chemical free kids: how to safeguard your family
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Chemical-Free KidsThe Organic Sequel
How to Safeguard Your Familyin the Everyday Struggle
Between Mighty Micronutrientsand Sinister Synthetics
Anthony Zolezzi,Linda Bonvie & Bill Bonvie
Published by ASM Books
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Chemical-Free Kids: The Organic SequelHow to Safeguard Your Family in the Everyday Struggle Between
Mighty Micronutrients and Sinister SyntheticsCopyright 2008 by Anthony Zolezzi, Linda Bonvie and Bill Bonvie
Published by ASM Books
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced (except forinclusion in reviews), disseminated or utilized in any form or by anymeans, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, orin any information storage and retrieval system, or the Internet/World
Wide Web without written permission from the author or publisher.
This book presents information based upon the research of the authors.It is not intended to be a substitute for a professional consultation witha physician or other health-care provider. Neither the publisher northe authors can be held responsible for any adverse effects or conse-quences resulting from the use of any of the information in this book.They also cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions in thebook. If you or your child has a condition that requires medical advice,the publisher and authors urge you to consult a competent health-careprofessional.
For further information:ASM BooksPO Box 3083La Habra, CA 90631www.asmbooks.com
Printed in the United States of America
Chemical-Free Kids: The Organic SequelHow to Safeguard Your Family in the Everyday Struggle BetweenMighty Micronutrients and Sinister SyntheticsAnthony Zolezzi, Linda Bonvie and Bill Bonvie
1. Title 2. Author 3. Health
Library of Congress Control Number: 2008932274
ISBN-10: 0-9753157-5-7ISBN-13: 978-0-9753157-5-0
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ..................................................................v
Introduction
Knowing Whats Good for Us
and What to Do With That Knowledge ..........................vii
Chapter 1
Mighty Micronutrients: The Little Things
of Which We Dont Seem to Get Enough ........................1
The Hidden Nutrient Gap in the Typical American Diet
Putting the Whole Picture in Perspective
Chapter 2
Pesticides: Still Toxic After All These Years ................19
The Peace-of-Mind Delusion
Your Dietary Risk Index: How Healthy Foods
Score in Terms of Toxicity
Chapter 3
GMOs and rBGH: The Things
You Wont Find Listed on the Label ..............................41
Bypassing the Brave New World of GMOs
Milking the Dairy Industry for Unhealthy Profits
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Chapter 4
Reclaiming the Food Value That Weve Lost................75Why Grandma Got a Lot More for Her Grocery Money
Where to Find Those Missing Mighty Micronutrients
Chapter 5
Reaping the Rewards
of the Organic Renaissance................................................91Organic Organizing on a Grass-Roots Level
The Benefits of Organicizing Your Life
When Whats Best for You Is Also Best for the World
Chapter 6
More on Mighty Micronutrients:
Where Theyre Found and
Why Theyre So Mighty ....................................................105
Chapter 7
More on Sinister Synthetics:
Where Theyre Found and
Why Theyre So Sinister ....................................................119
Chemical-Free Connections and Resources ..............131
Endnotes ................................................................................135
About the Authors ..............................................................143
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
v
We would like to thank Jay Mann, whose sharp and experienced
editors eye and suggestions greatly enhanced both the content
and style of this book, and Jade Harmon, whose delightful
artistic renderings and creativity helped to lighten up the infor-
mation contained in these pages.
Our appreciation also goes to Dr. Charles Benbrook and
Steve Hoffman of the Organic Center, Bill Freese of the Center
for Food Safety, and Rick North of the Oregon Physicians for
Social Responsibility for their valuable insights and guidance.
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ORGA
NIC
KIDS
~ Intro uct on ~
Knowing Whats Goodfor Usand What to DoWith That Knowledge
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B
ack in 2003, the original Chemical-Free Kidswas published
with the intent of helping parents safeguard their childrensdiet and environment from the many toxic perils that posed a
threat to their health and well-being. The book was designed to
serve as a source of information on precisely what these hazards
were, where they could be found and how they could best be
avoided. It chronicled the variety of insidious ingredients that
had come to be so routinely accepted in our everyday diets, aswell as the prevalence of poisonous substances lurking in our
homes, our back yards and even our schools.
In the preface to that book, it was pointed out that contem-
porary parents faced far more complex challenges than did those
of an earlier era, when the chief concern was whether their kids
would simply survive to adulthood. Would their children, for
example, be among the countless victims of our growing
epidemics of allergies and asthma? Would they become hyper-
active, dysfunctional and unable to learn, or, worse yet, join the
fast-growing numbers of kids considered autistic? Would they
grow dependent on drugs, either illegal or prescribed to modify
their behavior in the classroom? Would their bodies become
overweight and obese, even as their brains are nutritionally
starved? Would they be prime candidates for the cancers and
cardiovascular problems that now result in so many premature
deaths?
While Chemical-Free Kids remains a valuable guide to
parents in showing the steps that can be taken to allay such
concerns, a lot has happened since its publication. Due
largely to the efforts of some dedicated researchers
for such organizations as The Organic Center and the
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Center for Food Safety, there is now a much greater degree of
scientific proof of the benefits of an organic diet and lifestyle. Atthe same time, considerably more information has been uncov-
ered about the pernicious effects that toxic pesticides and
chemical and biological manipulation can have on our health,
the sustainability of our land, the purity of our water and the
safety and nutritional value of our food.
A 2005 study spearheaded by the Environmental WorkingGroup (EWG) provides some idea of the problems still to be
overcome. Researchers with two major laboratories performing
the study found that the umbilical cord blood of 10 babies born
in U.S. hospitals the previous year contained an average of 200
industrial chemicals and pollutants, including pesticides and
household product ingredients.1
So, to keep parents updated on such developments, we
decided that a follow-up was in orderone that would provide
readers with some of the information that has come to light since
Chemical-Free Kidswas first published. This book is also designed
to make this often complex subject easy to read and remember.
The theme weve chosen is a battle between Mighty
Micronutrientsthe essential elements of a healthy dietand
Sinister Syntheticsthe toxic or suspect substances that have
replaced them in so many conventional and processed foods, as
well as contributing to the polluting of our environment.
The last few years have been marked by substantial progress
in making healthier choices available to consumers, as well as a
much greater public awareness and appreciation of
their importance. But along with that has come
significant governmental resistance to instituting
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any type of meaningful reform of the system that has allowed
toxic substances to continue to be manufactured and used.On the negative side, the role of government agencies in
protecting the integrity of our food supply and alleviating threats
to the health of our families has been largely stonewalledsome-
thing that many scientists and environmental groups have
blamed on the sympathetic reception given by those in power to
representatives of the chemical industry, some of whom wereformerly in regulatory capacities.
As proof of such purported collusion, these critics cite what
they consider to be the massive failure of the officials charged
with implementing the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 to
accomplish their assigned task of weeding out the pesticides that
pose the greatest peril to childrenalong with their attempts to
close off existing avenues of information on those chemicals.
Another regulatory lapse can be seen in the way genetically
engineered foods have been allowed to proliferate with no over-
sight or requirement that they be tested for safety, despite the
opinions of many reputable scientistsincluding those working
for the FDAthat they pose considerable risk to the public.
In other respects, however, developments have been
immensely encouraging, particularly the responsive manner in
which the retail and service sectors have adapted to the fast-
growing demand for organic foods and products with truly
natural ingredients.
It wasnt all that long ago that organic products were avail-
able only in natural-foods stores, or were limited to a
few select items carried by a smattering of super-
markets. Within the past few years, however, there
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has been a phenomenal upsurge in the marketing of all types of
organic commodities, ranging from produce to dairy productsto cookies to canned and processed foods. Many big-name food
companies have jumped on the organic bandwagon.
