all
populations, those with the highest
risk of environmental exposure are
farmers and those working and living
Recent studies show that children with the
highest prenatal exposure to
pesticides had lower IQs and were
more likely to have ADHD.
The good news is that by switching to
organic foods, it’s possible to significantly
reduce dietary pesticide exposure.
in agricultural areas. The report summarizes numerous studies documenting the negative impacts of synthetic
chemicals used in nonorganic farming,
including an increased incidence of
several types of cancers in farmworkers
and their spouses and an increased incidence of leukemia for children living
in agricultural areas.
Pesticides Affect Neurodevelop-ment. In addition to cancer, there is
compelling evidence that exposure to
chemicals can lead to neurodevelop-mental and neurodegenerative issues,
and even cause epigenetic (DNA-level)
changes that are passed on to future
generations.
In a recent report published in the
April 2011 issue of Environmental
Health Perspectives, which was not included in the OFRF report, academic
teams from three different areas of the
United States used a variety of meth-
