Green Options

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Only mothers can sit around talking about their children’s diapers and toilet learning behaviors in “normal” conversation. Now they can add the presence of pesticides in their children’s eliminations to their discussions.

A new, peer-reviewed study has found in children’s urine and saliva organophosphates, a family of pesticides spawned by the creation nerve-gas in WWII. How did it get there? Conventionally grown food.

The study was conducted for a year on Mercer Island, Washington, involving 21 children from ages three to eleven. Amazingly, once the children switched to eating only organically-grown food, the presence of pesticides was eliminated from their body fluids in eight to 36 hours. Principal author of the study and Emory University professor Chensheng Lu explains:

Last week I wrote about how the Chicago nonprofit Safer Pest Control Project has been working to protect people from the harmful effects of toxic pesticides. In talking with the organization’s Executive Director, Rachel Rosenberg, I learned about how common it is for people to be exposed to chemical pesticides in public places without being aware, and how dangerous this can be for children.

But even more insidious than the harm posed by toxins used to rid our homes and workplaces of unwanted critters is the problem of chemical pesticides used to control outdoor pests. In fact, the use of chemicals to kill animals and plants in our yards is a lot more widespread than you may have guessed. Consider these statistics cited by the Safer Pest Control Project:

• 78 million households in the U.S. use home and garden pesticides.
• $700 million are spent annually on pesticides for U.S. lawns.
• 67 million pounds of synthetic pesticides are used on U.S. lawns each year.
• Three times as much pesticide is used on lawn per acre than on agricultural crops.

If you’ve ever faced a pest infestation in your home, you know how quickly you want the critters gone–whatever the cost. Whether it’s roaches, termites, or rodents invading your space, it’s natural to want to strike back. You want the toughest weapon you can find to beat back the onslaught of little beasties before they multiply and take over completely.

But before you go out and buy that can of Raid and take aim at the crawling menace, pause to ask yourself: Do you really want to coat your home in toxins that you can’t see and that may persist on surfaces for weeks? Are you willing to put your children and pets at even greater risk than what you yourself face from these poisonous chemicals? Are you sure the solution isn’t more dangerous than the problem?

Educating the public about the dangers of chemical pesticides and promoting safe, effective alternatives for dealing with pests is the mission of Chicago-based nonprofit Safer Pest Control Project. Since 1994 this organization — which began as a coalition of four environmental groups–has worked to reduce the risks to human health wherever pesticides are commonly used, including in schools, childcare centers, residential buildings, yards and parks and in agriculture.

Sure you can buy your sweeties organic flowers or chocolate and have your children decorate Valentines made from recycled paper; however, in my family, we have another tradition. Every year for Valentine’s Day, we take the opportunity to buy a fruit tree or rose bush. What better way to express our love than to give a gift that may offset some of our carbon footprint?

I love chocolate as much as the next guy/gal, but I am not a fan of cut flowers, even though I worked in flower shop in high school. Lavish bouquets purchased to celebrate holidays have spawned a thriving industry that heavily relies on pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides. According to the Wise Geek:

Most cut flowers are grown in South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia in large greenhouse environments staffed by underpaid, non-unionized workers…Because cut flowers are grown in nations with more lax environmental laws, many banned substances including DDT and methyl-bromide are used in flower production…Some cut flowers may be shipped thousands of miles, adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere at every step of the way.

In the vegan cooking classes I teach and the outreach I do, I am often asked how to incorporate "organic" food into our diets without breaking the bank. Since I rarely have a simple answer, I usually start off by saying what I think is a really important thing to keep

Keep in mind that the typical consumer is NOT paying the true cost of food. The meat, dairy, and egg industries, in

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Plenty, it turns out… and not generally things we want. This week, Naturalpath takes a look at the many additives that enter our food supply. For instance,

Most of the crops in the United States are grown with the aid of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides, and some of these are potentially harmful to the environment and people. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 30%

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What would a trip to France be without that symbol of national identity, that beacon of cultural pride, that epitome of paradox, the very quintessence of French – what would your visit be without wine? Be you a neophyte or a connoisseur, there are countless possibilities for drinking and tasting, relishing and savoring, a great variety of wines from the different winegrowing regions of the country. But how many of them will be organic?

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Ants are our friends. They aerate soil, recycle dead animal and vegetable matter, and prey on other insects. But they can also be a nuisance, especially when we're both competing for space on the picnic blanket. Keep the little foot soldiers at a distance with some least toxic alternatives to pesticides.

Ant baits are usually the most effective at controlling and ultimately destroying ant colonies. The workers will take

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Garden Fresh Organic StrawberriesStrawberry harvest is in full swing, and as the bounty reaches epic proportions in my garden, I am always looking for new recipes that do not ruin the naturally sweet flavor of the fruit. Mostly, we snack on strawberries straight from the plants, but occasionally I am motivated to make a delectable dessert to savor. Old fashioned, organic strawberry shortcake has become an early summer favorite

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Editor's note: In the newest edition of Red, Green and Blue, writers Shirley Siluk Gregory and Jimmy Hogan take a look at the "smaller" concerns of environmentalists, and whether it's worth worrying about such issues when there are much greater and more pressing matters affecting our lives and health.

Shirley: When the Environmental Working Group last week announced its release of an updated and expanded "Skin Deep," its online database of chemicals

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Mosquito biting human, by Matti Parkkonen : (Wikimedia Commons)Editor's note: This week, Lighter Footstep editor Chris Baskind shares some ways to keep the mosquitoes at bay this summer. This post was originally published on May 10, 2007.

With an unusually mild winter and record high spring temperatures across North America and Europe, 2007 is shaping up as a boom time for mosquitoes.

Don't even

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