Pesticide Control

I know you've all heard about pesticides that affect our food, but what are they really? And how can we avoid them?

Pesticides were created to protect crops from insects and other pests as well as control weeds and disease from hurting the crops. This would lead to increased amounts of production and more money.

But of course, anytime we try to do something that is unnatural, there are quite a few side effects.

One of those is soil degeneration which decreases the quality of the soil making it more difficult from year to year to grow crops. Which decreases the yield of the crop, which goes against the whole reason for using pesticides in the first place.

Another side effect results from human consumption of pesticides: herbicides (weed control), fungicides (mold control), rodenticides (rodent control), insectisides (insect control), and antimicrobials (bacteria control). The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has determined that between 30-90% of pesticides used, depending on what type, are cancer causing. Other side effects listed on their website include nerve damage, birth defects, long-term health effects, and blocking the absorption of nutrients necessary for healthy growth of children. Children can be affected more easily because they are still growing and developing and pesticide damage could cause permanent damage.

Pesticides can be found in fruits, vegetables, and animal products because the animals eat feed loaded with pesticides that builds up in their system.

This next part I'm quoting directly from mercola.com because it was stated so well.

"Of course the EPA notes that the government does regulate pesticides to determine "that they will not pose unreasonable risks to human health or the environment." For food items, the EPA sets limits on how much pesticides can be used and how much can remain on food. However, there is really no way to know just how many pesticides are left on the food you eat aside from having it lab-tested yourself.
Alarmingly, the EPA also says, "You and your family have a right to know under the law that in certain cases, such as economic loss to farmers, a pesticide not meeting the safety standard may be authorized." This means that in "certain cases" unsafe, unauthorized pesticides can legally be sprayed on your food!"

YIKES, right?

So the best way to avoid them is to buy organic fruits and vegetables and free-range meat. More on that on another post. (I think I write that frequently and don't keep up with my promises!)

If you can't afford to switch to all organic produce, check out this great website.

http://www.foodnews.org/

You can download a copy of a guide from the Environmental Working Group that tells you which produce has the most and least amount of pesticides so you know which ones are better to buy organically. For example, bananas and avocados are low on the pesticide list so you could choose not to buy them organically. Peaches and apples are high on the list so are best eaten organically.
Obviously, some people will say buy everything organic, but to me, that's not totally practical so I think this guide is quite helpful.

Cool, right? Enjoy!