The Environmental Health Perspectives has just released the latest study on children’s exposure to pesticides in conventionally grown produce and juices. Preschool children in Seattle, Washington were monitored to assess their exposure to pesticides in their diet. The urine in the children was tested on a regular basis. Children who ate conventionally grown fruits, vegetables, and juices—like the produce in grocery stores—had six times the pesticide residue in their urine than children who ate organically grown food.
Malignancies in children linked to pesticides include leukemia, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and cancers of the brain. The risk of cancer for children is greater than the risk for adults, suggesting that children may be particularly sensitive to the carcinogenic effects of pesticides. Doctors Philip J. Landrigan and Herbert L. Needleman, authors of Raising Children Toxic Free, estimate that 80 to 90 percent of childhood cancer is caused by exposure to carcinogens in the environment. So called “safe levels” of pesticides are usually established for adults, not children. A child’s body is smaller, as is the liver, so the body is not as well equipped to handle the toxins in food.
Parents must do more to protect the health of their children. A good place to start is with organic food. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has mandated that no organic food can contain added hormones, antibiotics, synthetic pesticides, irradiated components, genetically modified organisms, or reprocessed sewage. No such mandate exists for conventionally grown foods. Conventionally grown foods with the highest pesticide absorption, according to the USDA, are green peppers, green beans, celery, strawberries, grapes, and peaches. Switch to organic for these foods. And don’t forget the switch to organic milk. Non-organic milk contains residues of added hormones and antibiotics.
It is never too early to begin cancer prevention for your children. Begin with organic foods. The absence of toxic pesticides and fertilizers in organic food, along with the additional antioxidants and immune boosters present in organic food, will enable your child’s immune system to help fight childhood illnesses.