Corresponding to this development have been dramatic new
findings about the nutritional advantages that organic foods have
over conventional ones. Such revelations, repeatedly confirmed
by researchers, cant help but fuel the demand for products grownor processed without pesticides or other harmful additives.
Thanks to such studies, we now know that the best way for our
kids to get the Mighty Micronutrients they require to grow into
healthy and productive adults is to provide them with a diet that
includes as many organic foods as possiblethe same type of diet
that can largely eliminate their exposure to Sinister Synthetics
in the form of toxic pesticides, harmful additives and genetically
modified organisms (GMOs).
Growing consumer consciousness has led to many other
encouraging trends as well. Exposures to environmental pesti-
cides have been reduced in many neighborhoods due to nontoxic
or integrated techniques of pest management and weed control
now being made available by many lawn-care and landscaping
firms that once had nothing to offer their residential customers
but chemical poisons. An increasing number of school systems
have also begun to adopt alternative methods of pest control
after coming to the realization that the children in their charge
were being unnecessarily exposed to poisonous chemical appli-
cations in classrooms and playgrounds.
Such sweeping transformations give us both
cause for optimism and an enhanced ability to
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protect our families. The fact that they have come about in so
short a time is testimony to the power of people to demand andfacilitate a change in course once they become fully cognizant of
the hidden hazards of continuing to travel along the same road.
Also encouraging us to reduce our reliance on things that
may be hazardous to our health are events abroad. In the Euro-
pean Union, for example, the growing consumer rejection of
foods containing GMOs has been causing U.S. growers and foodprocessors to have second thoughts about using them. As this
book goes to press comes news of another developmentthe
passage of new EU laws requiring companies to prove that
chemicals used in commerce are safe, as opposed to U.S. policies
that only require they be shown to be harmful. This is going to
compel companies to be more responsible for their products
than they have ever been, noted Daryl Ditz, senior policy
adviser at the Center for International Environmental Law.
Theyll have to know more about the chemicals they make, what
their products are and where they go.
The new laws also call for a list to be drawn up of substances
of very high concernthose suspected of causing cancer or
other health problems, which will require authorization to be
produced or sold in the EU.2 Such restrictions are bound to have
an effect in America, as well, causing manufacturers to recon-
sider the economic impact of using such chemicals.
But much remains to be done if our kidsand future gener-
ationsare to be rescued from the assorted afflictions that a
lifestyle tainted by toxic substances and a diet lacking
in essential nutrients can lead to. The process of
getting the poisons out of both our system and our
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systemsand restoring the beneficial elements our survival
requiresis one in which all of us need to be active participants.It is all a matter of knowing whats good for usand how we
can best use that knowledge to benefit ourselves, our families,
our society and our planet.
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~ Chapter 1 ~
Mighty Micronutrients:The Little Things
of Which We Dont Seemto Get Enough
It has long been an axiom of mine that the littlethings are infinitely the most important.
~Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,
British author and creator of Sherlock Holmes
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If one phrase could sum up much of what health and food
science researchers have learned in recent years, it might well
be that old adage You are what you eat.
Ongoing studies of nutrition are making it more and more
evident that every aspect of our beingboth mental and phys-
icalis influenced by what we ingest, and that the health of our
cells and vital organs is for the most part dependent on chemical
interactions that take place between the various ingredients in
the food we consume. Usually our bodies use these ingredients
consisting of a variety of vitamins, minerals and antioxidantsin
such small quantities that they are commonly referred to as
micronutrients, the functions and sources of which
are described in some detail in Chapter 6. Never-
theless, we require certain minimal doses of them
3
Mighty Micronutrients
Called micronutrients because they are needed only in
minuscule amounts, these substances are the magic wands
that enable the body to produce enzymes, hormones and
other substances essential for proper growth and develop-
ment. As tiny as the amounts are, however, the consequences
of their absence are severe. Iodine, vitamin A and iron are
most important in global public health terms; their lack repre-
sents a major threat to the health and development of
populations the world over, particularly children and preg-
nant women in low-income countries.
World Health Organization
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for our brains, hearts and other organs to function the way
nature intended. Also, it is very important that micronutrientswork together as a team.
THE HIDDEN NUTRIENT GAP
IN THE TYPICAL AMERICAN DIET
Unfortunately, our contemporary diets are all too often failing todeliver the amounts and intricate combinations of the Mighty
Micronutrients our bodies need to work at peak efficiency, to keep
our metabolisms in balance, maintain our physical and psycho-
logical well-being and enhance our mental acuity. As a result, many
of usand in particular, our childrenmay suffer from what is, in
effect, a nutrient gap that can go unnoticed or unrecognized.
One key reason for this nutrient gap is our addiction to
processed and junk foods that has resulted, for many adults and chil-
dren, in the consumption of large quantities of essentially empty
calories largely devoid of nutritional value. Just about all nutrition
authorities agree that this is a leading cause of the epidemics of
obesity and diabetes currently being seen in our society, together
with a lack of exercise (but then, who feels like exercising when they
have such a limited source of energy?). Nor do fortified foods really
do much to compensate, as will be explained later.
Simply eating more nutritious foods, such as fruits and
vegetables, would, of course, seem to be the ideal solution. But
thats no longer as pat an answer to the problem as it once was,
due to a marked decline in the nutrient value of
conventional healthy foods. (Well talk more about
this in Chapter 4, where youll discover how much of
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a difference switching to organic products can make from a
nutritional perspective.)
Whats important is that for far too many families, breakfast,
lunch and dinner are no longer doing an adequate job of providing
basic nourishmentand that can have a profound
impact on our ability to get through the day, as well as
on our health, energy levels and even our personalities.
5
Mighty Micronutrients
ALL SUPPLEMENTS ARE
NOT CREATED EQUAL
LOOK FOR THE ONES MADE onlyfrom NATURAL WHOLE FOODS.
SYNTHETIC
VITAMINS
FOOD
WHOLE-
SUPPLEMENTS
MIGHTY MICRONUTRIENTS SAY:
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Eating Three Meals a Day
Doesnt Mean Youre Not Malnourished
To those of us here in America who have been fortunate enough
never to have actually experienced real famine, the idea of people
suffering from starvation and exhibiting obvious signs of malnu-
trition might seem incomprehensible. Living in a land of
well-stocked supermarkets and fast-food restaurants, it may bea bit hard for many of us to imagine things like drought or pesti-
lence making it impossible for families to avail themselves of
adequate nourishment. It is even difficult to fully relate to those
fellow citizens unable to eat three squares a day because they
simply cant afford to buy fooda situation in which more and
more American families are now finding themselves.
But what those of us who consider ourselves well-fed
might not realize is that we, too, may be malnourished, even
though we eat three meals a day while snacking down in
between. As a result, we may also be experiencing symptoms of
very real, though not always apparent, nutritional deficiencies.
A growing body of scientific evidence indicates that many of
the ailments for which we seek reliefall too often in an excess of
prescribed and over-the-counter medicationsmay well be the
direct results of dietary deficiencies in essential micronutrients.
An inadequate intake of these Mighty Micronutrients
many needed on a daily basismay also lead to a myriad of
emotional problems, including chronic irritability or even
unprovoked anger, a tendency to be easily distracted
or quickly become bored, and an inability to concen-
trate. Nutritional shortages in children could lead to
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disobedience, belligerence and aggressive behavior, and might
even contribute to the nationally troubling conditions of atten-tion deficit disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
While most Americans believe themselves to be living in the
most privileged, technically sophisticated and agriculturally
advanced country on the planet, we actually lag behind when it
comes to nutritionally sound diets. In fact, the kinds of foods
traditionally cultivated and eaten by inhabitants of what wewould consider backward cultures are actually apt to be a lot
more nutritious and beneficial than the refined, processed and
genetically altered foods that people living in our society are in
the habit of consuming.
