Last night for dinner, I made rice with some sautéed vegetables. I mixed together some zucchini, red and green bell peppers, onions, garlic, some salt, pepper and a few other spices, and carrots. Entering this information into What's on my food website, I found that carrots have about 26 pesticide residues and bell peppers has about 53 pesticide residues. The list provided on the cite didn't list zucchini, onions or garlic so I am not sure how many pesticide residues are found on these items. Some of the pesticide residue found on sweet bell peppers were oxamyl oxime, thiamethoxam, acetamiprid, dinotefuran, and many others. When looking at the human health effects that come from exposure to these chemicals, they list the toxicity to our nervous system, developmental or reproductive issues, and are carcinogenic. Of course with the use of these pesticides, the effects on honeybees is present.
When I see the long list of chemical traces found on the food I eat everyday, I can't help but wonder how much these small amounts of exposure, day in and day out, are having on my health now and in the future. With the lack of understanding behind the long lasting effects of pesticides among human I begin to worry about the risk of developing cancer later in life or birthing a child with defects.
Thinking about what we should do about pesticide residues that are in our foods is tough. I feel that it is not a maybe anymore that these chemicals are found in our foods and that these chemicals are in fact in our food we consume. What to do now that we know about the existence of pesticide residue, is to inform the public about the importance of washing their produce or even if possible start their own small gardens growing vegetables they often eat. We should also be pressuring industrial farmers on not using these chemicals or decreasing the amount that they do use. Going to the companies that produce these chemicals and regulate their sales to foreign countries that may not understand the potential dangers of using their products.
Pesticides, herbicides, insecticides and all those other chemicals sprayed on agricultural crops is a terrible culture that we have begun to accept as the norm. Challenging this norm and raising awareness to this issue is the best way to shift what corporations are doing in the industrial farming business. As consumers we have the power to demand better or we'll take our business to those who care about humanity and the environments health.
When I see the long list of chemical traces found on the food I eat everyday, I can't help but wonder how much these small amounts of exposure, day in and day out, are having on my health now and in the future. With the lack of understanding behind the long lasting effects of pesticides among human I begin to worry about the risk of developing cancer later in life or birthing a child with defects.
Thinking about what we should do about pesticide residues that are in our foods is tough. I feel that it is not a maybe anymore that these chemicals are found in our foods and that these chemicals are in fact in our food we consume. What to do now that we know about the existence of pesticide residue, is to inform the public about the importance of washing their produce or even if possible start their own small gardens growing vegetables they often eat. We should also be pressuring industrial farmers on not using these chemicals or decreasing the amount that they do use. Going to the companies that produce these chemicals and regulate their sales to foreign countries that may not understand the potential dangers of using their products.
Pesticides, herbicides, insecticides and all those other chemicals sprayed on agricultural crops is a terrible culture that we have begun to accept as the norm. Challenging this norm and raising awareness to this issue is the best way to shift what corporations are doing in the industrial farming business. As consumers we have the power to demand better or we'll take our business to those who care about humanity and the environments health.
I totaled your amount and it was 79 chemicals not including the other items that you couldn't find! that is crazy.... I think pressuring factory farms who overkill their produce with chemicals is a viable option. But again like you mentioned before banning the use of certain chemicals all together would be another option. Especially if they are known to cause reproductive, hormonal, and cancer issues. I think if there were inspectors from the state and local governments to inspect and advise on alternative methods, then we could reduce the over-use of chemicals.
ReplyDeleteReally appreciate your share, and totally agree with you. I def feel like we are accepting them as normal. It almost feels too difficult or out of the way to ensure that everything in our life is pesticide free, where the alternative is literally slowly poisoning yourself.
ReplyDelete