Fw: Lincoln: Farm Bill Reauthorization Hearings to Begin this Month

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From: "Friedlander, Liz (Agriculture)" <Liz_Friedlander@agriculture.senate.gov>

Date: Tue, 1 Jun 2010 14:26:43 -0500

Subject: Lincoln: Farm Bill Reauthorization Hearings to Begin this Month

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 1, 2010

Contact: Courtney Rowe or Liz Friedlander, 202-224-2035

 

Lincoln: Farm Bill Reauthorization Hearings to Begin this Month

 

Washington – U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, announced today that the Committee will begin hearings on the reauthorization of the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 ("Farm Bill") this month. The first hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, June 30, 2010 at 9:30 a.m. and will focus on maintaining a strong U.S. farm policy. The hearing will be held in the Senate Agriculture Committee, Room 328A of the Russell Senate Office Building.  

 

"The farm bill is one of the most important pieces of legislation Congress considers on behalf of rural America and our nation's farmers and ranchers," said Lincoln. "As we look toward the upcoming farm bill, I will use these hearings to gather feedback on how the current bill is working and lay the ground work for the future of our nation's farm, nutrition, conservation, rural development, research, forestry and energy priorities. This first hearing will focus on maintaining a sound U.S. farm policy to protect our most vital resource - our food supply. Our food security, millions of jobs and a good share of our national economy depends on the work our farmers and ranchers do every day. The farm bill is necessary and vitally important to ensure we continue to have a safe, reliable and affordable supply of food, while protecting our natural resources."

 

As Chairman, Lincoln is charged with leading the Committee through the multi-year process of writing and passing the nation's next farm bill. Lincoln plans to hold multiple hearings over the next few months, focused on various issues that will be addressed in the legislation, covering the scope of American agriculture. Below is an outline of topics to be explored as the Committee builds a public record that will serve as a basis for the reauthorization of the farm bill. Dates and locations will be announced in the following weeks.

 

Hearing 1: Maintaining Our Domestic Food Supply through a Strong U.S. Farm Policy

Date: Wednesday, June 30, 2010  

Time: 9:30 a.m.

Location: Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Room 328A of the Russell Senate Office Building

 

Hearing 2: Revitalizing the Rural Economy through Robust Rural Development

 

Hearing 3: Promoting Conservation Practices that Preserve Our Natural Resources and Wildlife Habitat for Future Generations

 

Hearing 4: Ensuring Agriculture is Part of Our Nation's Energy Future

 

Lincoln, who hails from a seventh-generation Arkansas farm family, became the first woman and the first Arkansan to serve as Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee on September 9, 2009. She has served on the Committee since first being elected to the Senate in 1999.

 

--30--

 

 

Schools Looking To Replace Snacks With Fruit, Veggies

http://www.vpr.net/news_detail/88158/


Schools Looking To Replace Snacks With Fruit, Veggies


(Host) With childhood obesity a growing epidemic, states and local communities are trying to come up with new and better ways to educate kids about nutrition.

And we're going to look at the topic in a series of reports this week.

In Vermont, 57 schools have taken over snack time to encourage kids to eat more fruits and vegetables.

As VPR's Nina Keck reports, school officials and students alike are eating up the new program.

(Burnham) "Friends you have a new one today, a new fruit. You're getting grapes, but you're also trying pineapple. Okay?"

(Students) "Yeahhh!!!!!"

(Keck) It's snack time at Mettawee Community School in West Pawlet, and all eyes are on Brook Burnham as she wheels her food cart from classroom to classroom. The preschoolers, she says, get especially excited.

(Burnham) "Hello friends."

(Students) "Hello."

(Burnham) "I brought your snack down today instead of Mrs. Collard coming to get it. So you have grapes and you have pineapple to try, a new one."

(Student) "I like grapes!"

