BATH — It is estimated that as many as 20,000 people in the United States will develop cancer each year from pesticide residue on their food. That’s an alarming number.
“Most of our food is traveling 1,500 to 2,000 miles from field to plate. So, how many people have handle it not much less how it was handled in the field and sprayed etc.,” says Christopher Norman, Crown Point Ecology Center Executive Director.
And overtime, the build up of pesticides in your system can affect your kidneys, heart, liver, lungs and reproductive system.
Norman says organic foods are best because you know they are grown without harsh chemicals.
And he suggests buying from your local farmers that way you can ask critical questions.
“So if you buy local even if it is not organic they will be fresher veggies and you will have a relationship with the farmer and can ask for organic or no spray or no chemical food and that is the thing we advocate for,” says Norman.
And he adds local organic foods are better for you and your family.
“It will be fresher. So it will have more nutrients in it. And if you buy organic food, especially local organic, then you are not going to have to worry about was it sprayed, have I washed it enough, so there is the piece of mind.”
Norman adds another way to have piece of mind is to wash your fruits and veggies, organic or not, with a dab of dishwashing soap for at least 30 seconds.
That way it washes off any pesticides or germs from the people who handled your food.
via Toxic Living: Healthy Foods could be Doing More Harm than Good | Firstcoastnews.com | Health News.