Organic natural foods have been growing in popularity over the last few years as more and more Americans seek out healthier choices for their families. The methods used to grow, handle, and produce organic products are in themselves inherently natural. There are no synthetic chemicals used, no genetic modifications, and no hormones or antibiotics. For many individuals concerned about what their families are eating organic can seem tremendously appealing.
For consumers who are also eco-conscious, buying organic and natural foods relieves the stress of worrying about chemicals, pesticide residue, and their damaging effects on the environment. For others, a choice to make the move to organic is the first step towards a healthier lifestyle overall. These foods may be more expensive in the outset, but long-term benefits could far outweigh initial costs, considering the bill attached to modern medical treatments and prescription medication.
There is also some frightening evidence that conventional farming methods do cause physiological harm in individuals. Studies conducted by Columbia University, University of California, Berkley, and the Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan found some disturbing effects in pregnant women who were exposed to higher levels of organophosphates. The scientists identified the women then studied their children from birth through the first few years of school.
The children of these women were found to have, on average, a lower I. Q. than their peers. The potential that this study represents is terrifying. There is further evidence that organochlorides, another compound commonly found in pesticides, may cause thyroid problems such as hypoechogenicity and nodules. Buildup of the synthetic compounds used in these products are also believed to contain carcinogenic properties, and even have a pronounced neurotoxicity.
The EPA tests for the effects of the chemical compounds in pesticides, herbicides, and synthetic fertilizers. However, their testing period is commonly only four days, which fails to take into account the accumulated effects these chemicals could have. Endosulfan, a pesticide allowed by EPA standards and commonly used in the United States, is a neurotoxin that has been banned entirely in several other countries.
Independent studies using amphibians, animals with a well-known sensitivity to changes in the environment, found the toxicity levels in endosulfan to be fatal in nearly every instance after the typical four day period used by the EPA. With alarming cases such as these becoming more widespread in association with conventional foods it is no wonder that the average consumer is finding organic natural foods more and more appealing.
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