Cocktail of pesticides for our children
No CommentsHow much pesticides are we able to get into our body without consequences for our health? This is normally established by the European Union for all food both produced and imported, and limits are set on the amount of each type of pesticides to be found in food for us to be safe. But are we really?
I got across a recent study that I consider quite alarming, and I want to share my thoughts with you.
Vegetables and fruits sold in 16 of the most common supermarkets in Europe have been analyzed for presence of pesticides by six European environmental organisations: Legambiente (Italy), MDRGF (France), Greenpeace (Germany), Milieudefensie (Netherlands), Levego Munkacsoport (Hungary) and Pesticide Action Network (Europe). Many products including vegetable, fruits and cereals were found positive to residuals of pesticides, but the most alarming by far was the case of grapefruits. About 99 percent of the 124 grape samples analyzed contained pesticides, with an average of seven pesticides for sample. Although some contained amounts which were above the limits allowed by the European Union, the actual worry is in the cocktail of dangerous chemicals present in almost all of them. In fact the safe limits are set by studies of the effect on the human body of high concentration of individual pesticides. However, very little we do know about the effects of mixing up different dangerous chemicals, even if each of them is in very small amount.
Moreover the safe limits are calculated based on a man weighting an average of 70 kg. We can only imagine the effect of the same concentration on the small body of a child or even a fetus. Some of these substances normally used in intensive cultures are linked to cancer, infertility, nerve damage, hormonal disruption and DNA mutations. It is incredible how much recommendation one gets during pregnancy about not eating certain food potentially dangerous for the baby, and no one informs women about the much more certain consequences of eating non organically grown vegetables and fruits. The European Union needs to intensify controls and to modify the rules concerning cocktails of pesticides, to make sure foods getting on our tables are safe even for
children. Meanwhile I will certainly keep ordering my weekly box of organic veggies.
Tags: EU > food > grapefruits > health > organic > pesticides
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