Are Pesticides in Your Child’s Lunchbox?

According to a recent study by Friends of the Earth, many common foods that children frequently find in their lunch boxes contain significant residues of of glyphosate, neonicotinoid, and organophosphate pesticides.

The study tested for residues of those pesticides and herbicides on samples of conventionally grown oat cereals, pinto beans, apples, applesauce, and spinach from national chains like Walmart, Kroger, Costco, and Albertsons/Safeway. Read the complete study HERE.

Small Exposures Matter

The latest science demonstrates that small exposures to toxic pesticides can have significant impacts and that cumulative exposure from eating a variety of foods contaminated with multiple pesticide residues can result in additive and synergistic impacts harmful to health. More than 90 percent of Americans have detectable pesticides in their bodies, and government testing finds at least 29 different pesticides in the average American. Children have unique susceptibilities to the harms of pesticides during fetal development and the early years of life because their brains and bodies are developing so rapidly. Early exposure can impact children for life.

Until farming with toxic chemicals is no longer the norm, eating certified organic food is the only way to avoid those toxic residues.