Today is the beginning of Soil Association Organic Fortnight (3-17 September 2010), the United Kingdom’s celebration of organic produce. This year’s theme is ‘choosing organic everyday’.
I found out about this event through Edinburgh based poet and blogger Juliet Wilson (Crafty Green Poet) who invited her readers to blog about organic issues during the two weeks. Here is my contribution.
Toxic chemicals and Developmental Disorders
I keep reading articles in the newspaper where ‘experts’ inform the ignorant masses that we are wasting our money buying organic food because scientific studies show that there is no nutritional difference between the two. What a red herring argument! Why are they wasting money studying the wrong question?
People are buying organic products to reduce the toxic load on their bodies. It is not about the level of nutrients. We are sick of being slowly poisoned by the toxic chemical build-up from our food, products in our houses and workplace, in the air, in our water, in our soils and oceans.
I have a strong interest in organic issues because of the relationship between pesticides/ toxic chemicals and developmental disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).
For decades scientists thought autism was primarily a genetic disorder. Recently there has been an acknowledgement that environmental factors such as pesticides and other chemicals play a significant role in the cause of autism.
Dr Phillip Landrigan has been investigating the impact of environmental toxicants on the development of children since the seventies. It was his landmark work with the CDC that resulted in the banning of lead from petrol, gas and paint – legislation which resulted in a reduction in cases of lead poisoning by over 90% in the US.
Landrigan believes there is a relationship between environmental exposure in early pregnancy and autism*. He cites studies which have implicated Valproic Acid and insecticides such as chlorpyrifos in the development of autism. He states that in the past decade studies have shown that phthalates, brominated flame retardants, and certain pesticides are linked to lower IQ, attention deficit disorder and the Pervasive Developmental Disorders.
Infants and children are more susceptible to the effects of toxic substances, due to their size and the nature of the developing brain and nervous system. Scientists are now starting to believe that the genetics of some children with developmental disorders such as autism makes them even more vulnerable to environmental toxicants, including an impaired ability to detoxify the toxins once they have entered the body.
Landrigan will be one of the leaders of the National Children’s Study which will ‘examine the effects of environmental influences on the health and development of 100,000 children across the United States, following them from birth to age 21’. This study is urgently needed but progress will be slow.
In the meantime I would suggest everyone reduce the toxic load through whatever means possible, for example:
* Buy or grow organic produce and products if you can afford to;
* Look at the ingredients lists on your soap, shampoo, makeup, toothpaste, food, perfumes, medications, detergents, cleaning products and go with the ones that have the least amount of chemicals;
* Filter tap water;
* Think about the toxicity of things around the house and in your car (carpets, paint, mercury-filled lamps, and flame retardant materials) and what you can do to reduce exposure. You can buy non-toxic cleaning supplies and use natural cleansers and germicides such as vinegar and tea tree oil. You can use non-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints and avoid carpet (carpets trap dirt, allergens and are manufactured with many toxic chemicals).
It’s hard to make changes to purchasing habits but even small changes have an impact so give it a go.
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* Landrigan, P (2010) What causes autism? Exploring the environmental contribution. Current Opinion in Pediatrics, 22.
Gabe Feathers McGee 
You are right. We have not suddenly become genetically more prone to nervous system diseases. We have always been prone but until the toxin to which we are prone is present, disease is not expressed. Short of redesiging the human genome, we are well advised to do as you suggest and avoid anyting that is new in the environment. We have largely adjusted to old toxins. It is the new ones that we can’t handle! Timely advice.
Thanks Stafford – I was watching a show last night on the human genome project (some scary stuff in the future).
Excellent article, Gabrielle. You’re so right about people buying organic to avoid toxins!
Thanks for joining in.
Juliet
Crafty Green Poet
Thanks Juliet – a great initiative 🙂
ever so important subject Gabe,
and many things to think about. mainly regarding to the development of sickness and diseases, and for what we actually have. i suggest only, at the time of looking around, to also look for what things we have and have no need for. big surprises awaits there.
So true Dhyan – there’s lots of other stuff we can do, or go without.
Another aspect of organic foods is the taste…plain and simple the taste is superior to those full of toxins…this year I move from my small green house to a larger one for raising some of my own vegetables which is made somewhat simpler since I live in sunny California…thanks for your article on this subject Gabrielle.
Yes, that’s true slpmartin – growing vegetables and fruit is fun (didn’t know you lived in California).
I am with slpmartin. The thing that strikes me most about organic produce is the taste. Things taste the way they used to taste – like real food. I am old enough to remember how good things like apples and tomatoes tasted before our hyperconsumerist culture went into overdrive and the supermarkets controlled the distribution of our food. It is heartening to see so many Farmer’s Markets springing up all over the place sticking it to the mushy sludge that is what the supermarkets have to offer.
I have noticed a difference in myself since eating organic produce. I just FEEL better. I am not going to go back. I mean, who wants to be munching on toxins? It is good to know there is such a movement towards organic. Long may it continue!
Thanks Selma – yes, I remember the days when tomatoes tasted like tomatoes 😉