Mighty Micronutrients
SYNTHETIC SUPPLEMENTS
OFTEN COME IN COMIC DISGUISES
A lot of well-meaning parents have come to rely on supple-
mentation. And there are some good supplements out there,but you do have to be selective and knowledgeable in choosing
them. Unless you know the difference between synthetic
supplements and those made from natural sources, youre apt
to be spending money on things that are really failing to deliver
the benefits such products are intended to provide. And in the
case of supplements geared to children, most of which come in
packages festooned with colorful cartoons, its quite
likely that some of the ingredients, such as aspar-
tame, could actually be harmful as well as ineffective.
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A Tale of Two Segments of the Same Tribe
Just how much healthier a traditional diet can be was seen in the
results of a study of Pima Indians, some of whom had settled in the
Southwestern United States and others who had continued to reside
south of the border. The members of the tribe living in the U.S. have
been described by researchers as being an extremely obese popu-
lation, with 77 percent of those over the age of 55 suffering fromtype 2 diabetes. The ones who had remained in Mexico, however,
tended to be vigorous, trim and robust, with a prevalence of diabetes
only a fifth that of their northern relatives (a mere 9 percent for those
55 and over).
When researchers examined the lifestyles of the two branches of
the tribe, they discovered that the Mexican group, in addition to
engaging in far more physical activity, had continued to subsist on a
traditional diet of basic crops they grew themselves and harvested by
hand, with beans, wheatflour tortillas, corn tortillas and potatoes
their principal staples. The U.S. Pimas, by contrast, had converted to
a typical high-fat, low-fiber American diet of processed foods (which
typically contain refined sugar and flour) that they either purchased
from supermarkets or received from a commodity food program.3
Such a well-delineated discrepancy in dietary habits and their
results dramatically illustrates the characteristic underperformance
of our own diets. But how can Americans be undernourished while
receiving constant confirmation, via advertising and packaging, that
the food we eat is full-bodied and packed with vitamins and
minerals?
Thats because much of the food we consume in
this country today has been virtually strip-mined of its
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Mighty Micronutrientsvital components that cant really be
added back, as terms like enriched and supplemented on food
labels seem to imply.
These micronutrients, as a rule, arent nearly as
mighty when reconstituted as they are in their
9
Mighty Micronutrients
whyboth
er with naturalwholefoods
when sy
nthetichalf foodswilldo?
(and what they do bestis to fool a lot of folks
into thinking theyre the real thing)
sinister synthetics SAY:
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natural state, where their effectiveness is supported and enhanced
by a lot of other trace substances, many of whose roles arent evenyet understood by science.
Thats why whole foodsthat is to say, those that are
consumed in an unprocessed form, with nothing removed or
manipulated and nothing addedare the sole sources of such
essential substances that can reliably be said to provide us with
the optimal benefits that nature intended.
PUTTING THE WHOLE PICTURE
IN PERSPECTIVE
It is only when the intricate and interdependent network of these
essential chemicals contained in whole foods remains relatively
intact and undisturbed that we can be assured that were receiving
the maximum impact of their health-enhancing capabilities.
A prime example of how this works can be seen in the always-
appetizing apple, the health benefits of which were common
knowledge long before the fruit was subjected to scientific analysis.
When What You See Is
What You Get the Most Benefit From
The saying An apple a day keeps the doctor away was coined
more than a century ago by J.T. Stinson, the first director of the
Missouri State Fruit Experiment station. It is believed to have been
inspired by a 12th-century report, given before the
Salerno Medical School, on the healthfulness of regu-
larly eating apples.
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Ironically, current understanding of the benefits of eating
apples strongly indicates the most wholesome sector of the fruitis its peel, which is chock full of antioxidants. Not only are peels
routinely discarded in both home use and during commercial
processing of products such as applesauce, but the variety of
apple peeling devices that has arisen over the centuries comes
close to paralleling the search for a better mousetrap.
Just how much of a loss such unadvised disposables can beto our nutritional well-being can be seen in a report issued by
Cornell Universitys Institute of Comparative and Environ-
mental Toxicology and Department of Food Science. It focuses
on the results of a comparative study of the flesh and peel
components of four different varieties of apples:
The peels all had significantly higher total antiox-
idant activities than the flesh + peel and flesh of
the apple varieties examined Apple peels were
also shown to more effectively inhibit the growth
of HepG(2) human liver cancer cells than the
other apple components The high content of
phenolic compounds, antioxidant activity, and
antiproliferative activity of apple peels indicate
that they may impart health benefits when
consumed and should be regarded as a valuable
source of antioxidants.4
The nutritional advantages of eating a whole apple
complete with peel are similar to the benefits of eating
bread, pasta, cereal and other foods made from whole
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grainthat is, grain that has retained its outer covering, which, like
an apple peel, is rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber. The signifi-cance of how a staple crop like grain is processed takes on planetary
importance when factoring in findings that grain provides more
nutritionand is grown in greater amountsthan any other crop
in the world. The over-processing of grain, a regular occurrence in
all of North America, essentially removes its worldly benefits.
While producers of so-called refinedgrain products may claimtheir goods have various added nutrients, such after-the-fact
additiveseven additives identical to those removed during
processingare no substitute for the real McCoy. Once grain is
broken down in this manner, it is next to impossible to
restorereconstruct, as it werethe complex web of chemical
interrelationships that nature so intricately assembled. In fact, the
chemical complexities and interactions of the various Mighty
Micronutrients contained in a single grain or any other plant used
for food are only now being gradually unraveled by scientists.
How Nature Orchestrates
the Interaction of Micronutrients
If you want to get an idea of how Mighty Micronutrients work
together in concert, try imagining them as separate instruments
in a symphony orchestra, each assigned an essential part in
performing a complex musical composition. Think of all the coor-
dination and timing that takes place among strings, woodwinds,
brass and percussion, even with the guidance of a
conductor, and of how some instruments are called on
to perform long passages while others must wait for
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the exact right moment to add a couple of notes or some nuance to
the overall effect the composer wanted to achieve.
Now imagine some of those instruments were rudely
removed. The composition might still be distantly recognizable,
but it would hardly represent a full and faithful rendition of what
the composer had in mind.
All too often, todays typical diet offers, at best,
a similarly diminished level of nutritional fullness
Mighty Micronutrients
ANOTHER REASON FOR GETTING ABOARD
THE WHOLE GRAIN TRAIN
New scientific findings have indicated that consumption of
whole grains may help prevent pancreatic cancer, one of the
most deadly forms of the disease.
A study conducted by researchers from the University of
California at San Francisco and published in theAmerican
Journal of Epidemiology has reportedly shown that a diet
high in whole grain and other fiber-rich foods can drastically
lower the risk of developing pancreatic cancer.
The study involved some 2,233 Bay Area residents, 532
of whom had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Bothgroups were similar in terms of ages, body weight and gender,
although the cancer patients were more likely to be smokers.
The researchers found that those who ate two or more
servings of whole grains per day had a 40 percent lower risk
of developing pancreatic cancer than those who ate less than
one serving daily.5
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and richness. Seemingly well-orchestrated mealseven those
that give the appearance of being well-balancedmay satisfyhunger pangs while silently falling short on a great many essen-
tial nutritional notes. The result is a subtle, albeit significant, loss
of what used to be known as food value, impoverished by the
absence of essential micronutrients. Whats more, many compo-
nents of an all-American meal, such as cereal, packaged bread,
frozen entrees, instant potatoes and white rice, are likely to havebeen depleted of intrinsic micronutrients during processing,
with cooking and preparation polishing off whatever few are left.