(Burnham) "You like grapes!"
(Keck) The 190 students at Mettaweee enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables every morning thanks to a $13,000 state education grant funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. To qualify, a school has to have a high percentage of low income students. Heather Champney, Mettawee's kitchen manager, says they couldn't afford the fruit, or a part-time employee to prepare it, without the funding.

(Champney) "Just for an average for the month of March, we spent $1,300 just on the fruit and vegetables."

(Keck) Champney and fourth-grade teacher Mark Rampone say it's money well spent, since so many kids don't get fresh fruits or vegetables at home.

(
VPR Photo/Nina Keck
Mark Rampone
Rampone) "Now we haven't had pineapple as one of our snacks, yet. Has anyone here had fresh pineapple? A number of kids - some kids, no, though. Will - you've never had fresh pineapple before? Have you had canned? No? So this'll be a nice thing for you to try."

(Keck) Over the past 30 years, the childhood obesity rate in the United States has doubled for children and tripled for adolescents. Overweight kids are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. Since 95 percent of young people are enrolled in schools, many experts believe innovative school programs can go a long way to help fight obesity. Mandy Mayer is Mettowee's nurse and health coordinator.

(Mayer) "We can stand up in front of a class as much as we want and lecture them about healthy eating."

(Keck) But for the kids to really absorb and practice what they learn, Mayer says hands-on modeling is what works best.

(Mayer) "They have to have the fruits and vegetables there every day so they can see this is what we do. They'll be hungry, they're ready for it and all together as a class they'll be sharing in wholesome foods."

(Keck) It's a lesson 12-year-old Autumn Manning clearly gets.

(Manning) "Yeah, because the choices we make now can affect who we are when we grow up. Like if we get into the habit of eating fresh fruits and veggies now, we'll be more likely to eat them later on ‘cuz we're already in the habits.

(Keck) Her classmate, Emily Couper, says it's also a lesson kids are taking home.

(Couper) "Yesterday me and my mom were at the store and I asked her to get some kiwi ‘cuz that was a fruit that I had here and I really enjoyed it."

(Keck) Officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture say schools in all 50 states are participating and the response has been overwhelmingly positive.

Because the program has been offered nationally for less than two years, there is little scientific data on its effectiveness.

But officials say anecdotal evidence has pushed the agency to boost funding from $40 million to $150 million annually.

Vermont will see its funding nearly double to $1.2 million - meaning even more schools will be able to take part next year.

Washington Post: Hidden hazards in fruits and veggies

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/31/AR2010053101914.html

Hidden hazards in fruits and veggies


By Carolyn Butler
Tuesday, June 1, 2010

If you've been in a supermarket lately you've seen my type: roaming the produce aisles in a daze, silently debating organic or conventionally grown, local or imported, while weighing taste and health benefits against the often exorbitant price differential. And after all that, I usually end up deciding that eating more fruits and vegetables of any sort is the most important thing, no matter how they're grown or where they come from.

Now comes new research that is causing me to rethink my position and wonder whether I should be concentrating on limiting my family's exposure to the pesticides often found in trace amounts on commercially grown produce. What got me going is a study in last month's edition of the journal Pediatrics suggesting that even low levels of these chemicals are associated with an increased risk of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in children.

Researchers at the University of Montreal and Harvard University looked for organophosphate pesticide metabolites, an indicator of pesticide exposure, in the urine of 1,139 kids ages 8 to 15 and found that close to 95 percent had at least one of these chemical byproducts in their system. Those with the highest levels were 93 percent more likely to have received an ADHD diagnosis than children with none in their system. Those with above-average levels of the most common organophosphate byproduct -- they made up a third of the whole group -- were more than twice as likely as the rest to have ADHD.

