The Juice Lady's Weekend Weight-Loss Diet by Cherie Calbom

Author:Cherie Calbom
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: Charisma House
Published: 2011-10-24T16:00:00+00:00

WHY CHOOSE ORGANIC PRODUCE?

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers 60 percent of herbicides, 90 percent of fungicides, and 30 percent of insecticides to be carcinogenic, and most are damaging to the nervous system as well.2 Pesticide residues pose long-term health risks, such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, male infertility, miscarriages, and birth defects, along with immediate health risks to farmers and farmworkers from acute intoxication such as vomiting, diarrhea, blurred vision, tremors, and convulsions.3

Many pesticides that are known or suspected to cause brain and nervous system damage, cancer, disruption of the endocrine and immune systems, and a host of other toxic effects are in our food supply. Though the cancer-causing pesticide Alar was banned twenty years ago, we are still no better protected.

There is a far greater incidence of cancer, particularly lymphoma, leukemia, and cancer of the brain, skin, stomach, and prostate among farmers, their families, and farmworkers when compared with cancer rates among the general public.4 This data alone should be alarming enough to ban all pesticides in America. But there are huge profits at stake for big corporations that lobby hard in Washington, pay for studies to show that their pesticides aren’t that harmful, and “educate” farmers on the merits of pesticides, making them believe that we would not have enough food to feed people if it weren’t for pesticides.

This is far from true. Our local co-op (PCC) published an excellent article in their Sound Consumer paper in September 2010 titled “Organic Can Feed the World.” Author Maria Rodale states, “Biotech and chemical companies have spent billions of dollars trying to make us think that synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and genetically modified organisms (GMO) are necessary to feed a growing population. But science indicates otherwise. There’s clear and conclusive scientific data showing organic agriculture is key not only to solving global hunger but also to … promoting public health, revitalizing farming communities, and restoring the environment.”5

Research by the Rodale Institute called the Farm System Trial (FST), which began in 1981, shows that once soil is restored organically from depletion due to years of mismanagement, organic crops yield comparable to yields using chemicals. The study also found that organic farm yields are higher during times of drought and floods due to stronger root systems and better moisture retention. The FST data also showed that organic production requires 30 percent less energy than chemical production for growing corn and soybeans. They also found that organic production stores a great deal of carbon and concluded that if we returned globally to organic farming, we could reduce our CO2 pollution significantly. These findings are supported by the $12 million study by the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science, and Technology for Development.6

When you purchase produce from certified organic farmers or from local farmers who sell unsprayed produce but are working without certification, you won’t get synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms, or ionizing radiation. Buying your vegetables from a local source is also the best way to insure freshness. Keep in mind that the fresher the vegetables and fruit, the more biophotons you’ll be receiving.

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