Going Organic Can Shield Children From Pesticides

that youths are exposed to the chemicals primarily
through food, not spraying of homes.

By Marla Cone, Times Staff Writer

Switching to organic foods provides children "dramatic
and immediate" protection from pesticides that are
widely used on a variety of crops, according to a
study by a team of federally funded scientists.

Concentrations of two organophosphate pesticides -
malathion and chlorpyrifos - declined substantially in
the bodies of elementary school-age children during a
five-day period when organic foods were substituted
for conventional foods.

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The two chemicals are the most commonly used
insecticides in U.S. agriculture. More than 2 million
pounds were applied to California crops in 2003,
according to records of the state Department of
Pesticide Regulation.

The health effects of exposure to minute amounts of
pesticides found in food are largely unknown,
especially for children. Some research, however,
suggests that the residue may harm the developing
nervous system.

For 15 days, a team of environmental health scientists
from the University of Washington, Emory University
and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
tested the urine of 23 elementary school-age children
in the Seattle area.

During the first three days and last seven days, the
children ate their normal foods. But during the middle
five days, organic items were substituted for most of
their diet, including fruits, vegetables, juices and
wheat- and corn-based processed items such as cereal
and pasta.

Average levels of both pesticides in the children
"decreased to the nondetect levels immediately after
the introduction of organic diets and remained
nondetectable until the conventional diets were
reintroduced," the researchers reported Thursday in
the online version of the scientific journal
Environmental Health Perspectives.

When they ate organic foods, the children on average
had zero malathion detected in their urine, with a
high of seven parts per billion in one child. But when
the children returned to eating conventional foods,
one child had as much as 263 parts per billion and the
average increased to 1.6 parts per billion.

For chlorpyrifos, the children had less than one part
per billion when they ate organic foods, but the
average increased fivefold as soon as they returned to
their previous diet.

The findings suggest that children are exposed to
organophosphate chemicals mainly through food, not
through spraying in homes or other sources. In 2001,
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency banned most
residential uses of chlorpyrifos but has left most
agricultural uses unrestricted. Three other
organophosphate pesticides that are not widely used on
farms and are more highly restricted by the EPA were
undetectable in most of the children, according to the
study, directed by Emory's Chensheng Lu.

"In conclusion," the researchers wrote, "we were able
to demonstrate that an organic diet provides a
dramatic and immediate protective effect against
exposure to organophosphorus pesticides that are
commonly used in agricultural production."

Margaret Reeves, a staff scientist at the Pesticide
Action Network North America, based in San Francisco,
said the findings were "not surprising because we know
that food is an important source of [organophosphate]
exposure. Also, we know that these pesticides don't
last very long . in the body, and you can have a
relatively quick response" to a diet change.

Pesticide manufacturers say that while low levels of
residue are detectable on many products, there is no
evidence that children are harmed by them. They say
that pesticides, which are the most highly tested and
regulated chemicals in the United States, are vital to
providing an affordable and plentiful world food
supply.

But Reeves said the children's study "is a pretty
strong argument that [organic food] is a good way to
go, if you have access to it and can afford it."

Organic foods can be expensive and sometimes difficult
to find. But parents can minimize their children's
exposure if they substitute organic products for those
that contain the most residue. Experts advise parents
to wash produce and peel skins if they buy
conventional foods, but for foods that cannot be
peeled, such as grapes and strawberries, organic may
be a wise choice.

In the late 1990s, U.S. Department of Agriculture data
showed that about 75% of foods sampled from
conventionally grown crops contained pesticide
residue, compared with 23% for organic products.

The Consumers Union reported in 2000 that peaches,
apples, pears, grapes, green beans, spinach, winter
squash, strawberries and cantaloupe had the highest
levels of pesticide residues. Those with few residues
included bananas, broccoli, canned peaches, canned or
frozen peas, canned or frozen corn, milk, orange
juice, apple juice and grape juice.

Thirty-five percent of peaches sampled by the USDA in
2003 contained traces of chlorpyrifos, and 26% of the
celery in 2002 had malathion residue, according to the
new study.

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