What Parents Need to Know About Pesticides: A Five-Minute Guide to Protect Your Kids for Life, from...
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Transcript of What Parents Need to Know About Pesticides: A Five-Minute Guide to Protect Your Kids for Life, from...
Until I had my third baby, I didn’t know that there could be
pesticides in food and cleaners — even the soap that I’d used with the first two!
I did some research and learned things like taking off your shoes prevents 85% of dirt — including toxins like lead and pesticides — from entering your home.
Source: WebMD
As I shared this information, my friends and family weren’t
convinced. “We grew up with chemicals and we’re okay,”they said.
But are we? Today, babies are born with
200+ industrial chemicals in their blood.
Source: Centers for Disease Control
There are 80,000+ industrial chemicals approved for use in
our household products and none have been tested for children’s safety.
Source: Environmental Working Group
One of the most dangerous classes of these chemicals are
pesticides. 80% of our exposure occurs indoors through products like these…
Source: Environmental Protection Agency
…but also through food. Today, an apple can contain as
many as 56 different pesticides.
Source: Environmental Working Group
Pesticides have been linked to serious health problems such as autism, asthma and pediatric cancer.
Source: Centers for Disease Control
Today, autism affects 1 in 88 children — that’s a 600% increase over the past 20 years.
Source: Centers for Disease Control
Asthma now impacts 9 million kids — including black and
latino children, who are 60% more at risk and three times more likely to die from the condition as adults.
Source: Centers for Disease Control
With rates up 30% in 30 years, pediatric cancer is now the leading disease killer of children. It’s more lethal than asthma, diabetes, AIDS, cystic fibrosis and birth defects combined.
Source: National Cancer Institute
Pesticides even affect unborn children. The dangers of common pesticide exposure are equal to those of smoking
during pregnancy: low birth weight and early labor.
Source: National Institutes of Health
Going shopping? Sadly, “natural” and “healthy” don’t mean much: Only USDA Certified Organic is regulated by the government not to contain pesticides — as well as other chemicals like rBGH, found in American milk but
banned in Europe because of cancer links.
Source: Prevent Cancer
But can you afford pesticide-free? Yes, organic food can be
expensive: A gallon of milk is about $2 more.
Source: Consumerist
The average American now spends more than $2 each day on coffee. Wouldn’t you give up a cup a week to make sure
what your kids drink every day isbetter for them?
Source: Consumerist
Plus, eliminating pesticides from your home can actually save you money! Instead of costly commercial products, try
red pepper to deter ants and wine for fruit flies.
Source: Healthy Child Healthy World
Warm water and soap work as well or better than
pesticide antibacterials or antimicrobials like triclosan.
Source: Federal Department of Agriculture
Source: EWG
When it comes to food, simply avoid the Dirty Dozen
to reduce your family’s pesticide exposure by 80%.
Concerned? It can be tempting to bury your head in the
sand like an ostrich — I know I did, for a while.
But small shifts can make a huge difference: After just one
day of eating organic food, children can eliminate most pesticides from their bodies.
Source: National Institutes of Health
And making these changes are so important — even for those of us who don’t have children. Kids are only 30% of
our population, but they’re 100% of our future!