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2005
Study
Indicates Organic Foods Are Best for Children
By Marla Cone, Times
Staff Writer
Switching to organic foods provides children "dramatic and immediate"
protection from widely used pesticides that are used on a variety of crops,according
to a new study by a team of federally funded scientists. Concentrations of two
organophosphate pesticides --malathion and chlorpyrifos -- declined substantially
in the bodies of elementary-school age children during a five-day period when
organic foods were substituted for conventional foods.
The two chemicals are the most commonly used insecticides in U.S. agriculture.
More than 2 million pounds were applied to California crops in 2003, according
to records of the state Department of Pesticide Regulation. The health effects
of exposure to minute amounts of pesticides found in food are largely unknown,
especially for children. Some research, however, suggests that the residue may
harm the developing nervous system. For 15 days, a team of environmental health
scientists from the University of Washington, Emory University and the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention tested the urine of 23 elementary-school
age children in the Seattle area.
During the first three days and last seven days, the children ate their normal
foods. But during the middle five days, organic items were substituted for most
of their diet, including fruits, vegetables, juices and wheat and corn-based
processed items such as cereal and pasta. Average levels of both pesticides
in the children "decreased to the non-detect levels immediately after the
introduction of organic diets and remained non-detectable until the conventional
diets were reintroduced," the researchers reported Thursday in the online
version of the scientific journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
When they ate organic foods, the children on average had zero malathion detected
in their urine, with a high of 7 parts per billion in one child. But when the
children returned to eating conventional foods, one child had as much as 263
ppb and the average increased to 1.6 ppb. For chlorpyrifos, the children had
less than one part per billion when they ate organic foods, but the average
increased five-fold as soon as they returned to their previous diet.
The findings suggest that children are exposed to organophosphate chemicals
mainly through food, not through spraying in homes or other sources. In 2001,
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency banned most residential uses of chlorpyrifos
but has left most agricultural uses unrestricted.
Three other organophosphate pesticides that are not widely used on farms and
are more highly restricted by the EPA were undetectable in most of the children,
according to the study, directed by Emory University's Dr. Chensheng Lu.
"In conclusion," the researchers wrote, "we were able to demonstrate
that an organic diet provides a dramatic and immediate protective effect against
exposure to organophosphorus pesticides that are commonly used in agricultural
production."
Margaret Reeves, a staff scientist at the San Francisco-based Pesticide Action
Network North America, said the findings are "not surprising because we
know that food is an important source of (organophosphate) exposure. Also, we
know that these pesticides don't last very long ... in the body, and you can
have a relatively quick response" to a diet change.
Pesticide manufacturers say that while low levels of residue are detectable
on many products, there is no evidence that children are harmed by them. They
say that pesticides, which are the most highly tested and regulated chemicals
in the United States, are vital to providing an affordable and plentiful world
food supply.
But Reeves said the children's study "is a pretty strong argument that
(organic food) is a good way to go, if you have access to it and can afford
it."
Organic foods can be expensive and sometimes difficult to find. But parents
can minimize their children's exposure if they substitute organic products for
those that contain the most residue. Experts advise parents to wash produce
and peel skins if they buy conventional foods but for foods that cannot be peeled,
such as grapes and strawberries, organic may be a wise choice.
In the late 1990s, U.S. Department of Agriculture data showed that nearly three-quarters
of foods sampled from conventionally grown crops contained pesticide residue,
while 23 percent of organic products did.
The Consumers Union reported in 2000 that peaches, apples, pears, grapes, green
beans, spinach, winter squash, strawberries and cantaloupe had the highest levels
of pesticide residues. Those with few residues included bananas, broccoli, canned
peaches, canned or frozen peas, canned or frozen corn, milk, orange juice, apple
juice and grape juice.
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