In essence, while many of us continue to supersize our food
intakeand, inadvertently our physiqueswhat were (over)eating
is actually dangerously downsized in terms of nutritional content, to
the point where it negatively affects the ability of the remaining
micronutrients to carry out their assigned tasks. And though
outsider additives are often brought in by manufacturers to substi-
tute for the missing team players, they cant really substitute for
the loss of Mighty Micronutrients in key positions. Once theyre
gone, the magic that makes for a winning team is irretrievably lost.
An excellent example of the interdependency of micronutri-
ents, and how the loss of any one can alter their effectiveness, is
offered by Lester Packer, Ph.D.,and Carol Colman in the bookThe
Antioxidant Miracle: When vitamin E disarms a free radical, it
becomes a weak free radical itself. But unlike bad free radicals, the
vitamin E radical can be recycled, or turned back into an antioxi-
dant, by vitamin C or coenzyme Q10. These network antioxidants
will donate electrons to vitamin E, bringing it back to its
antioxidant state. The same scenario occurs when
vitamin C or glutathione defuses a free radical.6
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Such hidden nutritional deficits hit children hardest. The
subtle starvation caused by the lack of micronutrients could well
hinder their normal development. This may fly in the face of the
American dietary syndrome in which children often
eat throughout the day and into the night. While it
may appear they are meeting all their nutritional
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Mighty Micronutrients
were a whole lotbetter
When WE
re not processed
thats why whole foods and grainswill make you so much healthier
MIGHTY MICRONUTRIENTS SAY:
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requirements, the results tell a different story. Studies on childhood
obesity done by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention for the period between 2003 and 2006
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GET YOUR WHOLE GRAINS AND ENJOY
THE AROMA, TOO
Theres no doubt that whole grains are superior to refined ones.
Whereas in refined grains, the bran and germ (the nutrient-
rich interior of the grain) are removed, in whole grains they
remain intact, serving as an excellent source of antioxidants
and phytochemicals that help ward off disease, as well as
providing magnesium, iron, fiber, vitamin E and B vitamins.
An easy way to incorporate more whole grains into your
familys diet is with whole-grain bread. And the best and
freshest bread is homemade.
Making bread is no longer an all-day process of kneadingand rising. Bread machines have become affordable (good
machines can be purchased for under $50), are easy to use and
produce a wonderful loaf. Making homemade bread also allows
you to utilize organic, whole-grain flours and other high-quality
ingredients to produce a loaf for a fraction of what a compa-
rable one would cost at a quality bakery.An excellent book for beginning (and experienced) bread-
machine bakers isEasy Bread Making for Special Dietsby
Nicolette M. Dumke. Our favorite recipe is the amazingly
simple one for traditional whole wheat bread.
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indicated 32 percent of all American kids are considered at risk
for obesity, 16 percent are obese, and 11 percent extremely obese.7
Their diets are simply making them well-rounded, rather than
well-nourished.
Besides being ungainly and unhealthy, such nutritionally defi-
cient kids may be behind the eight ball (and behind their
contemporaries in other countries) in a number of ways, as informa-
tion on the functions of various Mighty Micronutrients in Chapter6 will make clear.
But what further complicates this situation is the fact that
along with diminished nutrition, were regularly ingesting a whole
assortment of Sinister Syntheticstoxic chemicals, harmful
additives and even altered genetic materialthat could be resulting
in all kinds of hidden damage to our bodies and minds.
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Mighty Micronutrients
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~ Chapter 2 ~
Pesticides:Still Toxic AfterAll These Years
We cant solve problems by using the same kindof thinking we used when we created them.
~Albert Einstein
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Whats in a name change?
There could be a lot if it involves a transition from a long-
established company name to one that has an entirely different
connotation. Thats the kind of name change that was imple-
mented by the company formerly known as ChemLawn, which
first expanded its name to TruGreen ChemLawn and now simply
calls itself TruGreen, because, according to its web site, one word
is all you need for a great lawn.
Maybe so, but the real reason might have a lot
more to do with the negative imagery that associating
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Pesticides: Still Toxic After All These Years
About one billion pounds of conventional pesticides areused each year in the United States to control weeds, insects
and other pests.
U.S. Geological Service, 2005 report on Pesticides in the
Nations Streams and Ground Water, 1992-2001
Until EPA can state with scientific confidence that thesepesticides will not harm the neurological development of our
nations born and unborn children, there is no justification to
continue to approve the use of the remaining (organophos-
phate and carbamate) pesticides.
Letter sent to EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson
by the heads of nine EPA-affiliated unions in May 2006
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lawns with chemicals now evokes in a large segment of the public.
By the same token, the company is now using generally less-toxicpesticides and herbicides than it did when it bore the Chemlawn
name, according to a representative we spoke with on the phone.
Given the increased amount of negative publicity that such
products have received in the past decade or more, thats really
not surprising. And many people have begun to discover less-
toxic ways of doing things, such as caring for their lawns (asubject discussed at length in Chemical-Free Kids). Creating a
nontoxic lawn culture, in fact, is the focus of the SafeLawns
Foundation (http://safelawns.org), a Maine-based group seeking
to create a coalition of organizations and companies committed
to educating society about the benefits of environmentally
responsible lawn care and gardening, and effect a quantum
change in consumer and industry behavior.
But make no mistake: toxic, hazardous and health-destroying
pesticides have not disappeared from the marketplace, the land-
scape or our food supplydespite a major government program
launched in the 1990s to identify the worst offenders and curtail
their use in the products we eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
THE PEACE-OF-MIND DELUSION
It was supposed to have been a peace of mind guarantee for
American families.
That was the term used by President Bill Clinton in 1996 in
describing the intent of the Food Quality Protection
Act, or FQPA, as he signed it into law.
The purpose of the Food Quality Protection Act,
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as was noted in Chemical-Free Kids, was to establish reason-
able certainty that no harm will result to infants and childrenfrom aggregate exposure to any particular pesticide.
What that means is pesticides arent to be individually eval-
uated in terms of their safety or lack of same. Instead, the impact
of all pesticides must be looked upon as a whole, the way were
exposed to them in real lifethat is, through multiple exposures
to multiple sources.The FQPA also recognized the fact that children, infants and
fetuses are most vulnerable to the harmful effects of pesticides.
Accordingly, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
was charged with reviewing all pesticide tolerances (meaning
allowable residue levels) in effect up to that time, and given 10
years to complete this entire task.
Some experts in the field, however, were highly skeptical
about the ability of this legislation to achieve its stated goals and
considered the criteria used to determine tolerances highly inad-
equate for that purpose. Particularly at issue was the additional
tenfold margin of safetyfor example, if the residue allowed by
the EPA was 10 parts per million in a food, it would be reduced
to one part per millionthat the EPA was supposed to use when
evaluating any pesticide for which reliable data was lacking on
toxic effects to embryos and newborns, and on the amounts to
which infants and children were routinely exposed.
To David Wallinga, a former senior scientist with the Natural
Resources Defense Council (NRDC), that meant having to
review a whole list of data , including toxicity findings
based on embryonic test animal studies and actual
levels of pesticide from all sources to which children
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were exposed. In fact, thats what he advised the EPA. But the
agency, he said, decided that the existing tests had alreadyprovided complete and reliable data.
Thats why (as was originally noted in Chemical-Free Kids)
while it may all have sounded very reassuring, whether this much
ballyhooed legislation can even begin to live up to that covenant
is one that inspires little confidence among consumer advocates.
