New study: Pesticide levels in children and adults drop dramatically after one week of eating organic
A groundbreaking peer-reviewed study published today in the journal Environmental Research found that switching to an organic diet significantly reduced the levels of synthetic pesticides found in all participants – after less than one week. On average, the pesticide and pesticide metabolite levels detected dropped by 60.5% after just six days of eating an all-organic diet.
The study, Organic Diet Intervention Significantly Reduces Urinary Pesticide Levels in U.S. Children and Adults, found significant reductions in pesticides that have been associated with increased risk of autism, cancers, autoimmune disorders, infertility, hormone disruption, and Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. The most significant declines involved organophosphates, a class of highly neurotoxic pesticides linked to brain damage in children: the study found a 95% drop in levels of malathion and a nearly two thirds reduction in chlorpyrifos. Organophosphates are so toxic to children’s developing brains that scientists have recommended a full ban.
“This study shows that organic works,” said study co-author Kendra Klein, PhD, senior staff scientist at Friends of the Earth. “We all have the right to food that is free of toxic pesticides. Farmers and farmworkers growing our nation’s food and the rural communities they live in have a right not to be exposed to chemicals linked to cancer, autism and infertility. And the way we grow food should protect, not harm, our environment. We urgently need our elected leaders to support our farmers in making healthy organic food available for all.”
The study tested the urine of four diverse American families in Oakland, Minneapolis, Atlanta, and Baltimore after eating their typical diet of conventional food for six days and then after a controlled diet of all organic food for six days.
A short video, featuring the families involved in the study, illustrates the changes each family made and aims to shift the narrative from organic being a lifestyle choice to being a human right.
This article is written by Friends of the Earth, you can read the whole article here: https://foe.org/news/new-study-pesticide-levels-children-adults-drop-dra...
You can download the scientific paper here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935119300246