For Immediate Release
[January 31, 2008 Mount Vernon, Wash.] – The January 30th edition of the Seattle P-I carried a front page story by Senior Correspondent Andrew Schneider, on a yearlong, peer-reviewed study conducted by Chenshen Lu, published online in the current issue of Environmental Health Perspectives. The study tested kids from ages 3-11, from two elementary schools and a Montessori pre-school on Mercer Island. It found that the saliva and urine in these children, who ate a variety of conventional food from area groceries, contained biological markers of brain-damaging organophosphates, the family of pesticides spawned by the creation of nerve gas agents in World War II.
Chlorpyrifos, made by Dow Chemical Co., is one of the most widely used
organophosphate insecticides in the United States and around the world. A recent animal study demonstrated that persistent cognitive impairment occurred in rats after chronic dietary exposure to chlorpyrifos.
“There’s a large underpinning of animal research for organophosphate pesticides, and particularly for chlorpyrifos, that points to bad outcomes in terms of effects on brain development and behavior,” says Dr. Theodore Slotkin, a professor of pharmacology and cancer biology at Duke University in North Carolina.
The EPA says that it has eliminated the use of organophosphates on many crops, and imposed restrictions on remaining pesticide uses.
“It’s appropriate to assume that if we – human beings – are exposed to (this class of) pesticides, even though it’s a low-level exposure on a daily basis, there are going to be some health concerns down the road,” said Lu, who is on the EPA’s pesticide advisory panel.
When the children in the study switched to organic foods, the pesticide measurement levels in urine disappeared. The level returned immediately when they went back on conventional diets.
“Research into organic foods and farming methods continues to demonstrate increased health factors,” said Jodie Buller, outreach coordinator for the Skagit Valley Food Co-op in Mount Vernon, Wash., “The more we learn about chemicals used on conventionally grown foods, the scarier the health reality becomes. The more we learn about organics, however, the more we learn how supportive they are to health and function of the mind and the body. This is especially true for kids at critical developmental stages, who need all the help they can get.”
Recent tests of organically grown foods show increased levels of antioxidants, according a recent State of Science Review (SSR). Dr. Charles Benbrook, Ph.D., compiled and analyzed existing scientific information for his report, Elevating Antioxidant Levels Through Organic Farming and Food Processing. The report reveals that on average, antioxidant levels were about 30 percent higher in organic food compared to conventional food grown under the same conditions.
Because of the many potential health benefits associated with antioxidant consumption, increasing average daily antioxidant intake through the diet has emerged as an important health goal," says Benbrook. "This goal was a major factor shaping the new USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which increase the average recommended intake of fruits and vegetables to at least nine servings per day from the original five. By generating higher concentrations of antioxidants in fresh produce and other organic foods, organic farming can help people increase their daily consumption of antioxidants without a proportional increase in calories."
This report reviews, among other data, 15 quantitative comparisons of antioxidant levels in organic versus conventional fruit and vegetables. Organically grown produce had higher levels in 13 out of 15 cases. On average, the organic crops contained about one-third higher antioxidant and/or phenolic content than comparable conventional produce. Several studies found levels of specific vitamins, flavonoids or antioxidants in organic foods to be two or three times the level found in matched samples of conventional foods. In studies making direct comparisons of levels of antioxidants in organic versus conventional produce, higher levels are often found in organic produce but the converse is rarely true.
A wide range of factors can influence the mix of antioxidants that a plant manufactures, as well as the levels the plant produces at any given point. In general, factors that impose stress on plants tend to trigger a plant's innate defense mechanisms and these mechanisms are driven by and/or entail the synthesis of antioxidants.
Studies reviewed in the SSR provide evidence that several core practices on organic fruit and vegetable farms (use of compost, cover crops, slow release forms of nitrogen) can increase antioxidant and polyphenol content compared to conventional practices that depend on commercial fertilizers and pesticides. The prohibition of pesticides in organic farming practices provides additional benefits to consumers who choose organic.
