In last few weeks parents have been barraged with unsettling information about pesticide residues in their children’s food. Environ mental groups, which have been raising the alarm for a decade, have been joined by the National Academy of Sciences and the three Federal agencies that regulate pesticides the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration and the Agriculture Department in acknowledging that the amount of pesticide residues in food is too great. This IS true especially for infants and children,
While the experts argue about how to reduce pesticide residues, parents want to know what to do. From the Natural Resources Defense Council to the United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association the refrain is: keep feeding your children fruits and vegetables, whether or not they are organic, because the benefits outweigh the risks,
“In fact,” said Laurie Mot, a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group, “eat more fruits and vegetables, because there are anti-carcinogens in fruits and vegetables. In addition, they are filled with vitamins, minerals and fiber and contain virtually no fat.”
That advice, though, begs the question; If there are too many pesticides in food, how can it be safe for children? Sensing that contradiction, parents feel great anxiety each time there are headlines about pesticide residues in food. It has happened so often that a pattern has developed,
The headlines are followed by a frenzy of activity. There is a demand that supermarkets carry organic produce, but then the demand dies down, and most people g0 back to buying conventionally grown produce.
But everything does not stay the same. The amount of organic produce available has increased, Al though such produce remains a minuscule part of the market, it looks much better than it did in the 60′.s and 70’s, when organic fruits and vegetables were wilted, bruised and spotted produce that only the most dedicated would willingly buy.
Supermarket chains that sell as much organic food as they can find keep growing. Fresh Fields, which opened its first store two years ago in Washington, has eight Stores in that area and two in Philadelphia. Whole Foods Market has 29 stores in eight states. In Manhattan, Whole Foods Market, a fixture in So Ho for many years, recently opened an outpost on the Upper West Side. And 25% of the farmers at the city’s Green markets sell organic produce.
Even if organic food was available to everyone, though, not everyone could afford it; some of it costs the same as conventionally grown produce, but most of it costs 10 to 30% more.
But there are some foods grown with fewer pesticides than usual that cost no more than conventionally grown produce. Pesticide use is reduced in various ways, including IPM, or integrated pest management, which substitutes beneficial insect’s crop rotation and soil tillage for some pesticides. Some stores place signs over produce grown under IPM, although most do not.
On the West Coast, some super markets carry produce that has been grown with chemicals but is tested after harvesting. If the produce has no detectable residues it is labeled that way. The testing system, called NutriClean is run by Scientific Cornification Systems in California.
Environmental groups make the following recommendations to help you buy the safest food possible for your children. Many of the recommendations, along with other advice can be found in “The Way We Grow,’ written by Anne Witte Garland with the organization Mothers and Others for a livable Planet (Berkley Books $8.95; telephone (800) 6318571).
Push grocers to stock organic foods of all kinds, not just produce, or foods tested and found to have no detectable pesticide residues; then buy them,
Shop at farmers’ markets. The produce generally contains fewer pesticides—fungicides insecticides and herbicides because the crops don’t have to travel long distances and farmers don’t have to meet the cosmetic standards of the conventional produce market. Farmers’ markets also sell more organically grown food than conventional supermarkets.
When buying fresh organic food, ask for proof of third party certification. The store should have such a certificate available, Pack aged organic food should name the certifying organization on the label. Organizations like California Certified Organic Farmers do third party certification, Organic produce should look as fresh as conventionally grown produce though it may have some blemishes because it has not been sprayed with chemicals. Such imperfections do not affect the quality or flavor.
If you buy conventionally grown produce, wash and peel it to help eliminate the pesticide residue. Use a vegetable scrub brush when appropriate. When washing, add a few drops of mild soap that does not have dyes or perfumes. When washing leafy vegetables, squeeze some lemon juice in the water and leave the greens in for no more than a minute, Not all pesticides can be eliminated in this fashion, because some of them are taken’ up through the roots and others penetrate the skin or peel, but every little bit helps. Avoid imported produce from countries with less stringent pesticide regulations. The easiest way to do that is to buy foods in sea son in other words, don’t buy cherries or plums in the winter.
Let your representatives in Washington know that you don’t want pesticides in your food or water. You can also write to Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts and Representative Henry Waxman of California, who have introduced legislation to strengthen pesticide regulations.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 29, 1993