"This is not a small effect," says study co-author Maryse Bouchard, a researcher in the University of Montreal's environmental and occupational health department, "and it is certainly cause for concern." She adds that while prior research has proved that high levels of organophosphate exposure can have negative impacts on children's behavior and cognitive function, in this study "we are talking about very low levels of exposure . . . levels that were believed previously to be safe and harmless but which are now associated with a serious health risk." She points out that most pesticide exposure today comes through food, particularly conventional fruits and vegetables.
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Bouchard and other experts caution that the new findings, while suggestive, should not be considered definitive. "I wouldn't go before a group of parents today and say, 'Look, if you don't want your child to have ADHD, you should be concerned about pesticides,' " says Lynn Goldman, a pediatrician and professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, who considers Bouchard's study well done. "We certainly don't want fear to cut fruit and vegetable consumption. But I do think this is well worth evaluation in other populations, over a longer period of time."

If you're concerned, there is a wealth of information establishing just how many chemicals we consume, starting with the Department of Agriculture's Pesticide Data Program, which tests thousands of food samples a year, tracking specific residue levels. According to its most recent report in 2008, for example, a type of organophosphate called malathion was detected in 28 percent of frozen blueberries, 25 percent of fresh strawberries and 19 percent of celery. "It's easy to have a dozen exposures [to different pesticides] in the course of a day," says Richard Wiles, senior vice president for policy at the Environmental Working Group, a Washington-based environmental advocacy group .

Still, we're doing better than before in reducing pesticide dangers in food, says Charles Benbrook, chief scientist for the Organic Center, a Colorado-based organic advocacy and research group. The center has a "dietary risk index," which takes into account how often pesticides are found in particular foods, at what levels, and just how toxic they are. "The good news is that in a lot of important fruit and vegetable crops, the dietary risk levels for domestically grown food have, in fact, gone down -- in some cases significantly, like with grapes and peaches -- since the passage of the Food Quality Protection Act in 1996," Benbrook says. Among other things, that law restricted the use of many dangerous chemicals in U.S. agriculture.

In fact, while the Environmental Protection Agency responded to the ADHD study by noting in a statement that it takes the research "very seriously," it also said that since the study's data were collected (between 2000 and 2004), the EPA has eliminated "nearly all residential uses of organophosphate pesticides" from such things as lawn-care products and bug sprays "as well as some food uses to reduce risks to children." Critics, however, says there need to be further efforts: "The government made some big strides at reducing exposures, and then sort of got stuck," says Wiles.

Consider those towers of glistening grapes and piles of sweet bell peppers shipped to markets here from abroad, particularly during the winter. According to Benbrook, the USDA's pesticide data program "shows very clearly that there has not been a . . . reduction in the overall dietary risk in imported fruits and veggies, and in some cases the levels have actually gone up since 1996," including among said grapes and peppers. He blames this inconsistency on the fact that the EPA chose to limit how certain pesticides could be used in the U.S. farming rather than just set limits on the total allowable amount of chemical residues, which would have applied to both domestic and international growers. Benbrook adds that there are some indications in the USDA data that even imported produce labeled organic is not as clean as it should be.

As questions are raised on the role pesticides may play in ADHD and in other health problems, you'd be hard-pressed to find an expert who doesn't advise that people, especially pregnant women and small children, reduce their pesticide intake as much as possible.

The top recommendation? Eating an entirely organic diet, which has been shown to significantly lower people's exposure levels, says Hopkins pediatrician Goldman. If that's not financially reasonable, given the generally higher cost of organics, it also helps to carefully wash all your fruits and vegetables -- conventional, frozen, organic and otherwise -- in cold water. Benbrook, for one, recommends bypassing fancy produce washes for the equally effective combo of mild soap and a washcloth or brush. And then rinse thoroughly.

But be aware that you can't scrub away all the risks. "It's best to actually try to eat your way around pesticides . . . because most pesticides don't wash off, and seep into those blueberries or apple," says EWG's Wiles, who notes that the USDA data on pesticide levels is collected after produce has been washed, peeled and prepared the way you'd normally consume it.

