TED – Toxic Baby

10 facts on the dangers of pesticides

Pesticides

Pros Cons

• If pesticides are toxic, why are they used in agriculture? • Pesticides are developed with the aim of helping the farmer protect crops from damage

and thus increase the yield, or the storage life of crops. Different pesticides may do so by preventing the growth of weeds or damage to crops by insects, rodents and molds.

• Is the use of pesticides necessary? • Supporters argue that pesticide use is necessary to keep the cost of food production

low and to maintain an abundant, affordable supply of fruits and vegetables in the market. However, opponents argue that since pesticide-free agriculture has never been tried on a large enough scale, we really do not know if the cost of food production would increase, or by how much. Researchers have studied the profitability of farms that do not use synthetic pesticides and found that results can vary depending on the kind of crop and region of the country.

• There are other advantages of using pesticides. For example, pesticides can help prevent some types of food poisonings. Food that is damaged by insects is more easily attacked by mold. Pesticides that prevent insect-damage also help prevent the growth of a mold that produces a natural, but potent cancer-causing poison called aflatoxin in food.

When to buy organic?I will show you 29 pictures of fruits or vegetables. 14 of the fruits

/vegetables/fungi you should buy organic (if economically possible) due to high amounts of pesticide residue. 15 are pretty clean from

pesticide residue and the non-organic is considered safe.

1. Celery

2. Kiwi

3. Watermelon

4. Domestic Cantaloupe

5. Apples

6. Onions

7. Sweet Bell Peppers

8. Peaches

9. Sweet Corn

10. Strawberries

11. Pineapples

12. Imported Nectarines

13. Kale/Collard Greens

14. Green Beans

15. Avocado

16. Cabbage

17. Sweet peas

18. Grapes

19. Spinach

20. Lettuce

21. Asparagus

22. Mangoes

23. Sweet Potatoes

24. Cucumbers

25. Mushrooms

26. Grapefruit

27. Eggplant

28. Domestic Blueberries

29. Potatoes

Correct Answers

Let’s see how you did!

1. Celery

ORGANIC

2. Kiwi

3. Watermelon

4. Domestic Cantaloupe

5. Apples

ORGANIC

6. Onions

7. Sweet Bell Peppers

ORGANIC

8. Peaches

ORGANIC

9. Sweet Corn

10. Strawberries

ORGANIC

11. Pineapples

12. Imported Nectarines

ORGANIC

13. Kale/Collard GreensORGANIC

14. Green BeansORGANIC

15. Avocado

16. Cabbage

17. Sweet peas

18. Grapes

ORGANIC

19. Spinach

ORGANIC

20. Lettuce

ORGANIC

21. Asparagus

22. Mangoes

23. Sweet Potatoes

24. Cucumbers

ORGANIC

25. Mushrooms

26. Grapefruit

27. Eggplant

28. Domestic BlueberriesORGANIC

29. Potatoes

ORGANIC

Virtual Field Trip to the Supermarket

I will show you slides of different foods. You have a budget but you can purchase organic foods for the dirty dozen + two.

You can either pay the market or potentially pay later on in future doctor and hospital fees

Quiz Wiz Questions 1-29.

Write O for Organic or N for Non-organic

1. Kiwi

2. Celery

3. Domestic Cantaloupe

4. Watermelon

5. Onions

6. Apples

7. Peaches

8. Sweet Bell Peppers

9. Strawberries

10. Sweet Corn

11. Imported Nectarines

12. Pineapples

13. Green Beans

14. Kale/Collard Greens

15. Cabbage

16. Avocado

17. Grapes

18. Sweet peas

19. Spinach

20. Lettuce

21. Mangoes

22. Asparagus

23. Sweet Potatoes

24. Mushrooms

25. Cucumbers

26. Grapefruit

27. Eggplant

28. Potatoes

29. Domestic Blueberries

Quiz Wiz Answers for 1-29

Let’s see how you did!

1. Kiwi

Non-organic

2. Celery

Organic

3. Domestic Cantaloupe

Non-organic

4. Watermelon

Non-organic

5. Onions

Non-organic

6. Apples

Organic

7. PeachesOrganic

8. Sweet Bell Peppers

Organic

9. Strawberries

Organic

10. Sweet Corn

Non-organic

11. Imported Nectarines

Organic

12. Pineapples

Non-organic

13. Green Beans

Organic

14. Kale/Collard Greens

Organic

15. Cabbage

Non-organic

16. Avocado

Non-organic

17. Grapes

Organic

18. Sweet peas

Non-organic

19. Spinach

Organic

20. Lettuce

Organic

21. Mangoes

Non-organic

22. Asparagus

Non-organic

23. Sweet Potatoes

Non-organic

24. Mushrooms

Non-organic

25. Cucumbers

Organic

26. Grapefruit

Non-organic

27. Eggplant

Non-organic

28. Potatoes

Organic

29. Domestic Blueberries

Organic

Tips Wash all your fruits and vegetables. Wash ‘em until they squeak! Pesticides can also be absorbed from the ground water where plants are grown. This will saturate the produce with pesticides internally, so washing has its limits. But it makes sense to remove as much of the pesticide burden as you can, and there’s really no reason not to wash off what you can.

Don't Buy Shiny Produce. Apples, cucumbers, bell peppers and others are often treated with a glossy wax that seals in pesticides/fungicides making it much more difficult to remove toxic residues. Produce should not have a smooth glassy texture.

Avoid Produce from Abroad. South America and Mexico have fewer restrictions on pesticide use. Produce from other countries can be much more contaminated than that grown in the US, not that our standards are really adequate.

Be Careful with Peanuts. Peanuts grow fungus very easily, and most commercial distributors spray huge amounts of fungicide to control the problem. Avoid peanuts and peanut products not organically grown and stored without spraying, as it is impossible to totally remove fungicides once applied. Buy organic peanut butter or switch to almond or cashew butter. If you have a Vita-Mixer, buy organic peanuts and make your own peanut butter. Some health food stores have the grinders for making your own nut butters. Freshly ground tastes better and is free from the big sugar loads in most commercial peanut butters.

Eat Cilantro, Pumpkin Seeds & Sunflower Seeds. These all contain compounds help remove and detoxify pesticides from your system. Include them in your diet as often as possible.

Add Plant-Derived Detoxifiers. Chlorella, blue green algae, cilantro or barley grass are all powerful detoxifiers. Add them to your diet.

Supplement with Iodine. Iodine plays a role in detoxification, and it also enhances estrogen breakdown and excretion. This is especially important in ethnic minorities with a higher predisposition for hypothyroidism. When thyroid levels are low, more estrogen accumulates and it can promote fat accumulation and development of cancer. Bear in mind that many environmental toxins have estrogenic effects, and that high cumulative lifetime exposure to estrogenic compounds is associated with increased cancer risk.

• PEELING and TRIMMING: Peel fruits and vegetables when possible to reduce dirt, bacteria, and pesticides. Discard outer leaves of leafy vegetables. Trim fat from meat and skin from poultry and fish because some pesticides residues collect in fat.

• SELECTING A VARIETY OF FOODS: Eat a variety of foods, from a variety of sources. This will give you a better mix of nutrients and reduce your likelihood of exposure to a single pesticide.

Cooking off pesticides?Most pesticides are complex organic molecules and these tend not to be very heat stable. But reliably breaking down all pesticide molecules would likely require prolonged exposure to temperatures well over 100ºC, so you can’t rely on ordinary cooking to remove all traces.