Pesticides, including insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, rodenticides, and bacteriocides, are an exceedingly important health concern "because of their omnipresence in the environment, their gross misuse, their severe toxicity, and their preponderance as initiators and propagators of chemical sensitivity." (See Chemical Sensitivity, Volume 2 by William J. Rea, MD.)

Numerous articles in NOHA NEWS deal extensively with pesticides or refer to them in a larger context. For a listing of articles with a brief summary of their content, go to Nutrition for Optimal Health Association.

PESTICIDES ARE EVERYWHERE

PESTICIDES IN AGRICULTURE

PESTICIDES IN FOOD

NEUROTOXICITY OF PESTICIDES

PESTICIDES ARE EVERYWHERE

•"Current Sounds from Silent Spring," in NOHA NEWS, Vol. XIII, No. 1, Winter 1988, commemorates Rachel Carson’s landmark book twenty-five years after its publication. Vastly more toxic chemicals, including pesticides, are used now than when she wrote her book. The article includes ways to help ourselves, plus "A Personal Note" from Lynn Lawson on her recovery and detoxification after pesticide and other toxic exposures.

•"Staying Well in a Toxic World," by Lynn Lawson, reviewed in NOHA NEWS, Vol. XIX, No. 4, Fall 1994 has an excellent chapter on pesticides: "Which Pesticides Are Safe: Fighting the Deadly Dandelion." The chapter opens with "What you need to know about pesticides is really very simple. They are all designed to kill."

•"Environmentally Responsible Lawn Care" and "Improving Mosquito Management," published by the Lake Michigan Inter-League Group of the League of Women Voters, may be purchased for one dollar each, payable to LMILG, 2763 Garrison Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201.

•From the United States Environmental Protection Agency a diagram shows where effects of organophosphate insecticide poisoning occur in the body—in NOHA NEWS, Vol. XV, No. 2, Summer 1990.

•In "Breast Cancer Linked to a Metabolite of DDT," a study found that breast cancer was four times greater in women with the highest blood level of the DDT metabolite compared to women with the lowest level. The authors of the study also stated that "Diminishing rates of breast cancer in Israel have paralleled a precipitous declne in environmental contamination with [the pesticide] DDT and [another organic compound containing chlorine]"— in NOHA NEWS, Vol. XVIII, No. 3, Summer 1993. See also "Preventing Breast Cancer"— in NOHA NEWS, Vol. XX, No. 1, Winter 1997.

•In "Don’t Be Bugged" Stuart B. Hill, associate professor of entomology at McGill University, Quebec, explains that almost all bugs are essential to our survival— in NOHA NEWS, Vol. XII, No. 4, Fall 1987.

•The hormone-disrupting effects of toxins, including pesticides, can be found everywhere, even in the remote arctic, where polar bears are experiencing difficulty reproducing. See Our Stolen Future.

PESTICIDES IN AGRICULTURE

Huge quantities of pesticides are used in agriculture. Unfortunately, in the long run, all pesticides fail because the "pests" develop resistance. Since 1960 pest problems have continued to escalate even though pesticide use has more than tripled. Biochemist and organic farmer John B. Clark, PhD, has stated that "the highly touted benefits for pesticide and fertilizer inputs are nonexistent." We are told that pesticides are needed for high yields to feed the world’s population. The opposite is true!

NOHA NEWS - Vol. XXIV, No. 3, Summer 1999....PESTICIDE EFFECTS ON CHILDREN: A landmark study of Yaqui Indian children in Mexico, showing differences in drawing ability between exposed and unexposed children plus many other disturbing differences.

"Yields get better as organic practices are continued, and pest problems virtually disappear. Natural pest controls, which are suppressed in chemical farming, get healthier and more effective every year. Plant and livestock health improves; soil tilth improves every year, and so does soil moisture retention." From John B. Clark’s "Notes from an Organic Farmer," in The Human Ecologist, Spring 1990, Number 45.

PESTICIDES IN FOOD

Consumers need a LISTING of all pesticides used in the growing, transport, and display of foods. Our present practice is completely backwards. We ask "organic" farmers to certify that they have NOT used these products. See:

•In "Now is the Time to Demand a New Food and Drug Law BEFORE the Next Scandal," Theron G. Randolph, MD., points out that we need all the ingredients, including pesticides, to be listed on foods, then consumers would demand uncontaminated foods— in NOHA NEWS, Vol. XI, No. 3, Summer 1986. See also NOHA NEWS, Vol. XX, No. 1, Winter 1997. Under the subsection heading,"Cancer Prevention Coalition," Samuel S. Epstein, MD, points out that in order to eliminate pesticides and other toxic things, we need "a critical mass" of people who demand uncontaminated food and other products.

•In Environmental Poisons in Our Food, J. Gordon Millichap, MD, points out that a 1960 amendment to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act "allowed foods treated with pesticides to be supplied to consumers without their presence listed on the label."— reviewed in NOHA NEWS , Vol. XVIII, No. 3, Summer 1993.

•In "Eat Whole Foods Uncontaminated by Pesticides," obstetrician and gynecologist Charles T. McGee, MD, points out the absence of heart attacks, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, depression, and hot flashes, and the presence of only four cases of cancer "in a population of over 300,000 in a year" in the Indian population in the mountains of Ecuador—in NOHA NEWS, Vol. IX, No. 3, Summer 1984.

