Hidden Pesticides: Natural and Organic is No Guarantee

Look at the pretty produce on supermarket shelves - bright red, perfectly shaped apples, rosy plump peaches, huge strawberries, unblemished potatoes and salad greens packed in plastic. Fresh fruits and vegetables, available year-round from far corners of the world, are displayed as art work. We need 6 - 9 servings of them daily to stay well, happy and slim. A large body of research now confirms that by eating high fiber foods we greatly reduces our risk of disease and aging. But are they safe? It depends upon their origin, local growing practices used, and the ethics of the growers.

I live in New York, spend summers in Vermont, and winters in south Florida. You get to know a lot about your foods by talking to local farmers. Buying local, organic, seasonal foods not only protects the quality of produce but also safeguards our health, farmlands, and the local economy. It saves money and protects the environment because it eliminates transportation expenses including fuel. At farmers' markets, the organic fruits and vegetables are so beautiful and delicious they seem to smile.

Chatting with farmers about their organic growing practices is one of the best ways to find out the REAL quality of your fresh produce. Supermarkets often do not know the origin of produce on the shelves. Unfortunately, many foreign countries regularly use pesticides that are banned for health reasons in America. It may surprise you to know that, according to official sources, the country to which we return the most unsuitable foods is not China but Mexico.

I have been teaching natural health classes for many years in New York. One of my students was the chief inspector for imported produce that arrives at Newark airport. Since she was an expert on growing practices for produce, I asked what she normally ate. "Beans," she said. "Dried beans have a hard shell that many pesticides can't penetrate." Her mono-diet is too limited for me. I prefer to check out the local growers' foods for purity, safety and taste.

A long time friend from Vermont, Greg Cox, a Baby Boomer who has been an organic farmer for over 30 years once told me, "We are the first generation to use chemicals. Our grandparents grew everything organically. The soul of organic is: Feed the soil so plants can safely and effectively feed people... Healthy soil is made up of layers resulting from generations of helpful bacteria that grow on dead leaves. As insects and animals die their nutrients also feed the soil. With modern chemicals, we now grow bigger and more abundant produce, but it lacks nutritional value and can contain poisons." There are hundreds of chemical poisons currently used.

Greg told me about one category of pesticide registered for use on organic products that is popular among farmers. It is a nerve agent that kills various worms and moths. It can be used on apples, pears and other pome fruits; artichokes; asparagus; carrots; cereal grains; citrus; cole crops; cotton; cranberries; cucurbits; dried beans; eggplant; figs; leafy vegetables; legume vegetables; peppers; potatoes; stone fruits (such as peaches); strawberries; sweet corn; tomatoes; tropical tree fruits; and almonds, walnuts, pistachios and other tree nuts.

He said, "You dip the potato or other vegetable seed only once into the chemical and it becomes part of the plant. You can never wash it out. And you don't even have to spray the plant directly." The chemical remains active in the plant so that pests eating it, even without being directly exposed to the poison, will die. "After you harvest the food, aphids die when they land on it," Greg rolled his eyes. It kills them by affecting their nervous system. That chemical pesticide saves the farmer endless time and money, because it kills bugs continually. It also collects inside you.Imagine what years of eating it might do. Greg told me, "The people most at risk from pesticides are the ones who need the best nutrition - the very young and the elderly."

Think: Local - small, wrinkled, and spotted
When I cut into an apple and find that the red dye has seeped into the white flesh, I throw it away. It is unappealing. But manufacturers believe we want only big red, spotless apples, huge strawberries and seedless melons. I once saw the ancestor of our modern grapefruit in a museum garden of a Florida homestead that has been untouched for two hundred years. The father of all grapefruits was small and had brown spots on the skin and lots of seeds - not the huge, yellow, seedless kind we now find everywhere. The changes we have made in growing practices have created monster foods that can feed many more people--but at what expense? We do not yet know. Our kids have also grown much bigger than previous generations. Are they healthier? No way. They are often overweight, diabetic, and at more at risk of heart trouble than previous generations.

Insecticides considered safer than chemicals are bacteria that arrest the insect's development to maturity. One such is Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.), a bacteria that makes crystals that invade the insect's digestive system. It reportedly has "adverse effects" upon shrimp, mussels, and "should be avoided" in areas populated by butterflies and moths. A number of moths, bees, and butterflies are now endangered. Is there a connection? According to the manufacturer, the insecticide B.t. is "relatively short-lived on foliage because the ultraviolet (UV) light of the sun destroys it very rapidly. Its half-life under normal sunlight conditions is 3.8 hours." However B.t remains in the soil for months and, only with the recommended soil Ph level, it eventually dissolves.

Neem: The Safe Pesticide

Is there a safe growth-arrester used in gardening and farming? Yes! Neem spray made from the neem tree leaf. Neem leaf tea, powder, oil, and pills for internal use are used as human medicines in India, where neem is native, to prevent and treat skin infections, parasites, and other infections. I brush my teeth with neem powder. It tastes bitter and herby but I like it. For less intrepid brushers, I recommend Neem Toothpaste found at your local East Indian food and herb market or online.

What You Can Do

Here are simple ways to take control of your health with top quality foods. We don’t have to regress two hundred years, but caution applied to food choice is smart. Remember Hippocrates: "Everything in excess is opposed to Nature." You have the most control over food purity and safety when you "grow" them at home.

Sun-ripened Flavor

Produce is picked too green because they are shipped. When buying hard peaches, melons, or citrus, I put them into a bowl placed on my window-sill for at least a week or until they have an aroma and are soft to the touch. It does more than improve their flavor: It may help to neutralize some insecticides. According to the manufacturer, the insecticide B.t. is "relatively short-lived on foliage because the ultraviolet (UV) light of the sun destroys it very rapidly. Its half-life under normal sunlight conditions is 3.8 hours."

Sprouting

Try this easy way to have your own garden at home: Soak a handful of whole grains in a jar of water overnight. Rinse the grains with water three time a day for two days. A grain that is not organic will not sprout because the next generation–the part of the living plant containing nutrients from the sun, water, and soil - has been killed by chemicals. Whenever possible, insist on live food.

Storing Foods Safely

If you buy non-chemicalized foods grown with "less toxic" non-chemical insecticides, you will need to store them differently than your usual methods. In Feed Your Tiger: The Asian Diet Secret for Permanent Weight Loss and Vibrant Health, I recommend an inexpensive, home-made fresh fruit and vegetable wash: Rinse fresh produce with a quart of water and a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. If you buy apples coated with wax, added to preserve a fake red color, rinse them in warm water and a drop of mild non-toxic dish soap made with essential oils then wash off the wax residue and rinse with lots of vinegar water.

Everything spoils quickly in plastic bags and containers. After thoroughly rinsing and drying fresh produce with a paper towel, store it in labeled paper bags in your refrigerator. The paper absorbs excess moisture, which helps prevent spoilage. Add extra sheets of paper towel or rolled up paper bags in your refrigerator. Your mushrooms won’t turn black and stinky and apples and berries will remain crisp. Keep tomatoes, garlic, potatoes and onions at room temperature. That reduces refrigerator smells. In addition, refrigeration increases the sugar content of potatoes. Keep your garlic and onions tightly sealed in air-tight jars outside the refrigerator and try to use them within a week or so. You will enjoy your foods much more when you know they are clean, safe, and healthy.

Letha Hadady, D.Ac., a nationally certified acupuncturist living in New York, is the author of Asian Health Secrets, Personal Renewal, Healthy Beauty, and Feed Your Tiger. Find more at her website.