I decided decades ago to try to take better care of my body and eat more 'healthy' foods.... I have been following that rule now for years, and every day I try my best to eat fresh fruits and vegetables as well as taking vitamins and minerals into my diet as much as possible..... I have always hoped that the "fresh" produce that I pick up at the local supermarket is actually "fresh" and free of a lot of the carcinogenic chemicals that we now know about, especially Glyphosate....But what I found in a new startling report does indeed beg even me to ask the question: Are We All Eating Poison?I want to share the following very important report that comes courtesy of author Vicki Batts, through Mike Adams' Natural News website at www.naturalnews.com..... This article is entitled: "Pesticide Chemicals Found In 70% Of Fresh Produce In US Grocery Stores... Are You Eating Poison?" and is a must read by everyone... I have it right here in its entirety, and I do have my own thoughts and comments to follow:Pesticide chemicals found in 70% of fresh produce sold in U.S. grocery stores… are you eating poison?(Natural News) A shocking new report from the Environmental Working Group confirms that an overwhelming majority of conventionally grown produce is covered in pesticides. About 70 percent of U.S. produce contains pesticides — even after it has been washed. This is highly disturbing news for the millions of Americans who buy fresh produce, believing that it is healthy for them and their families.Kale, one of the most beloved leafy greens in the U.S., clocks in as one of the worst offenders. Some 92 percent of samples tested were contaminated with residue from at least two different pesticides. Across the board, roughly 70 percent of the fruits and vegetables sold in the U.S. have traces of pesticides, according to the report from Environmental Working Group (EWG).The prevalence of chemical pesticide residues found in produce is highly concerning.Despite industry assurances of safety, modern pesticides are nothing more than toxic chemicals designed to kill — and they should have no place in our food supply.
Pesticides in produce
Conventionally farmed produce is once again under fire for high levels of pesticide contamination. Kale, arguably one of the trendiest “health” foods on the market, was ranked as one of the most “dirty” foods. One sample of conventionally grown kale could be tainted with has many as 18 different pesticide residues. Sixty percent of kale samples tested positive for Dacthal — a chemical that is banned in Europe and is also a suspected carcinogen.According to the EWG’s report, Dacthal (also known as DCPA) was the most commonly found pesticide overall. Even the EPA has ackowledged that Dacthal is a “possible human carcinogen,” and has labeled it as such since 1995. Yet, this product remains in widespread use.EWG’s analysis of test data from the USDA names a bevy of other popular fruits and veggies among the most contaminated. Strawberries, spinach, apples, grapes, tomatoes and celery are all featured on the EWG’s Dirty Dozen for 2019, part of their 2019 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce.Alexis Temkin, a toxicologist working with the EWG, said of the report, “We definitely acknowledge and support that everybody should be eating healthy fruits and vegetables as part of their diet regardless of if they’re conventional or organic.”“But what we try to highlight with the Shopper’s Guide to Produce is building on a body of evidence that shows mixtures of pesticides can have adverse effects,” Temkin added.
The problem with pesticides
Despite the agrichemical industry’s assurances of safety, scientists agree that it is hard to gauge just how many pesticides people are exposed to in everyday life, and in what quantities. Further, there is very little research on how pesticides interact with each other, and what effects those interactions will have on the human body (and the environment).To sum it up nicely, there is shockingly little data or research on the effects pesticides will have in real life. This alone should give consumers pause — never mind all of the otherglaring problems afflicting the pesticide industry and the pesticide regulation process.A recent study from France found that people who eat organic have a drastically lower risk of cancer. On average, there was a 25 percent reduction in cancer frequency among organic consumers.At the time, nutrition experts from Harvard cautioned against the study’s findings, stating, “[T]he health consequences of consuming pesticide residues from conventionally grown foods are unknown, as are the effects of choosing organic foods or conventionally grown foods known to have fewer pesticide residues.”The idea that organic, pesticide-free produce wouldn’t be healthier is pretty hard to imagine. But the fact that no one actually knows how bad pesticides really are for you raises substantial questions as to how these products have made it to the market and our food supply in the first place.
So-called safety testing is inadequate
Across the board, pesticide “safety studies” have major holes in risk assessment. Currently, the federal government only requires safety testing on the “active ingredient,” even though most pesticide makers rely on other “inactive” ingredients to enhance their products.Research has already shown that pesticide mixtures are harmful to wildlife, and that pesticides are capable of acting in synergy. What this means is that when two or more pesticides interact, their toxic effects become amplified. A paper published in 2004 further describes pesticides’ ability to act in synergy with other common chemicals and even pharmaceuticals.“Synergistic effects between multiple pesticides and/or other chemicals represent one of the greatest gaps in EPA’s ability to protect the public from the adverse health effects associated with pesticide use and exposure,” the author posits.Exposure to multiple pesticides has been identified as a glaring safety issue for decades, yet these toxins and other harmful substances continue to contaminate the food supply. That’s why the Health Ranger Store has its own in-house lab for lot-by-lot testing and analysis. As Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, explains, “Using multiple mass spec instruments (ICP-MS, LC-MS, LC-MS-MS, LC-MS-TOF), we conduct exhaustive analytical testing of heavy metals, microbiology, glyphosate and an increasing number of agricultural chemical pesticides.”See more coverage of stories like this and learn more about what you’re eating at Food.news.Sources for this article include:TheGuardian.comEWG.orgNWFSC.NOAA.govNTS Notes: WHY am I not in the least bit shocked at all by the findings in this report? I have been stating for years now that one of the WORSE carcinogenic poisons imaginable, Glyphosate, is in almost EVERYTHING that we consume on a daily basis and will continue to be used by our Agricultural industries, even up here in Canada, until our governments do the right thing and BAN it out of existence....It is indeed a fact that the grains that we produce in both Canada and the United States go through a shocking process where after the grain is taken from the fields, it goes through a "post ripening" phase where the grain itself is sprayed with Glyphosate! It does also make one wonder if all of the reports we have these days of people getting sick due to "Gluten intolerance" or people suddenly coming down with "Celiac's Disease" from eating our daily bread may actually be resulting from Glyphosate poisoning?I have been doing salads on a near daily basis over these last few months, and have switched from lettuce to actually using Kale as a substitute.... Little did I even know about how badly Kale is riddled with possible carcinogenic poisons! I do wonder what I am to use therefore as a substitute until this problem is somehow, if ever, "rectified"?I do agree that eating "organic" is a better way to go in terms of cutting down on the amounts of pesticides consumed... However, I have also been reading reports about so called "organic" foods, and the fact that they themselves are not as 'FREE' as everyone believes from pesticides during their production..... I therefore do wonder what foods are actually safe these days from these poisons?I for one will continue to try to eat healthy.... But it does madden me that supposedly "healthy foods" are so riddled with possible carcinogens, that I too may be eating poison!More to comeNTS