Ultimately, such doubts were borne out in dramaticifsomewhat underreportedfashion some three months before
the August 2006 deadline for completing the task rolled around
when some 9000 EPA staffers weighed in with their view that
the agency they represented had dropped the ball in carrying out
the mandate of the FQPA.
Mission (Not) Accomplished
The anger of the people who had been assigned the mission of
mitigating the perils posed by pesticides took the form of an open
letter to EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. Signed by the
heads of EPA unions representing scientists, risks managers and
related staff, it accused the agency of bowing to industry pressure,
leaving the public in generaland children in particularinsuffi-
ciently protected from the toxic effects of these chemicals.
Another concern expressed by the EPA staffers in their
letter to Johnson was that agency risk assessments cannot
state with confidence the degree to which any exposure of a
fetus, infant or child to a pesticide will or will not
adversely affect their neurological development.
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They also contended that:
Their colleagues in the Pesticide Program felt
besieged by political pressure from their
bosses at the EPA, as well as from former
agency officials who had become affiliated
with the pesticide industry and agricultural
communities;
In the rush to meet the deadline, many steps
in the risk assessment and risk management
process were being abbreviated or elimi-
nated in violation of the principles of scientific
integrity and objectivity; and
The prevailing belief among managers in the
Pesticide and Toxics Programs was that
regulatory decisions should only be made
after reaching full consensus with the regu-
lated pesticide and chemicals industry. 8
Such overwhelming dissent within any organization is not some-
thing that can be simply dismissed as the complaints of disgruntled
employees. So rather than address the massive revolt from within
its own ranks, EPA top brass simply opted to ignore it by taking
what amounted to a mission accomplished position with a couple
of cursory, self-congratulatory press releases issued on
the 10-year deadline for the FQPA review.
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Americans today can be confident that pesticides used in the
United States meet the highest health and safety standards in theworld, said one such release. It then went on to quote EPA
Administrator Johnson as saying that the agencys ground-
breaking effort is being welcomed at dinner tables across the
nation, and that the Bush Administration is ensuring pesticides
used to grow the fruits, vegetables and other foods families are
serving meet the highest protective standards in the world.By maintaining the highest ethical and scientific standards
in its pesticide review, EPA and the Bush Administration have
planted the seeds to yield healthier lives for generations of Amer-
ican families, claimed the second EPA release.
Sounding as though nothing about them was in dispute (let
alone by those who were most knowledgeable), these pronounce-
ments were aimed at reassuring Americans that they need no longer
be concerned about pesticides posing a hazard to their health. The
releases also provide a few specific examples of measures that have
been implemented under the review, although they contain no
mention of any reductions in infants and childrens exposure levels
(which are discussed in a report posted on the EPAs web site).
Aaron Colangelo, a lawyer specializing in pesticide issues for
the Washington, D.C.-based NRDC, was one of a number of
leading environmental advocates who shared the EPA staffers
sentiments. I would say the statement that theyve met the
highest scientific and ethical standards is untrue, he asserted.
In order to meet their deadline in evaluating all these pesticides,
theyve essentially ignored, disregarded or misapplied
key safety measures written into the law to protect
children.
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Perhaps the most glaring omission, Colangelo maintained,
was the EPAs having routinely failed to use an additional tenfoldmargin of safety to protect infants and children for many chem-
icals, especially five key pesticides that are among the most toxic.
All of this isnt to suggest that the FQPA reevaluation was a total
failure. One positive result, in Colangelos view, was the voluntary
cancellation of the remaining seed treatment uses of the pesticide
lindane. That was an important decision, he contends, sincelindane was one of the worst pesticides that was still registered.
Another example he cites is the proposed cancellation of six minor
agricultural uses of carbofuran during a four-year phase-out period.
But Kristan Markey, a research analyst at the Environmental
Working Group (EWG), noted that lindane is already banned by 52
other countriesyet were bragging that we have the highest stan-
dards in the world.
But another EPA claimthat the use of the organophosphate
DDVP had been significantly restricted during the last decadeis
also one that Colangelo called misleading. The EPA, he said, actu-
ally negotiated a private deal about two months before with the
manufacturer to allow DDVP to stay on the market for home usage,
despite a recommendation in the mid-1990s that it be banned from
such products as no-pest strips and flea collars. The actual restric-
tions, he noted, were intended to eliminate its use in cracks and
crevices and to reduce the size of the strips.
The EPA could have and should have restricted many of these
pesticides and banned them entirely, he said.
Colangelo also felt the Bush Administration had
interfered on certain specific pesticides to weaken
their regulation, probably one of the best examples
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being atrazine, an herbicide used chiefly on corn. In his view, the
pesticide office at EPA is essentially a captive agency and theyvejust bowed to industry pressure.
Compelling Evidence of a Cover-up
The position of the EPA staffers was also supported in a news
release from Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility(PEER), a national alliance of federal, state, local and tribal resource
professionals that works to promote environmental enforcement.
In an unprecedented action, representatives for thousands
of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency scientists are publicly
objecting to imminent agency approval for a score of powerful,
controversial pesticides, the release stated. The scientists cite
compelling evidence which EPA leadership is choosing to ignore
that these pesticides damage the developing nervous systems of
fetuses, infants and children.
PEER also noted that its members are concerned that the
Agency has not, consistent with its principles of scientific
integrity and sound science, adequately summarized or drawn
conclusions about the developmental neurotoxicity data received
from pesticide registrants. Our colleagues within the Agency,
including EPAs inspector general, believe it would be premature
to conclude that there is a complete and reliable databaseupon
which to base any final tolerance reassessment decisions as
required by the FQPA.
The fact that this letter had to be sent at all is an
utter disgrace but, even more disgraceful, is the likeli-
hood that this warning will be disregarded by an
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agency that is supposed to be protecting public health and the envi-
ronment, PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch said at the time.9
Joining in the chorus of criticism of EPA officials was EWGs
Markey, who contended that theyve clearly ignored their own
protocol and regulations for pesticide registrations and fallen short
of their mission.
They had a clear mandate, a clear warning, a reminder of that
warning from their scientists, but decided to side with the (chem-
ical) industry and its profits They dont have the critical
data studies that they should have on a number of these
pesticides. If you dont have them, you have to protect
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Pesticides: Still Toxic After All These Years
have you poisoned
...and turned it into a placewhere no one can play?
yourback yard today...
sinister synthetics SAY:
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at the highest level with extra safety factors, and I couldnt see where
they used them.Another authority on the subject, Dr. Margaret Reeves, a
staff scientist with the environmental group Pesticide Action
Network (PAN) based in San Francisco, charged that the FQPA
reassessment represented an egregious abandonment of EPAs
mission to protect the health and well-being of children, farm
workers and rural residents those most likely to suffer theshort- and long-term health consequences of the continued use
of these hazardous neurotoxins.
We do recognize and support the EPA scientists in their
recognition of inappropriate industry influence, Reeves said in a
2006 interview. It seems like (the EPAs) interest is in retaining
the use of organophosphates, and therefore they conveniently
perhaps are choosing to ignore information suggesting that they
are hazardous to children. Theyve largely failed to consider one
very important route of exposure, and this is pesticide drift. I know
theres very little residue testing, and Im not at all confident that
their models really do document real-world exposure from food.
The use of hazardous pesticides continues to be very, very
high, and theres no national system for documenting or evalu-
ating pesticide poisoning, added Reeves, who said shed give
the EPAs review a failing grade.
In the face of such a massive outpouring of criticism, one
might have supposed the EPA would have made some attempt
to restore confidence in its integrity through a concerted effort to
update and expand its store of information. Instead,
it appears to have taken just the opposite approach.
