President's Cancer Panel: Eat Organic

blue_elle

I'm sure there's people here like me who *want* to buy from healthy, clean, responsible sources, but sometimes just don't follow through because it's expensive, harder to get, whatever, whatever. Just another in-your-face reminder that when it comes to the health of our bodies and our planet, we really can't afford to turn a blind eye:

 

From http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20100506/pl_usnw/DC00664_1

 The President's Cancer Panel Report released today [May 6] exhorts consumers to choose food grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers, antibiotics, and growth hormones to help decrease their exposure to environmental chemicals that can increase their risk of contracting cancer.

"The American people -- even before they are born -- are bombarded continually with myriad combinations of these dangerous exposures," the panel wrote in a letter to President Obama. It added, "The Panel urges you most strongly to use the power of your office to remove the carcinogens and other toxins from our food, water, and air that needlessly increase health care costs, cripple our Nation's productivity, and devastate American lives."

It added, "Many known or suspected carcinogens first identified through studies of industrial and agricultural occupational exposures have since found their way into soil, air, water and numerous consumer products... Some of these chemicals have been found in maternal blood, placental tissue, and breast milk samples from pregnant women and mothers who recently gave birth. Thus, chemical contaminants are being passed on to the next generation, both prenatally and during breastfeeding."

 

According to the email I received this with (from Earthbound Farms), an estimated 41% of American's will be diagnosed with some sort of cancer in their lifetimes. How much of that can be reduced by eliminating the use of common toxins in and on our food?

 

For anyone who's interested, the full report, Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk, is here 

SuperGreen

Thanks for the info.  President Obama can add this to his schizophrenic approach to agriculture policy of supporting organic with one hand, and supporting the USDA's continuation of "get big or get out, and use GMOs" on the other.  We'll see what he does with this.  I bet he'll make some speech about the health benefits of healthy food, then approve the use of some new pesticide the next day.

Alisha_A

SuperGreen:

Thanks for the info.  President Obama can add this to his schizophrenic approach to agriculture policy of supporting organic with one hand, and supporting the USDA's continuation of "get big or get out, and use GMOs" on the other.  We'll see what he does with this.  I bet he'll make some speech about the health benefits of healthy food, then approve the use of some new pesticide the next day.

That's what I was thinking when I saw the title of this post. I am glad its better than the last administration, but it seems like Obama really needs a food plan czar or something. Touting organic and produce on the one hand, while approving and supporting GMOs, big AG and monoculture farming doesn't all add up to a plan to achieve anything.

SuperGreen

Alisha_A:

SuperGreen:

Thanks for the info.  President Obama can add this to his schizophrenic approach to agriculture policy of supporting organic with one hand, and supporting the USDA's continuation of "get big or get out, and use GMOs" on the other.  We'll see what he does with this.  I bet he'll make some speech about the health benefits of healthy food, then approve the use of some new pesticide the next day.

That's what I was thinking when I saw the title of this post. I am glad its better than the last administration, but it seems like Obama really needs a food plan czar or something. Touting organic and produce on the one hand, while approving and supporting GMOs, big AG and monoculture farming doesn't all add up to a plan to achieve anything.

Oh yes it does.  His master plan:  Look good in the public eye (eat organic) and get re-elected (support Big Ag). 

CharlottesWeb

SuperGreen:

Thanks for the info.  President Obama can add this to his schizophrenic approach to agriculture policy of supporting organic with one hand, and supporting the USDA's continuation of "get big or get out, and use GMOs" on the other.  We'll see what he does with this.  I bet he'll make some speech about the health benefits of healthy food, then approve the use of some new pesticide the next day.

Ditto.