As a result, he suggests eating organic when possible and otherwise relying on what his organization calls the "Clean 15." These are conventional fruits and vegetables with the lowest levels of chemicals: typically thick-skinned, heartier, easier-to-grow produce with peels that you throw away, such as onions, avocados, corn, pineapples and mangoes. Then there's the "Dirty Dozen," those foods with the highest average levels of pesticide residues. These are usually highly perishable fruits and vegetables with soft skins, such as celery, peaches, strawberries, apples, blueberries, nectarines and sweet bell peppers.

Can't face giving those things up? Another option is to buy local at a farmers market, says Bouchard. Surveys nationwide show that small farmers have fewer residues on their produce, she says, adding that buyers can ask vendors about which chemicals they used.

I did feel better this weekend when I noticed that many of the greens at our local farmers market, including a particularly beautiful batch of arugula, were labeled "no sprays." And when my son made a beeline for the huge containers of bright red strawberries, I discovered that the plants -- but not the berries -- had been sprayed with a single, general-use fungicide three weeks before being picked, and it would have dissipated significantly by market time.

I considered the relative risk, gritted my teeth at the price tag, and loaded a containerful into my bag.

CNN: 'Dirty dozen' produce carries more pesticide residue, group says

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/06/01/dirty.dozen.produce.pesticide/

'Dirty dozen' produce carries more pesticide residue, group says


s enough being done to protect us from chemicals that could harm us? Watch "Toxic America," a special two-night investigative report with Sanjay Gupta, M.D., June 2 and 3 at 8 p.m. ET on CNN.

(CNN) -- If you're eating non-organic celery today, you may be ingesting 67 pesticides with it, according to a new report from the Environmental Working Group.

The group, a nonprofit focused on public health, scoured nearly 100,000 produce pesticide reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to determine what fruits and vegetables we eat have the highest, and lowest, amounts of chemical residue.

Most alarming are the fruits and vegetables dubbed the "Dirty Dozen," which contain 47 to 67 pesticides per serving. These foods are believed to be most susceptible because they have soft skin that tends to absorb more pesticides.

"It's critical people know what they are consuming," the Environmental Working Group's Amy Rosenthal said. "The list is based on pesticide tests conducted after the produce was washed with USDA high-power pressure water system. The numbers reflect the closest thing to what consumers are buying at the store."

Special report: Toxic America

The group suggests limiting consumption of pesticides by purchasing organic for the 12 fruits and vegetables.

"You can reduce your exposure to pesticides by up to 80 percent by buying the organic version of the Dirty Dozen," Rosenthal said.

The Dirty Dozen

Celery

Peaches

Strawberries

Apples

Domestic blueberries

Nectarines

Sweet bell peppers

Spinach, kale and collard greens

Cherries

Potatoes

Imported grapes

Lettuce

Not all non-organic fruits and vegetables have a high pesticide level. Some produce has a strong outer layer that provides a defense against pesticide contamination. The group found a number of non-organic fruits and vegetables dubbed the "Clean 15" that contained little to no pesticides.

The Clean 15

Onions

Avocados

Sweet corn

Pineapples

Mango

Sweet peas

Asparagus

Kiwi fruit

Cabbage

Eggplant

Cantaloupe

Watermelon

Grapefruit

Sweet potatoes

Sweet onions

What is a pesticide?

A pesticide is a mixture of chemical substances used on farms to destroy or prevent pests, diseases and weeds from affecting crops. According to the USDA, 45 percent of the world's crops are lost to damage or spoilage, so many farmers count on pesticides.

The Environmental Protection Agency, the FDA and the USDA work together to monitor and set limits as to how much pesticide can be used on farms and how much is safe to remain on the produce once it hits grocery store shelves.

"In setting the tolerance amount, the EPA must make a safety finding that the pesticide can be used with 'reasonable certainty of no harm.' The EPA ensures that the tolerance selected will be safe," according the EPA's website.

Although the President's Cancer Panel recently recommended that consumers eat produce without pesticides to reduce their risk of getting cancer and other diseases, the low levels of pesticides found on even the Dirty Dozen are government-approved amounts.

Can small amounts of pesticides hurt you?

