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Pediatrician Group Warns: Pesticides are a Danger to Kids

4 Replies

Watermelon Girl

A new policy statement by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is warning parents about the potential dangers of pesticides for their kids:

Epidemiologic evidence demonstrates associations between early life exposure to pesticides and pediatric cancers, decreased cognitive function, and behavioral problems.

This sucks.

And that’s why many people make the switch to organic food when they become parents. But this is matter of great controversy. In September, Stanford scientists declared that organic food is not healthier than conventional food, and that pesticides do not pose a risk.

It’s important to note that the data the physicians relied upon to reach their conclusion was based on developmental challenges of babies of female farm workers, not on pesticide residue on produce consumed in the home.

What should parents do?

  • Don’t stop feeding your kids fruits and vegetables !! Their benefits far outweigh the potential risks.
  • Wash produce well before eating or cooking
  • Consider the dirty dozen & clean fifteen when prioritizing which products to buy organic

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  • Suspicious Mom

    Question: Who paid for Stanford’s research, Monsanto??

    • James Cooper

      Recognizing this possible criticism the paper specifically notes that they used only internal funding.

  • http://twitter.com/flavorscientist Susie Bautista

    The information you present is out of context. There are many Latino children of farm workers that have leukemia. Children of these workers are exposed in utero, through breast milk and through residue that their parents bring home. I get really upset when we put aside the safety of the workers & their family so that consumers can have the safest food available. Workers need to be considered. (I am a mom of a child with cancer and I used to work in the food additive business). Laws are made that the worker’s health isn’t considered before the final consumer’s health. Laws to regulate handling of chemicals at the worker level exist, but manufacturers don’t always properly train workers. Why don’t you write about this topic? Please start giving a “shit” about how your food is produced and those that provide it.

  • James Cooper

    Avoiding pesticides is clearly important, but a peer-reviewed study of the”dirty dozen” showed that all of them have pesticides several orders of magnitude below the minimum danger threshold, even if the veggies were consumed every day for the rest of their lives. Here is an article on the study: http://exm.nr/So06jT