Thursday, August 28, 2014

Chemicals In Your Food Are Causing Cancer

By Cliff Walsh


Despite the fact that farmers, factory workers in pesticide plants, and those employees that apply these chemicals suffer from cancer at rates significantly more than other Americans, the U.S. government continues sit idly by while the agricultural industry dumps hundreds of millions of pounds of dangerous chemicals on our food each year, roughly three pounds per American. The government funds very little research and provides little oversight to the use of pesticides. It's even in our drinking water.

Pesticides are used to kill or deter insects, weeds, fungus, bacteria, and animals. It is not a stretch to believe that the same chemicals used to kill insects and plants on our food could kill our cells once we ingest those chemicals. Carcinogenic chemicals are known to damage and even alter our DNA, due to the creation of free radicals that can accelerate the spread of cancerous cells.

Many of these dangerous chemicals are also fat soluble, meaning they can remain in our fat cells for years. I went through about two weeks of detox symptoms when I converted to an organic vegan diet. There were definitely chemicals hitting my blood stream. The most common symptom is a consistent headache.

Despite a lack of government effort, the amount of research that has been done by private organizations on the link between cancer and pesticides is monumental and damning. In a U.S. study, 56,000 farm workers who sprayed pesticides were tested for skin cancer. Results were compared to the workers' time spent administering certain pesticides. The risk of skin cancer increased as exposure rose, to as high as 2.5x more for those with the highest chemical exposure.

The Ministry of Health in Argentina also recently released a report highlighting a massive dichotomy of cancer rates across its provinces, linking the higher rates to increased usage of chemical pesticides. In some areas, cancer rates were more than double that of the areas with lowest chemical usage. Argentina is a useful comparison for the U.S. because together both countries produce roughly 70% of all genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), which require heavy pesticide use.

Spend a few minutes looking over research on the internet and you can find well-respected doctors and university researchers connecting pesticides to a variety of different cancers.

We can't trust the companies making and profiting from pesticides that tell us that there's nothing wrong with them. This is from the same people that gave us Agent Orange, DDT, PCBs, and GMOs. Sorry, but your word is no longer good here. And don't forget Big Tobacco and how hard they fought to keep the lies alive.

Eat organic fruits and vegetables, at least those without hard shells or thick protective skins. While I don't recommend it, if you stick with foods doused with pesticides, wash and/or peel the skin. I also suggest you get a water filter for your drinking water.




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