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Pesticides

Using the “What’s on my food” website, I searched the general food items which comprised the previous night’s dinner: chicken breast, rice, green beans, and water. My search began with mild results, but became progressively worse as I went to the next food item. Chicken breast was found to have 7 pesticide residues; 2 presenting with developmental or reproductive toxins. Rice was found to have 15 residues, with 10 suspected hormone disruptors. Green beans had 44 residues; 21 of which were suspected hormone disruptors and 11 were neurotoxins. For water, there were 14 suspected hormone disruptors and 9 developmental or reproductive toxins among the 59 residues found.




These findings are nothing to be proud of, but it made me realize how our diet greatly impacts our overall health. Although the general population may be working towards a well-balanced diet, the food items they consume—no matter how “healthy”—are actually causing internal chaos as the pesticide residues wreak havoc on our bodies’ natural chemical compounds. It is therefore crucial to move towards organically grown food, so that we can support local farms who grow food naturally and are environmentally friendly, but most importantly pesticide-free. The greater support our local farmers receive from the wider community, the better for public health in the long-term. Stores should sell more products from local farms and gardens. Farmers markets should be more openly available and accessible, especially for individuals and families who would otherwise be unable to afford or access these resources.

Comments

  1. JudyJudeOctober 16, 2018 at 8:18 PM

    Yes, everything seems to impact our health overall. Interesting that rice had 15 residues and green beans had 44. Wow! Do you have a Sprouts near you? It is considered a farmers market and I really like their products and produce. If you have not been, I highly recommend it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Antonio SorianoNovember 9, 2018 at 6:08 PM

    I have been to Sprouts, and I can advocate that their products are really delicious and organic. Your meal is very similar to what have at least once a week, it was surprising to see chicken breast has a potential 7 pesticide residues. I agree that Farmers markets should be easily accessible, I personally have to travel 20 minutes to get to my closest local market.

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