The
Center for Unhindered Living
Why Eat Organic?
According to the Pesticide Action Network (PAN), data
collected by the
Centers for Disease Control showed that in a study of more than 2,648
people in which they were testing for 34 different pesticides, the
average participant in the study carried 13 out of the 23 pesticides
that PAN evaluated. According to a report by USA Today in which
they spoke with Margaret Reeves, a senior scientist at PAN, many of the
pesticides in the study have been linked to infertility, birth defects,
cancer and other serious health problems. According to a quote
from Dr. Reeves, "A growing body of research suggests that even at very
low levels, the
combination of these chemicals can be harmful to our health." (1) The
PAN study also found that children between 6 and 11 years old were
exposed to the nerve-damaging
pesticide chlorpyrifos at four times the level deemed acceptable by the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Chlorpyrifos is designed to kill
insects by disrupting the nervous system.
Another issue is the genetically-modified food issue.
Genetically-modified foods are dangerous. They create human toxins and
poisons in the foods they inhabit; they have been shown to increase
cancer risk; genetically-modified foods are lower in food qualitiy and
nutrition; some genetically-modified foods have what are called
antibiotic resistant marker genes which many doctors and researchers
fear will contribute to the growing problem of antibiotic resistance in
humans; genetically modified crops also allow the farmer to spray three
times the normal level of pesticides on the plants without damaging the
crop, which means you are eating foods that contain three times the
pesticides; because the creation of genetically-modified foods requires
gene splicing, this inevitably results in the unintentional creation of
new viruses and bacteria since these plants are engineered to resist
viruses, so the viruses mutate into new forms.
What does this have to do with organic foods? Certified Organic
Foods are REQUIRED to be NON-Genetically modified in order to be
certified as organic. So the best way to protect yourself from GM foods
is to buy only organic. Currently, more than 75% of all processed
foods contain genetically-modified ingredients. And you can't really
tell by the label whether the foods are GM. To read a more
thorough discussion of this subject see http://www.mercola.com/2000/dec/3/ge_food.htm
The
Future of Food is a documentary on the very real
problems of genetically modified foods. You need to watch this video!!!
Here is a great resource. It's a site called True
Food Now and it gives a list of which foods at the store contain
genetically modified ingredients and which are safe to eat.
This
is just some of the news about pesticides and genetically-modified
foods and how deadly they
are. There are many other studies and reports I could have
cited. But the question is, WHY should we put these poisons in
our bodies when certified organic foods that are free of pesticides are
available to us?
The extra cost of organic foods is not a good excuse. First of
all, organic foods are becoming more and more affordable as the demand
for them increases. In an article by
Colleen Huber of Naturpathyworks, she compared a typical processed
food menu with a typical organic food menu, went to the store and
priced all the products, and found that one can buy an all organic diet
for actually a few cents less per week than the typical processed food
diet. Also, even if it did cost more, my investment in my family's
health is more important than anything else, and I would gladly spend
the extra money to make sure their food supply is healthy and
safe. You could think about giving up that newspaper
subscription, cable television, going to the movies, and lots of other
stuff in order to make room in your budget for organic foods.
Walk to work or take the bus instead of drive, that will save you lots
of money in today's high priced fuel market.
Besides, if you grow some yourselves, that will cut the cost.
Start a grower's coop in your city and share the chores of growing the
foods with others interested in gardening and living organically.
Back to The
Organic Okie
Back to Unhindered
Living Knowledge Collection
Back to the Unhindered
Living Products
(1)
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2004-05-11-pesticide-study_x.htm
The Center for Unhindered Living
Lawton, OK 73505
Copyright 200-87 Judie C. Rall and The Center for Unhindered Living