Why Eat Fruits and Vegetables?

Why Eat Fruits and Vegetables?Fruits and Vegetables Provide:• vitamins• minerals• flavonoids - plant chemicals that act likeantioxidants• saponins - plant chemicals that have abitter taste• phenols - organic compounds in foods• carotenoids - vitamin A-like compounds• isothiocyanates - sulfur-containingcompounds• several types of dietary fiber

Iowa State University. The Health Value of Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables not only prevent malnutrition and some disease, but also help maintain optimum health and weight.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) suggests a minimum of five servings per day of fruits and vegetables.

Farmers who grow organic produce and meat don't use conventional methods to fertilize, control weeds or prevent livestock disease. For example, rather than using chemical weed killers, organic farmers conduct sophisticated crop rotations and spread mulch or manure to keep weeds at bay.

What is Organic?

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/organic-food/NU00255

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has established an organic certification program that requires all organic foods to meet strict government standards. These standards regulate how such foods are grown, handled and processed.


Products certified 95 percent or more organic display this USDA sticker.

Levels of Organic• 100 percent organic. Products that are

completely organic or made of all organic ingredients.

• Organic. Products that are at least 95 percent organic.

• Made with organic ingredients. These are products that contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients. The organic seal can't be used on these packages.


Why Does Organic Matter?

There is growing consensus in the scientific community that small doses of pesticides and other chemicals can adversely affect people, especially during vulnerable periods of fetal development and childhood when exposures can have long lasting effects.

• 6-11 years- increase in pesticides in urine.

http://www.ewg.org/sites/foodnews/

Conventional vs. Organic

Conventional• Apply chemical fertilizers to promote

plant growth

• Spray insecticides to reduce pests and disease.

• Use chemical herbicides to manage weeds.

• Give animals antibiotics, growth hormone and medications to prevent disease and spur growth.

Organic• Apply natural fertilizers, such as

manure or compost, to feed soil and plants.

• Use beneficial insects and birds, mating disruption or traps to reduce pests and disease.

• Rotate crops, till, hand weed or mulch to manage weeds.

• Give animals organic feed and allow them access to the outdoors. Use preventive measures — such as rotational grazing, a balanced diet and clean housing — to help minimize disease.


What is the Best Choice?#1 Organic and Locally Grown

#2 Organic

#3 Conventional and Locally Grown

#4 Conventional

Nestle, Marion. What to Eat

Things to Consider• Nutrition

• Cost

• Environment


The Environmental Issue

•Synthetic pesticides and herbicides not only leave toxic residues on food but also kill soil microbes and create top soil loss.

•Conventional growing disrupts natural ecosystems around the farms.

•Chemical fertilizers also cause much of the pollution in lakes, ponds, rivers and groundwater.

•Organic farming is shown to leave the soil healthier and use energy more efficiently.

http://www.mofga.org/tabid/166/Default.aspx

What are Pesticides doing to your body?

“…pesticides offer many benefits, including preventing illness and death by controlling the insect vectors of diseases such as malaria, and West Nile virus…20,110 cases of acute pesticide poisonings in the general population. The EPA estimates that 10,000-20,000 physician-diagnosed pesticide poisonings occur each year among approximately 3,380,000 U.S. agricultural workers. Short-term exposure to high levels of pesticides may cause respiratory, gastrointestinal, allergic, or neurologic symptoms. Long-term exposure may be associated with neurologic diseases such as Parkinsons and Alzheimers.”

http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/hsb/pesticides/activities.htm

Top Twenty Worst Produce to buy Conventionally Rank Fruit or Veggie Rank• Peaches 100 (highest pesticide load)• Apples 89• Sweet Bell Peppers 86• Celery 85• Nectarines 84• Strawberries 82• Cherries 75• Pears 65• Grapes- Imported 65• Spinach 60• Lettuce 59• Potatoes 58• Carrots 57• Green Beans 53• Hot Peppers 53• Cucumbers 52• Raspberries 47• Plums 45• Grapes- Domestic 43• Oranges 42

http://www.ewg.org/sites/foodnews/

Shopping Tips• Don't confuse natural foods with organic foods.

• Buy fruits and vegetables in season to ensure the highest quality.

• If you're concerned about pesticides, peel your fruits and vegetables and trim outer leaves of leafy vegetables in additionto washing them thoroughly.

• Wash all fresh fruits and vegetables thoroughly with running water to reduce the amount of dirt and bacteria.


Hormones

• Cows are able to produce 10 to 20 percent more milk if they are injected with GH.

• Udder infections force dairy farmers to use antibiotics

• Increases the insulin-like growth factor(IGF-1) in cows milk.


Meat“Meat industries are especially skilled at keeping costs down by encouraging the production of cheap feed, avoiding responsibility for cleaning up pollution, hiring low-wage workers, and cutting corners on food safety.”


Fish• Excellent source of protein, vitamins, minerals, and

unsaturated fats such as omega-3 fatty acids. • Predatory fish of impressive large size are loaded with

toxic chemicals.• Five of the most commonly eaten fish that are low in

mercury are shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, and catfish.

• Farmed fish have more quantities of PCBs than those in the wild, but the number of fish in the ocean is declining rapidly.

Nestle, Marion. What to Eathttp://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/admehg3.html

Genetically Modified Foods Benefits• Crops

– Enhanced taste and quality – Reduced maturation time – Increased nutrients, yields, and stress tolerance – Improved resistance to disease, pests, and herbicides – New products and growing techniques

• Animals– Increased resistance, productivity, hardiness, and feed

efficiency – Better yields of meat, eggs, and milk – Improved animal health and diagnostic methods

• Environment– "Friendly" bioherbicides and bioinsecticides – Bioprocessing for forestry products – Better natural waste management – More efficient processing

http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/gmfood.shtml

Genetically Modified Foods Cons • Safety

– Potential human health impact: allergens, transfer of antibioticresistance markers

– Potential environmental impact: unintended transfer of transgenes through cross-pollination, unknown effects on other organisms (e.g., soil microbes), and loss of flora and fauna biodiversity

• Access and Intellectual Property– Domination of world food production by a few companies – Increasing dependence on Industrialized nations by developing

countries – Biopiracy—foreign exploitation of natural resources

• Ethics– Violation of natural organisms' intrinsic values – Tampering with nature by mixing genes among species – Stress for animal

http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/gmfood.shtml

Tap Water

• Local governments add chlorine to kill infectious organisms.

• Tap water has less microbes than bottled water.

• The EPA has identified about a thousand chemicals in tap water, and sets allowable limits for about eighty of them.


Bottled Water

• Produces unnecessary garbage and consuming vast quantities of energy, even in areas where perfectly good drinking water is available on tap.

• Often no healthier than tap water, but it can be 10,000 times more expensive.

• Does not have to be tested as rigorously as tap waters or disinfected to the same extent.

• Wastes large amounts of fuel to ship water from places like Norway, Figi, and the Persian Gulf.

Nestle, Marion. What to Eat. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/02/0224_060224_bottled_water.html

Food Pyramid

Why Eat Fruits and Vegetables?

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