Safe Alternatives for Baby and Child

We know pesticides are in the foods we eat, and in our drinking water too.  But do you know just how much, what kinds and which pesticides are the most hazardous to your child’s health?  Now you can!

A new tool from the nonprofit group Pesticide Action Network sheds new science-driven light on the invisible problem of pesticide residues.   This database starts with Almonds and goes all the way to Winter Squash.  89 foods in all, and many of the foods our kids eat daily are in this database.

I knew apples were high in pesticide exposure, but I didn’t know that the average number of pesticide typical found is a whopping 42!  That’s right…..42 pesticide residues on the apple my toddler and I shared today!  Seeing only 11 for the almonds made me feel somewhat relieved at that point.  But still shocked that they both had that many pesticides detectable on/in them in the first place!

Guess what else?…….

What’s On My Food?  Pesticide Database

What’s On My Food? as an invaluable and equivalent resource to EWG’s Skin Deep database on toxins in skin care products.  Now, here is an all-in-one resource to research our family’s pesticide exposure being taken in through food and water.

Applesauce, raisins, bananas, frozen blueberries, oats, and even bottled water are just a handful of the many foods studied. The database offers :

• just how many, and
• what type of pesticide residues were found, on average, by the USDA Pesticide Data Program.  The database additionally shows:
• WHAT pesticides are found on each food,
• IN WHAT AMOUNT, and – for the first time –
• links those residues to THE HEALTH EFFECTS associated with exposure to each of the chemicals.

Widespread Awareness of Hazardous Pesticide Exposure

In addition to highlighting the potential direct health effects of pesticide residues, the What’sOnMyFood? database points to the many problems associated with pesticide use before food reaches the kitchen table. Widespread use of agricultural chemicals threatens the health of workers and those in nearby communities and schools, as well as harming wildlife and contaminating ecosystems, according to the site.

“It’s time to shift away from reliance on these dangerous chemicals,” says Kathryn Gilje, Pesticide Action Network’s Executive Director. “In Europe governments have recognized that a healthy population and clean environment are worth more than short-term industry profits. They are moving toward safer and healthier ways to produce food, and we need to do the same.”

Action Against Pesticides

In the Take Action section of the site, Pesticide Action Network calls on consumers not only to vote with their dollars by choosing organic foods whenever possible, but also to become involved as “food citizens” demanding a clean, green and fair food production system.

Pesticide Action Network

Pesticide Action Network (PAN) North America works to replace hazardous pesticide use with ecologically sound and socially just alternatives. As one of five PAN Regional Centers worldwide, they link local and international consumer, labor, health, environment and agriculture groups into an international citizens’ action network. This network challenges the global proliferation of pesticides, defends basic rights to health and environmental quality, and works to insure the transition to a just and viable society.

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