Organic Bytes
Newsletter #862: Pesticide Levels Pose ‘Significant Risks’ in 20% of US Produce!
 

TAKE ACTION

New Study: Washing Produce Doesn’t Remove Pesticides

Carey Gillam reports for The Guardian:

“Another report found pesticide levels posing ‘significant risks’ in 20% of tested fruits and vegetables.

A new scientific report lends weight to consumer concerns about pesticide residues on food, presenting fresh evidence that washing fruit before eating does not remove various toxic chemicals commonly used in agriculture.

The paper, published on Wednesday in the American Chemical Society’s journal Nano Letters, comes amid ongoing debate over the extent of pesticide contamination of food, and the potential health risks associated with a steady diet that includes pesticide residues.

In May, Consumer Reports said it had determined that 20% of 59 different fruit and vegetable categories carried pesticide residues at levels that posed “significant risks” to consumers, based on an analysis of data gathered by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).”

Read about how “the health risks posed by pesticides have been documented in several studies, but most of those deal with occupational exposure, rather than dietary.”

TAKE ACTION: Make Your State the First to Ban Monsanto’s Glyphosate Based Roundup Weedkiller!

Learn more:

What’s Safe To Eat? Here Is the Pesticide Risk Level for Each Fruit and Vegetable

20% US Produce Carries Pesticide Residues That Pose “Significant Risks”

Glyphosate Drops 70 Percent After Six Days on an Organic Diet

HEALTHY LIVING

Fresh Produce Deliveries Are Now a Covered Medical Benefit in Tennessee

By Jessica Hullinger, Fast Company:

“Tennessee’s largest health insurer really wants its members to be proactive about their wellness so they stay healthy for longer. And its newest method of persuasion is all carrot (and tomatoes and apples and maybe some avocados, too). Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee is partnering with Boston-based startup FarmboxRx to deliver monthly boxes of fresh fruits and vegetables to the doors of members as an incentive for undergoing health screenings. The more health screenings they complete, the more produce they receive.

The program will specifically target Medicare and Medicaid members who have diabetes or who have young children, and will reward them for attending preventive health care appointments. Diabetics, for example, will be encouraged to get regular blood tests and eye exams. The hope is that this will not only make people healthier, but also expand access to fresh produce to vulnerable populations.”

Read more about this healthy initiative

BIODIVERSITY

Study Shows Value of Soil Microbiome, Nurtured in Organic Farming, Harmed by Chemical-Intensive Ag

Beyond Pesticides reports:

“A study in the journal Biology and Fertility of Soils has confirmed once again that organic agriculture contributes significantly to soil health, improving ecological functions that are harmed by conventional, chemical-intensive farming practices. Organic soil amendments (fertilizers) that feed soil organisms increase beneficial protistan predators and support sustainable predator-prey relationships within the soil microbiome. [‘Protist’ is a catch-all term that describes ancient lineages of eukaryotes—organisms with a nucleus—that are neither a true plant, animal, or fungus.] The study shows that organic farming creates a healthy ecosystem able to support a balance of life forms in the soil. Moreover, the study finds that the use of chemical fertilizers for agricultural management disrupt the stable biological relationship between protistan predators and their bacterial prey in soils, adding to the argument for transitioning away from conventional systems that lean on toxic inputs.  

Healthy soil contains millions of living species that form the microbiome. Most of the biodiversity in soil consists of bacteria and fungi, and their number and type are regulated partially by predatory protists and nematodes that feed on bacteria. Akin to the impact of predators keeping a herd of prey healthy by hunting the sick, protists keep the bacteria population healthy by removing the more inert microbes and releasing nutrients into the soil. In working together, these tiny organisms in organic land management systems determine the health of the soil for plant growth.”

