One of the primary responsibilities of parents is to protect their kids. But how do you protect your child from pesticide exposure, when nearly 77 percent of all foods contain pesticide residues?

In his new book, “Poisoning Our Children: The Parents’ Guide to the Myths of Safe Pesticides,” André Leu challenges the chemical agriculture industry’s assertion that “when used as directed,” pesticides, herbicides and insecticides are “safe.”

Leu, who is international director of Regeneration International, outlines research that not only contradicts industry claims of safety, but also reveals how exposure to toxic chemicals is even more dangerous for kids than it is for adults.

In a 2014 interview with Dr. Mercola, Leu says:

“Children, when we talk about the unborn, the newborn and grown children up to puberty, they do not have the detoxification enzymes in their livers that we have as adults. Particularly for young children, that means they have no way of detoxifying even the smallest amount of a pesticide or a chemical.”

According to Leu, scientists report that when children are exposed to even small amounts of pesticides—either in the womb, through breastfeeding or as a toddler eating food—their nervous, endocrine and reproductive systems can be negatively affected.

Read (and watch the video) ‘Poisoning Our Children: The Parent’s Guide to the Myths of Safe Pesticides’