The Green Parent | Need Another Reason To Go Organic?

Need Another Reason To Go Organic?

If you’re still not convinced that organic foods are the best choice for your family and the environment, consider this…a study released this month in the peer-reviewed journal, Environmental Health Perspectives, concludes that pesticides are present in the urine and saliva of children who eat conventionally grown produce. And not just any pesticides. The researchers tested for malathion and chlorpyrifos and other chemicals in the organophosphate family.

Malathion and chlorpyrifos are banned for use in homes, but they are still widely used on crops. In fact, organophosphate pesticides account for approximately half the insecticides used in the U.S. They work by poisoning the nervous system in pests (hmmm…aren’t we always told to keep poisons away from children?) In humans, these pesticides can cause damage to the nervous system, organ damage, behavior disorders, immune system dysfunction, behavioral abnormalities, and hormone disruption.

In other words, these are nasty chemicals and you don’t want them anywhere near your kids. But maybe you thought that the pesticides wash off when you clean your veggies at home, or peel off with the skins. Unfortunately, according to the EHP study, it just ain’t so.

The good news is that it’s easy to go organic and protect your kids from pesticide exposure. And the researchers detected a difference almost immediately. According to Chengsheng Lu, the study’s author:

“The transformation is extremely rapid. Once you switch from conventional food to organic, the pesticides that we can measure in the urine disappears. The level returns immediately when you go back to the conventional diets.”

The Green Parent: A Kid-Friendly Guide to Earth Friendly Living gives you a complete rundown of the what/where/and how to buy organic (don’t forget to use the coupon code TGP2008 to get the book for just $9.95 with FREE shipping). Also, check out this previous post on buying organic food.

And if your pantry needs an organic makeover, enter the Grocery Makeover contest over at Go Organic! for Earth Day. The grand prize is a day with Chef Domenica Catelli (including a cooking lesson!) and a full pantry, refrigerator and freezer makeover with FREE organic groceries. Five first prize winners will also receive Chef Catelli’s new cookbook and a $200 gift certificate.

It just doesn’t get any easier than that!