Thursday, August 28, 2014

Pesticide Use And Cancer

By Cliff Walsh


Despite the fact that farmers, factory workers in pesticide plants, and those employees that apply these chemicals suffer from cancer at rates significantly more than other Americans, the U.S. government continues sit idly by while the agricultural industry dumps hundreds of millions of pounds of dangerous chemicals on our food each year, roughly three pounds per American. The government funds very little research and provides little oversight to the use of pesticides. It's even in our drinking water.

Pesticides are used to kill or deter insects, weeds, fungus, bacteria, and animals. It is not a stretch to believe that the same chemicals used to kill insects and plants on our food could kill our cells once we ingest those chemicals. Carcinogenic chemicals are known to damage and even alter our DNA, due to the creation of free radicals that can accelerate the spread of cancerous cells.

Many of these dangerous chemicals are also fat soluble, meaning they can remain in our fat cells for years. I went through about two weeks of detox symptoms when I converted to an organic vegan diet. There were definitely chemicals hitting my blood stream. The most common symptom is a consistent headache.

Despite a lack of government effort, the amount of research that has been done by private organizations on the link between cancer and pesticides is monumental and damning. In a U.S. study, 56,000 farm workers who sprayed pesticides were tested for skin cancer. Results were compared to the workers' time spent administering certain pesticides. The risk of skin cancer increased as exposure rose, to as high as 2.5x more for those with the highest chemical exposure.

A study in Argentina recently showed a diverse range of cancer rates among its provinces that were highly correlated to the usage of pesticides. The instances of cancer were twice as high in some areas, compared to those will limited pesticide application. This is an appropriate study for Americans to consider as Argentina uses similar levels of pesticides as we do. The two countries, unfortunately, generate more than two-thirds of global GMO foods. Herbicides and insecticides are used heavily on genetically-modified crops.

Spend a few minutes looking over research on the internet and you can find well-respected doctors and university researchers connecting pesticides to a variety of different cancers.

We can't trust the companies making and profiting from pesticides that tell us that there's nothing wrong with them. This is from the same people that gave us Agent Orange, DDT, PCBs, and GMOs. Sorry, but your word is no longer good here. And don't forget Big Tobacco and how hard they fought to keep the lies alive.

The best way to avoid insecticides and herbicides is to eat cleaner foods, mainly organic, although non-GMO can help as well. Thin-skinned fruits and most berries should be eaten from organic farms. I would recommend filtering your drinking water as well.




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