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The Great Library Lockout
A little over two years after the rebellion of the EPAs rank and file
over the agencys failure to make good on its responsibilities under
the Food Quality Protection Act, PEER Executive Director Ruch was
asked whether he had seen any indications of significant improve-
ment in its pesticide data updating and regulation performance.
The situation within the EPA in regard to pesticide regula-tion has only deteriorated in the past two years, he replied,
citing increased unrest among its scientists.
One of the chief reasons for such discontent among EPA
staffers, Ruch explained, is the fact that their ability to do inde-
pendent research on pesticides and other toxic chemicals has been
severely curtailed during that periodas has that of outside inves-
tigators as wellthrough implementation of a plan he characterized
as designed to make the agency less capable.
Perhaps it was a mere coincidence (or perhaps not)but it
seems that not long after the unions letter of protest arrived on
Administrator Johnsons desk, EPA officials quietly began closing
down the agencys research libraries, where the data required for
much of this work was archived. Without such information readily
available to them, Ruch observed, EPA scientists have been made
more dependent on industry submissions and less able to inde-
pendently challenge them.
The main such facility at EPA headquarters, described by
Ruch as having been the nations largest repository of materials on
effects of pesticides and chemicals, was shuttered
without notice to agency scientists. This seemingly
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subversive move deprived investigators and researchers of an
essential tool to independently evaluate any submissions. Theholdings have been crated up and are unavailable to this day, Ruch
said, with the plan apparently being to secrete it away for years.
Included in the EPA-led closures were a number of regional
libraries serving 15 Midwestern states, including facilities in
Chicago, Dallas and Kansas City. According to a PEER news
release, the EPA offered a rationale that it was planning to digi-tize everything in its collection and make it all available
someday on-line. This supposed plan, however, was announced
without any dedicated funds amid sharply reduced budgets,
as Ruch observed at the time, further noting the move was
framed as being in accordance with President Bushs proposed
budget cuts.
Also casting this plan in a dubious light was the fact that 90
percent (of the materials involved) couldnt be digitized because
they were copyrighted, said Ruch, adding, It also made no sense
to physically remove them before they were digitized.
Like the agencys failed response to the FQPA, the great
library lockout drew sharp opposition from EPA staffers, thou-
sands of whom signed a letter of protest, contending that the plan
was designed to suppress information on environmental and
public health-related topics.
Such organized protestation, while it may not have cut any ice
with either the administrator or administration, did eventually
succeed in influencing Congress to order the libraries restored
something the EPA has only grudgingly agreed to do,
according to Ruch.
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The headquarters library, for instance, will consist of what
the EPA describes as a consolidated operation, but wont befully restored, he noted.
Plans also call for the Chicago regional facility, formerly the
largest regional library, to be reopened in a vacant reception area
on the 16th floor of a federal building, occupying less than one-
tenth the area of the closed library, and only slightly larger
than the typical mens restroom in that same building,according to a PEER press release. Furthermore, no provision
is made to restore the unique Great Lakes ecological collection
or to recover any of the other holdings from the former library.
Another change is EPAs installation of a political appointee,
Assistant Administrator for Environmental Information Molly
ONeill, as library overseer, in charge of all library operations,
including those serving laboratories and specialized programs.
According to PEER, ONeill will be overseeing a host of new rules,
including detailed directives on handling research and informa-
tion requests and priorities for materials disbursal or destruction.
Even as many collections remain in crates, EPA has decided
to micromanage what is left, PEER Associate Director Carol
Goldberg was quoted as saying, adding that the agency has still
not accounted for many of the library holdings it removed.10
But while federal regulators may have managed to remove
from circulation much of the existing data on pesticides and
their effects, various private groups have dedicated a great deal
of effort to coming up with new information on the amounts of
these chemicals were being exposed to in our diet
and the impact that may be having on our health
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and that of our children. One of these organizations, the Organic
Center of Boulder, Colo., has been able to learn a good deal abouthow much of these small, cumulative doses of poison were apt to
be ingesting when we engage in whats usually considered healthy
eating.
Chemical-Free Kids: The Organic Sequel
PLAN TO HALT PESTICIDE REPORTING
DRAWS STRONG OPPOSITION
If theres anything that rubs a researcher the wrong way, its
a threat to make the data on which he or she depends no
longer accessibleas the U.S. Department of Agriculture
discovered in May 2008, when it announced a plan to
dispense with its annual Pesticide Reporting Program.
The proposed dismantling, which the USDA said was
due to a lack of funds to continue the already scaled-back
program,, drew the collective opposition of no fewer than 44
environmental, health advocacy and sustainable farmingorganizations, all of which signed a letter of protest to Secre-
tary of Agriculture Edward Schafer.
The reports issued under the program, administered by
the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), are the
only reliable, publicly available source of data on pesticide
and fertilizer use outside of California, the letter noted.Elimination of this program will severely hamper
the efforts of the USDA, the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), land grant scientists,
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Pesticides: Still Toxic After All These Years
and state officials to perform pesticide risk assessments and
make informed policy decisions on pesticide use. In partic-
ular, USDA and EPA will have difficulty tracking their
progress in meeting their policy commitments to reduce the
use of hazardous pesticides through adoption of Integrated
Pest Management (IPM) practices and to support IPM
research.
Americans are rightly concerned about the adverse
impacts of pesticides on human health and the environ-
ment, said Charles Benbrook, Chief Scientist at The
Organic Center, in a press release. Without USDAs data,
our organizations will be severely hampered in our ability
to carry out research on the impacts of pesticides and offer
informed input on decision-making regarding pesticide use
and pest management systems in American agriculture.
Denying the public and regulatory agencies this critical
information is bad science and bad public relations, added
Jennifer Sass, Senior Scientist at the Natural Resources
Defense Council.In addition to asking that the reporting program be
continued, the coalition requested that NASS reinstate its
more expansive program of the 1990s, which involved
surveys of chemical use annually on major field crops (corn,
soybeans and cotton) periodically on other field crops, and
biennially on fruit and vegetable crops. As of this writing, the groups were awaiting a
response from the secretary, a former North Dakota
governor who assumed the post in January 2008.
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Chemical-Free Kids: The Organic Sequel
PESTICIDES:
A NEW SUSPECT IN AUTISM
Could pesticide exposure be linked to the current epidemic of
autism? A recent California study indicates that there well
might be a connection.
The study, conducted by the California Department of
Public Health and published in July 2007, focused on
maternal pesticide exposures for 465 children suffering from
autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who were born during the
period 1996-98, as compared to 6,975 control subjectsthat
is, non-autistic children living in the same area.
It found that mothers who had been exposed to theorganochlorine insecticides dicofol and endosulfan (also
known as Thiodan) during weeks one through eight of preg-
nancy had more than six times the chance of giving birth to an
ASD-afflicted child than those living away from pesticide-
treated areas. The period of time involved is considered
critical to the fetal development of the central nervous system.Children born to 29 women residing close to fields
sprayed with the chemicals were found to have the highest
rates of autism. The rates went down the farther away from
the fields subjects lived.11
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YOUR DIETARY RISK INDEX:
HOW HEALTHY FOODS SCOREIN TERMS OF TOXICITY
Whats perhaps most disturbing about the apparent failure of
government regulators to comply with the Food Quality Protec-
tion Act is that it continues to compromise the safety of many of
the food choices American families are most encouraged by healthand nutrition experts to make.
Not that all such risks are created equal. Some conventionally
grown commodities are far more apt to contain toxic chemical
residues than others, according to a breakdown of dietary risks
provided in the Organic Centers recent State of Science Review,
The Organic Option.
