Day 21 - Pesticides...pesticides and did I mention pesticides?

Hello friends of healthy food! Well, earlier when I was doing a little research I came upon this website: What's on my Food? and realized that it is a pretty cool website. I have read about pesticides and the affects and know the vegetables and fruits that contain the most pesticides but this website has a search engine that provides all pesticides found on fruits/vegetables and even lists the name of the pesticides found. I researched the topic pesticides and came across some interestining things:

"Seven of the most toxic chemical compounds know to man are approved for use as pesticides in the production of foods! Who approved them? A multinational organization called The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC)"  - http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/effects-of-pesticides.html

  

Pesticide residue is being measured in MRL and EMRL which stands for Maximum Residue Limits; Extraneous Maximum Residue Limits. According to Los Angeles Times an article on June 13, 2011 states that  "Of  700 apple samples tested by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 98% contained pesticides, moving the fruit to the top of the group’s “dirty dozen” list...Fruits and vegetables with the lowest pesticide levels include onions, sweet corn, pineapples, avocados and asparagus." 

So, if you think about it picking five servings of fruits and vegetables from its dirty dozen list would result in consuming an average of 14 different pesticides a day. Nice! Would you like to have some pesticides with your fruit or do you want to have it on the side?

Well, I find it disgusting that apples are one of the fruits suggested by many to promote a lot of health benefits, but yet if it is not an organic apple it is possibly harmful. At this point there is not much of evidence that sounds reliable to me and I will look into it a little more but at this point I am running into articles about a possible connection to ADHD ( attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) and pesticides. 

Organophosphate pesticides are a potential contributor to ADHD in young children. Organophosphates are the basis of many insecticides, herbicides, and nerve gases. But most of the studies uncover only an association, not a direct causal link between pesticide exposure and the developmental condition. There is evidence, however, that the mechanism of the link may be worth studying further: organophosphates are known to cause damage to the nerve connections in the brain — that's how they kill agricultural pests, after all.

Not only are vegetables and fruits facing the problems of pesticides, but also herbs like cilantro/coriander. At least 34 unapproved pesticides showed up on cilantro samples analyzed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as part of the agency's routine testing of a rotating selection of produce. Cilantro was the first fresh herb to be tested in the 20-year-old program.  Washing did not remove the unapproved pesticides found on cilantro samples tested by USDA. The cilantro results have captured the attention of both regulators and industry leaders, who said they would take action in response.


History of pesticides.
Since before 2000 BC, humans have utilized pesticides to protect their crops. The first known pesticide was elemental sulfur dusting used in ancient Sumer about 4,500 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia. By the 15th century, toxic chemicals such as arsenic, mercury and lead were being applied to crops to kill pests. In the 17th century, nicotine sulfate was extracted from tobacco leaves for use as an insecticide. The 19th century saw the introduction of two more natural pesticides, pyrethrum, which is derived from chrysanthemums, and rotenone, which is derived from the roots of tropical vegetables.

WISDOM OF THE DAY

Worldwide, about 3 billion kg of pesticides is applied each year with a purchase price of nearly $40 billion year. In the USA, approximately 500 million kg of more than 600 different pesticide types are applied annually at a cost of $10 billion. Despite the widespread application of pesticides in the United States at recommended dosages, pests (insects, plant pathogens, and weeds) destroy 37% of all potential crops. Insects destroy 13%, plant pathogens 12%, and weeds 12%. In general, each dollar invested in pesticidecontrol returns about $4 in protected crops.