The government says that consuming pesticides in low amounts doesn't harm you, but some studies show an association between pesticides and health problems such as cancer, attention-deficit (hyperactivity) disorder and nervous system disorders and say exposure could weaken immune systems.

The Environmental Working Group acknowledges that data from long-term studies aren't available but warns consumers of the potential dangers.

"Pesticides are designed to kill things. Why wait for 20 years to discover they are bad for us?" Rosenthal said.

Some doctors warn that children's growing brains are the most vulnerable to pesticides in food.

"A kid's brain goes through extraordinary development, and if pesticides get into the brain, it can cause damage," said Dr. Philip Landrigan, chairman of the department of preventive medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.

Can pesticides be washed away?

Not necessarily. The pesticide tests mentioned above were conducted after the food had been power-washed by the USDA. Also, although some pesticides are found on the surface of foods, other pesticides may be taken up through the roots and into the plant and cannot be removed.

"We've found that washing doesn't do much," Rosenthal said. "Peeling can help, although you have to take into account that the pesticides are in the water, so they can be inside the fruit because of the soil."

All fresh produce, whether it's grown with or without pesticides, should be washed with water to remove dirt and potentially harmful bacteria. And health experts agree that when it comes to the Dirty Dozen list, choose organic if it's available.

"To the extent you can afford to do so, [parents] should simply buy organic, because there have been some very good studies that shows people who eat mostly organic food reduce 95 percent of pesticides [in their body] in two weeks," Landrigan said.
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*
geoffj4
CNN very irresponsible journalism, so you don't feel you need to call 1 farmer? Instead just post a recommendations from a Washington DC based special interest group? Google Steve Savage for an article called "Two Radically Different Views of Celery." He takes the same data EWG uses and pulls a lot... more
CNN very irresponsible journalism, so you don't feel you need to call 1 farmer? Instead just post a recommendations from a Washington DC based special interest group? Google Steve Savage for an article called "Two Radically Different Views of Celery." He takes the same data EWG uses and pulls a lot more info than this tired old list. less
10 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse
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KeithNSoJax
No one should eat pesticides if at all possible, but we have to face the facts: 1) The planet could only sustain about 1/3 of us without intense agriculture that uses pesticides and fertilizers from non-organic sources, 2) Organic doesn't mean safe. It means they haven't been sprayed with pesticid... more
No one should eat pesticides if at all possible, but we have to face the facts: 1) The planet could only sustain about 1/3 of us without intense agriculture that uses pesticides and fertilizers from non-organic sources, 2) Organic doesn't mean safe. It means they haven't been sprayed with pesticides &/or they've used something "organic" as an alternative to "chemicals". Organic fertilizers (i.e. manure) are sources of diseases like E-Coli. Nicotine Sulfate is an organic pesticide that is capable of killing people. Largely OMRI has done a great disservice by using opinion based logic instead of science in promoting "the organic agenda". They lead people to believe a world without pesticides is better than the world we live in but fail to address how we'd deal with mass starvation if we adopted their ideas. As someone starving in a poor African nation whether they'd pefer a little bit of food from organic sources, or enough food to feed their family every day for the next 50 years. less
36 minutes ago | Like (2) | Report abuse
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Susanhh
If the planet could only sustain 1/3 of us if we all ate organic (interesting) - I guess I will be among the elite who can afford to eat the organic stuff.
29 minutes ago | Like (1) | Report abuse
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luap1
For real, don't you think we as a culture have gone overboard on the yuppie hippie green fad thing? Now were going to have all these hemp lovers, trying to convince me to drink hemp milk at $8 per gallon. I can't afford that. Good bye prostate. I am going to loose you in a few years at this rate... more
For real, don't you think we as a culture have gone overboard on the yuppie hippie green fad thing? Now were going to have all these hemp lovers, trying to convince me to drink hemp milk at $8 per gallon. I can't afford that. Good bye prostate. I am going to loose you in a few years at this rate. less
1 hour ago | Like (2) | Report abuse
