Growing Evidence that Chemical Agriculture is Killing Us
March 3, 2010
In my new book, Organic Manifesto, I show lots of evidence that agricultural chemicals are actually exterminating us, and are a major cause of many of our biggest health problems—cancer, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, obesity, autism, and ADHD. In just the few short months since I wrote the book and sent it off to the printer, a few more major studies have come out that show even more damning (and damaging) evidence. Here are three of them:
1. GMOs cause liver and kidney failure, according to a study published by the International Journal of Biological Sciences. GMOs are genetically modified organisms—in this case, crops that have laboratory-altered genes. What you need to understand is that GMOs have been unleashed into our food system on a massive scale, without ANY long-term health studies—only a few token studies by Monsanto, the maker of GMOs and, of course, the primary beneficiary of the profits they bring. Read the full study here.
2. Chemicals are increasingly implicated in autism. I interviewed the author of this study in the journal Current Opinion in Pediatrics, Dr. Phil Landrigan, for my book, so many of his ideas are already included there. However, this study was not yet published at the time the Organic Manifesto went to press. Now that the vaccine theory has been totally debunked as the cause of autism, we can start looking at the growing evidence of the true causes, data from doctors who have been trying to address this national crisis. One out of every 100 kids born in the U.S. today will be diagnosed as autistic. That is a crime. See the abstract here.
In another study done by Dr. Landrigan’s Mount Sinai colleagues, agricultural chemicals, as well as pthalates—found in nail polish, kids toys, plastics, and fragrances—have been associated with childhood behavioral problems.
3. Infections worse than MRSA are starting to take over. In a recent article in The New York Times, Andrew Pollack reports that antibiotic-resistant infections even more deadly than MRSA are killing thousands of people in hospitals across America, and showing no signs of slowing down. As I write in my book, much of the overuse of antibiotics stems from the horrible conditions that animals are raised in to produce cheap food. And any farmer can buy a 50-pound bag of antibiotics at the local farm store, without a prescription! If you or a loved one is facing a hospital stay, be sure to take precautions against infection.
So we know we are putting our lives at risk by overusing antibiotics. But then I read this study just a few weeks ago in the Abstract of Environmental Science and Technology, and discovered that when wastewater that includes antibiotics (from urine and such) is applied in the lab to aquatic plants, it actually interferes with their photosynthesis and significantly stunts the plants’ growth. So not only are we killing ourselves, but we are killing plants. Without plants, we don’t get oxygen to breathe…
More on this in the weeks to come!
Posted in Organic Manifesto
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It makes me extremely nervous reading these things. What are people to do? The government almost always backs these large companies, and they usually get away with their wrongdoing. After awhile, we won’t be able to eat, drink, wash or breathe the air. Why can’t those that we elect to represent us in the government understand the serious nature of these problems? All of the “naysayers” thinks this is a joke! It’s usually because they are in the pockets of these corporations and small interest groups. Why can’t we lobby to have a “GREEN PARTY” for us to vote in people who’ll represent those of us who care about the natural world and our environment?
Little will change in this country. I know that it is not as simple as I make it out to be, there are all kinds of red tape involved, but some things are a no-brainer. Destroy our environment, destroy ourselves!
I grow my own veggies and raise grass- fed beef. We have chickens for eggs. I do what I can but I still need to buy food. You don’t know what’s in the food you buy. I can tell you what my cows ate and where they were, in the stores you have no clue. A Mc Donald’s hamburger can contain meat from 7 cows!!
I feel the business and gov’t don’t care what they are feeding us as long as they get their money. They are knowingly poisoning us and have been for years. And yes, we are destorying the environment. I don’t think any of this chemical/pesticide stuff was ever meant to be. But the stuff is all over in our food and it’s hard as hell to get rid of it now.
All good reasons to demand organic!
I write to my congressmen about various issues and always get a reply. Since I live in a major agricultural state, the replies to inquiries about Ag issues invariably regard the economy of the state above the health of the people. A tough issue. Not sure how to convince them that a decline in health will more greatly affect the economy than reducing or eliminating the use of harmful chemicals. The loss of money from the chemical and pharmaceutical companies is just too great a threat, so they leave the blinders on. It has to change.
Whilst I agree that the amount of chemicals involved in modern agricultural practices are worrying I also have concerns about the so called Organic methods of large scale farming too.
The problem is not an easy one to solve because of the high demand for both food & fodder crops.
The obvious ideal would be a return to far smaller farms with less pressure on the land but of course that would leave the problem of meeting the demand.
So called Organic farming on a large scale is so hard on the land. In order to control weeds & pests the land has to be ploughed & harrowed so much that it is as dead as a door nail and the only thing making it continue to produce is the amount of manure & slurry that has to be pumped into it.
I am surrounded by agricultural land where I live. Organic on one side & conventional on the other. The Organic farmer’s land takes more of a hammering than the conventional one without a doubt.
I should say that the way forward is to accept that a happy medium needs to be struck between farming conventionally & organically & that the natural environment should be considered as a priority, ie leaving margins of unworked land so that the natural ecosystem can flourish and become an enhancement to agriculture.
Donna in Delaware wrote:
“Why can’t we lobby to have a “GREEN PARTY” for us to vote in people who’ll represent those of us who care about the natural world and our environment?”
There already is a Green Party. Ralph Nader ran for President, representing them.
Organic is great, and I am glad more people are hopping on the bandwagon to support local farmers who do the right thing for themselves and others.
Being on a limited income, it is not always feasible to buy organic, but, I do buy organic celery, carrots, apples, and berries. The meat and vegetables truly taste like real veggies and real meat and that in itself is worth the extra cost.
Being a cancer survivor, I understand the importance of “natural” and not synthesized food products. Fresh is better than processed anytime.
Thanks Tina, I forgot about Mr. Nader. As they say”Out of sight, out of mind”. He needs to come back onto the scene much stronger and those of us who are into the natural and organic “movement”, need to support him.
Unfortunately, there is not enough of us to make a difference, or so I believe. I could be wrong, but if there’s enough of us out there, then we need to really start doing something instead of talking about it. Put our money where our mouth is, so-to-speak. Getting something seriously started, even though we may not succeed the first time around, is better than not doing anything at all.