Learn about why J.I. Rodale teaches “at the very foundation of good nutrition is the soil”

PLASTIC POLLUTION

11 Ways To Eat Less Plastic — Because, Yes, It’s in Your Food and More

Christina Manian, RD, Well & Good:

“It’s no secret that we have a serious plastic problem, with microplastics overwhelming our everyday environment (like our food, our drinking water, and even the clouds in the sky). This unfortunate reality impacts natural landscapes, wildlife, and our own bodies.

It’s not all grim: There are so many actions that we can take to not only reduce our reliance on plastic but to cut down on our literal consumption of the material. Read on to get a deeper insight into the current state of plastic pollution, how microplastics impact the body, and ways you can eat less plastic (because yes, we’re all eating plastic).

Regardless of whether you’re on the frontline of plastic production (and pollution) or not, microplastics don’t discriminate, as they’re small enough to enter any human’s body through breathing, eating, drinking, and absorption through the skin.”



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DR. JOSEPH MERCOLA

Changing the Food System From the Bottom Up

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola:

“STORY-AT-A-GLANCE

* Around the advent of the American Civil War, in the 1870s or so, is when they developed the technology to extract oils from seeds. Before then, the average LA intake was less than 5 grams a day, and likely closer to 2 or 3 grams

* Eggs and bacon are two sources that, today, have very high LA levels, thanks to being fed an unnatural and PUFA-rich diet

* The mainstream is so convinced that saturated fat is bad and PUFAs are good that they’re now starting to use technology to turn the saturated fats in ruminant animals into PUFAs

* Ashley Armstrong’s farm, Angel Acres Egg Co., produces eggs that are low in linoleic acid (LA), as nature intended. On average, her eggs contain 17 to 20 milligrams of LA, which is about one-quarter of the LA found in conventional eggs

* Armstrong has also started a new private member food system called Nourish Cooperative that offers milk, cheese, low-PUFA pork, low-PUFA chicken and grass fed beef. Angel Acres Egg Co. and Nourish Cooperative both ship farm-fresh food right to your door”

Learn more

BAN GLYPHOSATE

Glyphosate-Based Herbicides Cause Intestinal Damage and Serious Diseases

Jimese Orange writes for The Institute for Responsible Technology:

“Researchers have conducted a systematic review on the effects of glyphosate on digestion, and the results make it clear what we’ve been saying for years. Glyphosate causes significant damage to multiple aspects of digestion and is likely contributing to the huge jump in digestive disorders and related conditions.

The review found that exposure of glyphosate and its formulations on intestinal microbiota, metabolism and microstructure are able to induce intestinal dysbiosis by altering bacterial metabolism, intestinal permeability, and mucus secretion, as well as causing damage to the microvilli and the intestinal lumen. Additionally, immunological, enzymatic and genetic changes were also observed in the animal models. At the metabolic level, damage was observed in lipid and energy metabolism, the circulatory system, cofactor and vitamin metabolism, and replication, repair, and translation processes. The authors conclude that the types of alterations caused by glyphosate-based herbicides can lead to intestinal and systemic diseases, such as Crohn’s and Alzheimer’s.”



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SUPPORT OCA & RI

A Campaign of Truth-Telling and Resistance

A growing global majority understand that we simply cannot continue to maintain our nations’ respective global empires or spheres of interest, in our case the United States, and allow our governments to subsidize fossil fuels, the military-industrial complex, Big Pharma malpractice and profiteering, and degenerative food, farming, and land management practices, if we wish to survive. Nor can we continue with the multinational corporate elites’ “profit at any cost” practices, reinforced by hyper-consumerism and materialism on the part of most consumers.

We need a non-violent Regeneration Revolution on a global scale of public education, grassroots lobbying, marketplace pressure, and scaling-up of best practices, systems, and policies, especially in the energy, food, farming, land use, and health sectors. We need to address the root causes of “mass formation” and mass psychosis (loneliness, social isolation, cell phone and social media addiction, alienating jobs, poor diets, lack of exercise, lack of joy) that have recently come very close to permanently turning us against one another and destroying the potential for a peaceful and regenerative future.