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Susanhh
Fresh goat's milk is what's in my glass. All you need is a little space - and of course, a goat (mine is named Bubbles).
29 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse
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luap1
Great, I'm 42 and NOW YOU TELL ME!!!! I am going to have to kiss my black prostate goodbye. Good bye cruel world. I had fun while I was hear. Oh the women. oohhhh the woment.. memories, sweet memories..
1 hour ago | Like (3) | Report abuse
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krohleder
Unfortunately the earth cannot sustain "organic" farming for the massive population of humans. So large scale farming with large scale pesticides is the future. Hopefully we can find safer ways, on a large scale, to fight plant disease and pests.
1 hour ago | Like (8) | Report abuse
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Artboy34
Might this not be another indication of how irresponsible the American public has become? In other words, people are placing the responsibility of knowing what's in the food they eat — the clothes they wear, the cars they drive, the products they use — on someone else's shoulders, then screaming blo... more
Might this not be another indication of how irresponsible the American public has become? In other words, people are placing the responsibility of knowing what's in the food they eat — the clothes they wear, the cars they drive, the products they use — on someone else's shoulders, then screaming bloody murder when they don't like what's brought to their attention. It's not a matter of blind trust; it's a matter of being too lazy (busy, ignorant, apathetic) to become knowledgeable about the world around them. less
1 hour ago | Like (11) | Report abuse
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Susanhh
Those of us who plant a small garden will survive. So the responsible, non-lazy ones will be ok. Pretty cool how that works.
27 minutes ago | Like (3) | Report abuse
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delatopia
Ah, more libertarian twaddle. Thanks to youdaman for pointing out that libertarianism is fundamentally uncivilized and dog eat dog.
1 hour ago | Like (2) | Report abuse
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YouDaMan
Not everyone has the time or resources to learn everything about everything. That's why we entrust others to do it. It's called specialization, and it's the foundation of civilization.
1 hour ago | Like (25) | Report abuse
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Wzrd1
Pesticide in simple terms, the predominant ones in use are organophosphate poisons.In english, a milder form of nerve gas. Their method of action is to block nerve action, by leaving certain nerves "turned on".A side effect of organophosphate poisons is sexual dysfunction, nervous system problems, i... more
Pesticide in simple terms, the predominant ones in use are organophosphate poisons.
In english, a milder form of nerve gas.
Their method of action is to block nerve action, by leaving certain nerves "turned on".
A side effect of organophosphate poisons is sexual dysfunction, nervous system problems, immune problems and cancers.
But, the industry lobbiests want the pesticides, to gain a better yield of the crops.
WE pay the price with the above mentioned maladies.
Interestingly, other nations, in particular the EU don't have this issue. less
2 hours ago | Like (4) | Report abuse
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hosscartrite
I'm sorry but the Government's assertion that eating "low levels" of pesticides is not harmful is just plain stupid; what about having a goal of reducing or eliminating pesticides? How can you be okay with ingesting chemicals, even at a low level? "Well, the govt said it was okay, so I guess it is,,... more
I'm sorry but the Government's assertion that eating "low levels" of pesticides is not harmful is just plain stupid; what about having a goal of reducing or eliminating pesticides? How can you be okay with ingesting chemicals, even at a low level? "Well, the govt said it was okay, so I guess it is,,,,,," less
3 hours ago | Like (15) | Report abuse
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Xavier1216
Don't forget your morning coffee, afternoon smoke, and evening drink. Or do those chemicals not count because you don't want them to?
27 minutes ago | Like (1) | Report abuse
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schnauzer2
If as the article purports "...some very good studies that shows people who eat mostly organic food reduce 95 percent of pesticides [in their body] in two weeks..." shows that either we are fully capable of breaking them down and excreting them or they don't do anything more than pass through. Unl... more