•"Traditional Eating Habits," in NOHA NEWS, Vol. XXI. No. 4, reviews Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats. The authors were inspired by the work of Weston Price, DDS, who found vibrant health among people who adhered to their traditional diets but many illnesses among their relatives who adopted the Western diet of refined, processed, and pesticided foods.

•In Diet for a Poisoned Planet, D. B. Steinman gives listings of the most pesticided foods and ones that are relatively unpolluted—reviewed in NOHA NEWS, Vol. XVI, No 1, Winter 1991. In the same issue of NOHA NEWS there is a review of the NOHA lecture by Joseph D. Beasley, MD, MPH, in which he states that Americans are both toxic and malnourished and points out new directions for us under "Designing a New Medical Model."

•"Getting Started with Organic and Natural Foods" describes a personal experience starting a food co-op—in NOHA NEWS, Vol. XIV, No. 2, Spring 1989.

•The peel of citrus fruits, used for "zest" in recipes, is highly contaminated with pesticides says Shirley Briggs, in "Beware the Zest of the Lemon, Lime, Orange, Kumquat, Grapefruit,"—reviewed in NOHA NEWS, Vol. XIV, No. 1, Winter 1989.

•"Pesticide Alert" is a review of three books: For Our Kid’s Sake: How to Protect Your Child Against Pesticides in Food, published in 1989 by Mothers and Other for Pesticide Limits, a project of the Natural Resources Defense Council; Pesticide Alert: A Guide to Pesticides in Fruits and Vegetables, by Lawrie Mott and Karen Snyder (Sierra Club Books, 1988); and Pesticides and Human Health, by William H. Hallenbeck and Kathleen M. Cunningham-Jones (Springer-Verlag, New York, 1985)— in NOHA NEWS, Vol. XIV, No. 3, Summer 1989.

•Pesticides have contaminated the environment worldwide. Many of them disrupt our hormone systems with devastating effects on reproduction, intelligence, and behavior. Contaminants, including pesticides, bioaccumulate in the food chain—see the review of Our Stolen Future in NOHA NEWS, Vol. XXI, No. 3, Summer 1996.

•Contaminants of drinking water include pesticides says J. Gordon Millichap, MD, in Is Our Water Safe to Drink? A Guide to Drinking Water Hazards and Health Risks in —NOHA NEWS, Vol. XX, No. 3, Summer 1995. See also, NOHA NEWS, Vol. XX, No. 4, "The Doctor’s Corner: Is Our Water Safe to Drink?" by J. Gordon Millichap, MD, and Kathleen Haviland, JD.

•Water contamination and water filters are discussed in "The Doctor’s Corner: Environmental Control," by Robert W. Boxer, MD, in NOHA NEWS, Vol. XIX, No. 2, Spring 1994.

•The public relations industry is telling us that sewage sludge makes excellent fertilizer. Unfortunately, it contains many toxic contaminants from industry and agriculture, including pesticides. See NOHA NEWS, Vol. XXI. No 2, Spring 1996.

•In "The Doctor’s Corner: Toxicity and Nutrition," NOHA NEWS, Vol. XIV, No.4, Fall 1989, Jon B. Pangborn, PhD, gives ten important factors that are necessary for our bodies to clear toxins, including pesticides. The factors include "adequate exercise and/or saunas to regularly metabolize body fat. . . . Most pesticides (including insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides) are not water soluble . . .[so] they can end up in the fatty tissue of our bodies."

•Worldwide sperm counts in men are going down. However, a Danish study found "High Sperm Density among Members of Organic Farmers’ Associations." See NOHA NEWS, Vol. XIX, No. 3, Summer 1994.

NEUROTOXICITY OF PESTICIDES

Most pesticides are neurotoxic and can cause harm to human intelligence and behavior at minute doses. See:

•"Buy, Grow, and Eat Organic Food" in NOHA NEWS, Vol XVIII, No.4, Fall 1993.

•"Because You Care About Your Children, Buy, Grow, and Eat Organic Food," a brochure published by the Lake Michigan Inter-League Group of the League of Women Voters. Receive up to five copies by sending a long, self-addressed, stamped envelope to 2763 Garrison Avenue, Evanston, Illinois 60201.

•"Neurotoxicity of Pesticides," in NOHA NEWS, Vol. XII, No. 2, Spring 1987.

•"Rising Incidence of Parkinson’s Disease, Alzheimer’s, and ALS," possible connection to neurotoxins, NOHA NEWS, Vol. XVIII, No.1, Winter 1993.

NOHA NEWS - Vol. XXIV, No. 3, Summer 1999....PESTICIDE EFFECTS ON CHILDREN: A landmark study of Yaqui Indian children in Mexico, showing differences in drawing ability between exposed and unexposed children plus many other disturbing differences.

Here is a listing, with links to articles, of ALL the articles dealing with pesticides in NOHA NEWS. (Those with links can be read right now with a single click):

Pesticides, IX(3):1-2,4, XI(3):2-4, XII(2):4, XII(4):1,2-3, XIII(1):2,3-4, XIV(1):4, XIV(3):3-4, XIV(4):3-4, XV(3):5, XVII(2):4-5, XVIII(1):1, XVIII(2):1-2, XVIII(3):1-2,4, XVIII(4):1-3, XIX(1):5, XIX(4):2-3, XX(3):1,3, XXI(3):1, XXII(1):3-5, XXII(3):6-7, XXII(4):2-3, XXIII(1):7, XXIII(4):4-6, XXIV(1):4, XXIV(2):6, XXIV(3):1,3-4, XXV(2):3-4, XXV(2):5

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