To assess the health risk posed by a particular crop, the center
has devised a dietary risk index or DRI. The method it uses is
Pesticides: Still Toxic After All These Years
A REAL-WORLD APPROACH
TO RESIDUE TESTING
When produce is tested for pesticide residues, is it washed first?
Thats a question we put to Organic Center Chief Scientist
Charles Benbrook. He answered that the testing is done in
accord with real-world criteria set by the U.S. Department
of Agriculture, meaning that each item is tested in the samestate in which it would typically be consumed. A
banana, for instance, would first be peeled, whereas
an apple would usually be washed.
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one that takes into account both the residue levels of pesticides
typically found in various fruits and vegetables and how toxic eachpesticide is considered to be. It may also reflect combinations of
different pesticides found on a single item. But an important thing
to keep in mind is that the higher the DRI number of a particular
food, the more residues it has been found to contain.
According to the report, conventionally grown fruits and
vegetables from domestic sources that scored highest on thedietary risk index were green beans (330), cranberries (178),
sweet bell peppers (132), celery (104), nectarines (97), cucum-
bers (93), potatoes (74), tomatoes (68), peas (66), strawberries
(956), lettuce and peaches (54), pears (48), apples (44) and
cherries (32).
Chemical-Free Kids: The Organic Sequel
ANOTHER 15 GOOD REASONS
TO GO ORGANIC
Domestic Produce DRI
Domestically grown fruits and vegetables with the highest pesti-
cide Dietary Risk Score (always buy organic whenever possible):
Green beans (DRI 330)
Sweet bell peppers (DRI 132)
Celery (DRI 104)
Cucumbers (DRI 93)
Potatoes DRI 74)
Cranberries (DRI 178)
Nectarines (DRI 97)
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Those figures, however, werent nearly as high as the DRI for
imported produce. In fact, the average DRI score for imported
fruits found to have the highest residue levels was more than
twice that of the domestically grown fruits on the list152 vs.73.
Imported vegetables averaged 212 as compared to 115 for those
grown in the U.S.A., the figure for imported cucum-
bers, for example, being more than three times that
of their domestic counterparts.
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Pesticides: Still Toxic After All These Years
Imported Produce DRI
Imported fruits and vegetables with the highest pesticide
Dietary Risk Score (while this list includes most of the impor-
tant winter imports in the U.S., some items, such as peppers,
lettuce and tomatoes, can still be found organicallyusually
hothousegrown in the U.S. during the winter months):
Sweet bell peppers (DRI 720)
Lettuce (DRI 326)
Cucumbers (DRI 317)
Tomatoes (DRI 142)
Grapes (DRI 282)
Nectarines (DRI 281)
Peaches (DRI 266)
Pears (DRI 221)
For the complete study, visit The Organic Center at:
www.organic-center.com and downloadSimplifying the
pesticide risk equation: the organic option.
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The highest DRI for imported items went to sweet bell
peppers at a whopping 720, followed by lettuce (326), cucum-bers (317), grapes (282), nectarines (281), peaches (266), pears
(221), celery (170), tomatoes (142), green beans (93), strawberries
(78), broccoli (62), peas (48), cherries and cantaloupe (31), and
carrots and apples (30).
By contrast, some fresh fruits and vegetables were found to
contain minimal pesticide residues. They include citrus fruits(the 2006 DRI for grapefruit being around two), and bananas,
pineapples and onions, all scoring less than one. Several dried
fruits, such as raisins, also scored quite low. Other items found
to contain far fewer and generally less risky pesticide residues
included grain and grain-based products, except for relatively
low levels of insecticides used during storage; beef, pork, lamb
and poultry, and some processed foods (tomato paste, for
instance, had a DRI 15 times lower than tomatoes themselves).12
Whats the best way to put this information to use? As a rule,
if you have to pick and choose, try to purchase select organic
fruits and vegetables rather than conventional ones that have
high DRI numbers and avoid conventional imports whenever
possible. This is especially vital if you are pregnant or have young
children in your family.
But dont interpret the fact some commodities might contain
relatively small amounts of pesticides residue to mean there are
no significant differences between the conventionally grown and
organic varieties. In the chapters that follow, youll discover a
number of other important reasons to include as
many organic foods as possible in your familys diet.
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~ Chapter 3 ~
GMOs and rBGH:The Things You Wont Find
Listed on the Label
We are playing about with genetic structuresthat existed for millions of years,
and the experiment is running out of control.
~Dr. Mae-Wan Ho, geneticist,Open University, Great Britian
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You may have seen the warnings on processed food packages:
This product was prepared in a facility that processes tree
nuts, or words to that effect.
In an age when increasing numbers of individualsand chil-
dren, in particularare apt to suffer allergic reactions to certain
foods (peanuts, for instance), such cautionary statements are
intended to inform vigilant consumers that the products they
are considering for purchase may have been contaminated
with traces of the allergensjust enough, perhaps, to
trigger a reaction that, in some cases, could be life-
threatening.
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Can biotech change the world? Yes, but perhaps not in wayswed like to see. If we want to change the world for the better,
we should probably look elsewhere. Releasing genetically
engineered plants, animals and even bacteria into the envi-
ronment is a form of biological pollution. Like chemical
toxins, you cannot call them back. But unlike chemicals,
biological pollutants can multiply and spread and interbreed,and change the balance of nature on our planet. If there are
better ways to solve our food problems, why should we take
this path?
Martha Herbert, M.D.,
What Is Genetically Modified Food (And Why Should You
Care)?, EarthSave Magazine, Spring, 2002
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But suppose that products, packaged with no warning labels or
allergen alerts, actually contain substances capable of producingacute allergy-type symptoms? What if there are everyday products
infused with insidious chemicals that could place the bodys
defenses on red alert, yet carry no label information to indicate the
potential presence of such hidden components?
That, in fact, may now be the case with many of the conven-
tional and processed foods that make up the typical Americandiet. Whats more, the presence of those occult chemical compo-
nents in our foodin the American dietary system, as it
weremay help explain why allergy, asthma and food sensitiv-
ities have undergone such a sharp rise in recent years. Statistics
at the end of 2005, for instance, showed that the number of
American children suffering from life-threatening peanut aller-
gies had doubled in just five years, and those with food allergies
had risen from 6 million to 11 million.13
BYPASSING THE BRAVE NEW WORLD
OF GMOs
In 1932, Aldous Huxleys sci-fi classic Brave New World
portrayed the rulers of a future Utopian society as having their
subjects genetically engineered to contentedly fulfill certain
roles. While we have not yet reached such a point, Huxleys
bizarre vision of a future in which man manages to alter the
very essence of the life forms created by nature is not entirely
off the mark.
Today, in an ongoing effort to chemically engi-
neer producestriving to increase output and ease of
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cultivationwe are taking a chapter out of Huxleys vision of the
future by infusing crops with certain unnatural, if not alien, traits.Unlike the type of cross-breeding traditionally done to improve
various agricultural commodities, this particular procedure
involves adding genes from other living things, in hopes of genet-
ically introducing desired characteristics. The result has become
known as a genetically modified organism, or GMO.
GMOs are created by either using various microorganisms astransfer agents for DNA or by means of a gene gun that is used
to haphazardly shoot genes into a group of plant cells, at the risk
of disturbing existing genes. Because only a very small number of
the cells involved are actually transformed by either procedure,
marker genes, usually of bacterial origin, are attached to the
gene being inserted. These genes serve as markers by virtue of
being resistant to antibiotics, which kill the cells except those that
have been effectively modified. (More technical explanations of
how these processes work are provided on the web by Macalester
College of St. Paul, Minn. http://www.macalester.edu/~mont-
gomery/GMOs.htm, which also explores the ethical issues
involving GMOs, and Germanys Federal Ministry of Education
and Research at http://www.gmo-safety.eu/en/gene_transfer/
44.docu.html.)