A carefully deployed campaign of truth-telling and resistance will enable us to head off immediate disaster (“Biofascism”) and buy us the time we need to further spread our redemptive message. In our long march to restore community, health, environment, peace, solidarity, love, and compassion we will gradually gain the power to inspire and unite, across issues and borders, a critical mass of the global grassroots. This will not only regenerate our society, but our optimism and our consciousness as well, restoring, as Pope Francis once put it, “an awareness of our common origin, of our mutual belonging, and of a future to be shared with everyone.”

Please join us in this local-to-global March for Regeneration. The hour is late, but there is still time to turn things around.

Check out our sister organization Regeneration International, and please make a donation, if you can, to help us keep the momentum going!

Regeneration International will be hosting the 4th annual People’s Food Summit, World Food Day, October 16, 2024. This unique event is a major 24-hour event celebration of World Food Day featuring exciting speakers from every region of our planet.

Make a tax-deductible donation to Organic Consumers Association, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit

Considering a gift from your IRA?

NUTRITIOUS & DELICIOUS

And the Healthiest Way To Cook Broccoli Is…

By The Optimist Daily:

“In recent years, one incredible compound found in broccoli, called sulforaphane, has gained a reputation as a super nutrient. Studies even show it is involved in blood sugar control and carries potential anti-cancer properties.

Broccoli contains a large amount of this chemical. Although, unfortunately when we cook the vegetable by boiling or microwaving the amount of sulforaphane we can absorb is seriously depleted. This is due to the super heat-sensitive nature of the compound and the enzymes that control it.

But have no fear, the best option to get this super nutrient is not to start munching down on raw broccoli florets! A study, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, was inspired by another technique to cook this vegetable: stir-frying.

The broccoli was cut into two-millimeter pieces to release as much chemical activity as possible before being stir-fried. As the team suspected, this method of cooking was able to keep a much larger amount of sulforaphane intact compared to other cooking techniques.”

Learn more

HEALTH

7 Ways To Stimulate Your Vagus Nerve and Why It Matters

Jessica Migala, Everyday Health:

“No one likes feeling stressed out. But what if you had a “calm-down” channel running through your body that you could switch on when you need a dose of self-soothing? We bet you would.

That’s the idea behind vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), which means using certain simple, easy wellness practices to activate your vagus nerve. But before we discuss how to do it, here’s a quick primer on the vagus nerve.

“The vagus nerve is a major component of the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the ‘rest and digest’ response,’ says Caroline Leaf, PhD, a clinical neuroscience and mental health researcher based in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Also called cranial nerve 10 (or cranial nerve X), the vagus nerve starts in a portion of your brain called the medulla and then branches down both sides of your throat, connecting with your tongue, heart, and digestive organs, according to StatPearls. In other words, it’s a communication channel that runs between your gut and brain.”

Learn more

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Adding Lemon Juice and Refrigerating Tea Increases Antioxidant Activity

By Elizabeth Shaw, M.S., RDN, CPT:

“Adding the citrus superstar may preserve tea’s antioxidants. A recent study explored the effect lemon juice had on mate tea (a form of tea commonly known as yerba maté). Researchers found that adding lemon juice and refrigerating the tea increased its antioxidant activity. Drinkers also said they preferred the tea prepared this way compared to sipping it plain. Prior research has found that adding ascorbic acid (also known as vitamin C, which is one of the two acids in lemon juice) to green and black tea also helped boost the brew’s antioxidants.

People have long squeezed lemon into their tea, so what’s going on that makes it such a smart move? Adding lemon to your tea can make antioxidants like catechins more stable and able to be absorbed by your body, says Patricia Bannan, M.S., RDN, author of From Burnout to Balance and founder of Wellness Intelligence. “Essentially, lemon acts as a natural preservative for tea’s antioxidants,” she explains.”



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