If as the article purports "...some very good studies that shows people who eat mostly organic food reduce 95 percent of pesticides [in their body] in two weeks..." shows that either we are fully capable of breaking them down and excreting them or they don't do anything more than pass through. Unlike things like mercury and lead, that build up and cause major health problems. I am not advocating going out and drinking these pesticides, but if our bodies are fully capable of getting rid of them than their benefits outweigh the risk (at least for adults) less
1 hour ago | Like (1) | Report abuse
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dotjackel
If you eliminate the pesticides all together, you would be leaving the crops vulnerable to diseases and insects. This would not only potentially devastate entire crops, but it would also reduce the nation's food supply. As it is, pesticides are a necessary by-product of massive farms.
2 hours ago | Like (3) | Report abuse
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CBadTerrible
I worked on a peach/nectarine farm when I was growing up. I'd pick a peach or two off the packing line after it had only gone through a body of cold water to clean off any leaves. When I found out the ones who spray the fruit with pesticides wear full protection gear with gas masks did I realize wha... more
I worked on a peach/nectarine farm when I was growing up. I'd pick a peach or two off the packing line after it had only gone through a body of cold water to clean off any leaves. When I found out the ones who spray the fruit with pesticides wear full protection gear with gas masks did I realize what an idiot I was... less
3 hours ago | Like (9) | Report abuse
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bobhog
This story mentions "non-organic" fruits and veggies. What about "organic"?
3 hours ago | Like (2) | Report abuse
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loreebee2
Read again. To reduce the pesticides consumed by 80%, buy organic fruits/veggies of the 12 listed.
1 hour ago | Like (1) | Report abuse
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bobhog
Still not as many chemicals as found on a Jersey Shore star.
3 hours ago | Like (13) | Report abuse
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Jakedog030
Nothing is safe anymore. It's all luck of the draw. When your number is up, it's up.
4 hours ago | Like (10) | Report abuse
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michaelinita
Another fallacy in this article is that vegetables with stronger outer layers would be safer than another. An uniformed person would assume that the pesticides is applied when the fruit of the plant is already formed, but it is not. It normally is applied when the fruit is in it's infancy and is has... more
Another fallacy in this article is that vegetables with stronger outer layers would be safer than another. An uniformed person would assume that the pesticides is applied when the fruit of the plant is already formed, but it is not. It normally is applied when the fruit is in it's infancy and is has not grown a hard outer layer. In fact if you think about applying a pesticide when the plant is only days or weeks old, it is like getting a cut on your finger when you are 6 years old, by the time you are a adult, that skin has been replaced many times over and is no longer visible. If the plant has a 30 or 60 day cycle, by the time it is harvested, the amount of pesticide that remains is only measurable (MRL) is by the parts per million. No it is not the best way to grow a plant, but if pesticides were not used, and the crop yield was 1/4 of the current yeild, would you pay $6 a pound for salad? And by the way, organic products use pesticides as well, they are just organic pesticides. less
5 hours ago | Like (18) | Report abuse
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EmmaEnigma
This doesn't sound right. What farmer is spraying 50-odd different chemicals on his crops? Does this mean 47 to 67 parts per billion or something? The math seems off, but then, the article is not very detailed.
6 hours ago | Like (7) | Report abuse
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AusieSceptic
do a net search on IPM (integrated pest management) depending on the crop potential problems resulting in loss of profit can arise from fungus infection, weed growth and insect damage. to prevent the target species developing an immunity a variety of chemicals are used in rotation
5 hours ago | Like (7) | Report abuse
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jabbertk2
So, this story is garbage? Is that why autism and multiple sclerosis rates are through the roof? Oh ya, the hundreds of chemicals that we all now consume which have only been in existence for a decade or two aren't doing us any harm, right? Thank you CNN, despite how much this story ticks off the c... more
So, this story is garbage? Is that why autism and multiple sclerosis rates are through the roof? Oh ya, the hundreds of chemicals that we all now consume which have only been in existence for a decade or two aren't doing us any harm, right? Thank you CNN, despite how much this story ticks off the chemical industry! less
7 hours ago | Like (19) | Report abuse