While this is usually a matter of transposing the DNA from
one type of plant to another, along with bacteria and viruses that
would not normally be present, in some instances it has involved
inserting animal and even human genes into certain crops.
Such deliberate mutations are the work of a
number of companies, with one in particularworld-
wide agricultural giant Monsantohaving developed
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and patented more than half of the genetically engineered crops in
the U.S.14
(Monsanto has also acquired some 50 or so seedsuppliers.) Such companies, collectively referred to as the biotech
industry, have succeeded in putting genetically modified ingredi-
entswhich include soy, corn and canola oil, soy, flour, soy lecithin,
corn starch and high fructose corn syrup, to name but a fewinto
an estimated 70 percent of the foods we consume in America.
Considering how prevalent genetically modified, or GM ingre-dients become in our diet, one might suppose that GMOs have been
subjected to thorough scrutiny by government agencies, like the
Food and Drug Administration.
But the truth is they havent. Thats because there are currently
no requirements that GMOs be tested to ensure they wont
adversely affect our health.
When we ingest GMOs and feed them to our children, were
essentially accepting the safety claims of the manufacturers who
profit from those products. We are, in effect, taking part in an
ongoing collective experiment, the results of which may never be
publicly known. However, what is being learned outside the realm
of in-company communiqus should be enough to set off alarm
bells.
The Dont Ask, Dont Tell Policy of the FDA
Whenever something new is added to our food supply, its
supposedly the job of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to
make sure an additive wont have any adverse effects
on the population. That, at least, is how it works in
theory. The reality, however, is often quite different
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especially when a company that wishes to market a product
wields political influence, as was demonstrated when the FDA
approved the artificial sweetener aspartame over the objections
of its own scientists. Monsanto would certainly qualify
as such an FDA-influencing business, having had a
number of its officialsin typical revolving door
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GMOs and rBGH: The Things You Wont Find Listed
experimen
ting with yourfoodcan be greatfun!
especially when adding a gene or twoturns it into something new
sinister synthetics SAY:
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fashiongo to work for the FDA (or the other way around),
including Michael Taylor, who went from being an attorney forMonsanto to an FDA post, where he was largely responsible for
government policy on GMOs. Taylor later returned to Monsanto,
this time in an executive job.
The policy Taylor helped forge while with the FDA established
that genetically engineered commodities are nothing more than
extensions of long-existing practices of modifying agriculturalproducts using conventional cross-breeding techniques involving
varieties of the same species.
In 1992, the FDA ruled that foods altered in this manner were
substantially equivalent to those that hadnt been, and thus did
not need safety testing. GMOs, it decided, were not food addi-
tives, so it was not necessary for manufacturers to submit a
petition for approval before marketing them. The agencys posi-
tion was that there is no basis for concluding that bioengineered
foods differ from other foods in any meaningful or uniform way,
or that, as a class, foods developed by the new techniques
present any different or greater safety concern than foods devel-
oped by traditional plant breeding.15
That decision has been widely condemned. For example,
Steven M. Druker, executive director of the Alliance for Bio-
Integrity, characterized the decision as being unscientific,
unethical, and unacceptable and called for every bioengineered
food (to be) withheld from the market until proper testing has
confirmed it is safe according to the standard required by law.16
What the FDAs ruling amounted to, in essence,
was a dont ask policy toward GMOs. But it didnt
stop there. Tacked on to that policy was a dont tell
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provision where consumers were concernedmeaning that
there was no requirement that the possible presence of GMOingredients be indicated on food labels. As a result, it might seem
that theres really no way for us to know whether these suppos-
edly innocuous, but genuinely sinister synthetics are lurking in
our lunch or ending up on our dinner plates.
However, there may be one way savvy shoppers can be sure
theyre not serving up GMOs and such: buy certified organic prod-ucts in which no genetically engineered ingredients are permitted.
Of course, even when running with the organic banner, it may
be impossible to be absolutely certain that anything is 100 percent
GMO-free, as will be explained farther on.
The wider selection of organic processed foods thats become
available on supermarket shelves, such as cereals, waffles,
ketchup and tofu, is especially helpful in this regard, since most
of the GMOs that have entered our food supply are found in
conventional processed products.
Other than going into a full-blown organic mode, eliminating
genetically altered foods from our diets can also be accom-
plishedat least to some degreeby avoiding non-organic foods
most likely to harbor GM material, particularly those that contain
soy, corn derivatives or canola oil. Thats because soybeans, corn
and canola, along with cotton, are the major crops that have had
alien genes inserted in them by the biotech industry. Sweet corn,
for the most part, is still unaffected, with genetically modified
varieties estimated at only about three percent17but the only
way to be sure youre avoiding them is to either buy
organically grown corn or grow it yourself.
But why should GMO intake be a cause of
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concern to us? To find out, we need to take a closer look at the very
real risks to our health that such tampering with Mother Naturesgrand design may be creating, along with the effects its having on
the environment and agriculture, here in the U.S. and abroad.
How What We Dont KnowCan Hurt Us
and Our Kids (Without Our Knowing It)
Biotech corporations, with the backing of the FDA, like to
portray genetic engineering as a thoroughly safe, innocuous and
beneficial process that can only make life better for both farmers
and consumers. But a cursory background check of this rela-
tively new and alien technology paints a very differentand
disquietingpicture.
If anything should have given federal watchdog agencies
pause about the advisability of allowing genetically engineered
products on the market, it was what happened in 1989 when
eosinophilia-myaglia syndrome, a strange new disease that
affects the blood and muscles, began afflicting thousands of
people. The condition, which ultimately resulted in 38 deaths and
1,500 cases of disabling illness, was traced to a contaminated lot
of the dietary supplement L-tryptophan, manufactured by a
Japanese chemical firm that had infused it with genetically
altered bacteria to increase its potency. But instead of raising
concerns about the possibility that genetic engineering might
have dangerous, unintended consequences, the tragedy caused
attention to be focused on the perceived risks of amino-
acid food supplements, resulting in a decade-long ban
on most of the tryptophan being sold in the U.S.
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In the years since, as more and more farmers have been
persuaded to abandon traditional planting in favor of GMseedswhich the FDA arbitrarily decided were virtually no
different than what they had previously grownscientists began
reporting some disturbing results of the tests that were
performed on these Frankenfoods, as opponents such as
Greenpeace took to calling them. For example:
Soybeans to which were added a gene from a
Brazil nut caused serious reactions in indi-
viduals with nut allergies, as reported by the
New England Journal of Medicinea devel-
opment that resulted in one engineered
soybean product being cast aside.18
A study performed by two scientists under a
grant from the Scottish government, and
reported by the British medical journal The
Lancet, found significant detrimental effects
on the organ development, metabolism and
immune function of rats that had been fed
potatoes genetically engineered to contain the
biopesticideBacillus thuringiensis (B.t.).19
An attempt by Australian researchers to
transfer a gene for a pest-resistant protein
from beans to peas was abandoned after
the protein from the peas, which is
harmless in its natural state, caused mice
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to suffer airway inflammation and allergic
lung damage.20
A German researcher, in a three-year experi-
ment involving young honeybees and rapeseed
that had been genetically engineered to resist
a particular herbicide, discovered that the
inserted gene transferred to bacteria and fungiin the bees intestines via ingested pollen from
the altered rapeseed.21
Rats fed a genetically modified tomato devel-
oped stomach lesions, with seven out of 40
dying within two weeks, while chickens fed
genetically engineered corn reportedly died at
twice the rate of those fed non-altered corn.
Genes inserted in soy were found to have
transferred into the gut bacteria of human
test subjects.
Those last two items were among a num