[January 31, 2008 Mount Vernon, Wash.] – The January 30th edition of the Seattle P-I carried a front page story by Senior Correspondent Andrew Schneider, on a yearlong, peer-reviewed study conducted by Chenshen Lu, published online in the current issue of Environmental Health Perspectives. The study tested kids from ages 3-11, from two elementary schools and a Montessori pre-school on Mercer Island. It found that the saliva and urine in these children, who ate a variety of conventional food from area groceries, contained biological markers of brain-damaging organophosphates, the family of pesticides spawned by the creation of nerve gas agents in World War II.
Chlorpyrifos, made by Dow Chemical Co., is one of the most widely used
organophosphate insecticides in the United States and around the world. A recent animal study demonstrated that persistent cognitive impairment occurred in rats after chronic dietary exposure to chlorpyrifos.
“There’s a large underpinning of animal research for organophosphate pesticides, and particularly for chlorpyrifos, that points to bad outcomes in terms of effects on brain development and behavior,” says Dr. Theodore Slotkin, a professor of pharmacology and cancer biology at Duke University in North Carolina.
The EPA says that it has eliminated the use of organophosphates on many crops, and imposed restrictions on remaining pesticide uses.
“It’s appropriate to assume that if we – human beings – are exposed to (this class of) pesticides, even though it’s a low-level exposure on a daily basis, there are going to be some health concerns down the road,” said Lu, who is on the EPA’s pesticide advisory panel.
When the children in the study switched to organic foods, the pesticide measurement levels in urine disappeared. The level returned immediately when they went back on conventional diets.
“Research into organic foods and farming methods continues to demonstrate increased health factors,” said Jodie Buller, outreach coordinator for the Skagit Valley Food Co-op in Mount Vernon, Wash., “The more we learn about chemicals used on conventionally grown foods, the scarier the health reality becomes. The more we learn about organics, however, the more we learn how supportive they are to health and function of the mind and the body. This is especially true for kids at critical developmental stages, who need all the help they can get.”
Recent tests of organically grown foods show increased levels of antioxidants, according a recent State of Science Review (SSR). Dr. Charles Benbrook, Ph.D., compiled and analyzed existing scientific information for his report, Elevating Antioxidant Levels Through Organic Farming and Food Processing. The report reveals that on average, antioxidant levels were about 30 percent higher in organic food compared to conventional food grown under the same conditions.
Because of the many potential health benefits associated with antioxidant consumption, increasing average daily antioxidant intake through the diet has emerged as an important health goal," says Benbrook. "This goal was a major factor shaping the new USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which increase the average recommended intake of fruits and vegetables to at least nine servings per day from the original five. By generating higher concentrations of antioxidants in fresh produce and other organic foods, organic farming can help people increase their daily consumption of antioxidants without a proportional increase in calories."
This report reviews, among other data, 15 quantitative comparisons of antioxidant levels in organic versus conventional fruit and vegetables. Organically grown produce had higher levels in 13 out of 15 cases. On average, the organic crops contained about one-third higher antioxidant and/or phenolic content than comparable conventional produce. Several studies found levels of specific vitamins, flavonoids or antioxidants in organic foods to be two or three times the level found in matched samples of conventional foods. In studies making direct comparisons of levels of antioxidants in organic versus conventional produce, higher levels are often found in organic produce but the converse is rarely true.
A wide range of factors can influence the mix of antioxidants that a plant manufactures, as well as the levels the plant produces at any given point. In general, factors that impose stress on plants tend to trigger a plant's innate defense mechanisms and these mechanisms are driven by and/or entail the synthesis of antioxidants.
Studies reviewed in the SSR provide evidence that several core practices on organic fruit and vegetable farms (use of compost, cover crops, slow release forms of nitrogen) can increase antioxidant and polyphenol content compared to conventional practices that depend on commercial fertilizers and pesticides. The prohibition of pesticides in organic farming practices provides additional benefits to consumers who choose organic.
