Masters of Health Magazine October 2021 | Page 45

This is a national security issue.  We must take steps in our homes daily to protect our families from the environmental problems that contribute to this health crisis. This is why, at Moms Across America, we strive daily to empower our network with the information, solutions, and actions they can take to create healthy families and communities. Our government, most food manufacturers, and media outlets are not being responsible. Powerful, well-connected people are actively perpetuating and promoting the poisoning of our food supply, so we must take matters into our own hands.

 

While many of us can afford to switch to organic, still, most Americans cannot. This injustice only fuels us further. We seek out the science and data to support the systemic change needed through policies and laws that will enable all people of any socioeconomic background or region

to have access to

safe, nontoxic,

non-GMO foods. 

 

Now, new data

brings us that fuel.

From the Heartland

Health Research Alliance

 

A recently published paper by the Heartland Health Research Alliance (HHRA) written by a team led by the HHRA Executive Director Chuck Benbrook draws on multiple state and federal data sources in comparing the dietary risks stemming from pesticide residues in organic vs. conventionally grown foods.

The new paper is entitled “Organic Farming Lessens Reliance on Pesticides and Promotes Public Health by Lowering Dietary Risks” and was published by the European journal Agronomy. Benbrook was joined by co-authors Dr. Susan Kegley and Dr. Brian Baker in conducting the research reported in the paper.

There is good news in the paper’s many data-heavy tables.  Organic farms use pesticides far less often and less intensively than on nearby conventional farms growing the same crop.

Click here to listen to Food Integrity Now's interview with Dr. Charles Benbrook about his recent peer-reviewed study published In Agronomy entitled Organic Farming Lessens Reliance on Pesticides and Promotes Public Heath by Lowering Dietary Risks.

 

Some key points of the paper:

•              Organic farmers are nearly three times more likely to plant cover crops and grow green manures.

•              Unlike conventional farms, pesticides cannot be, and never are, the only tool used on organic farms to prevent pest losses.

•              Reducing the pesticide residues and their risk in fresh produce is one of the critical societal benefits that would come from the transition to organic, which is the benefit of most concern for many consumers.

•              The paper concludes that by converting the 1.2% of US cropland used to grow fruits and vegetables to organic production, the nation’s farmers could cut total pesticides dietary risk by a remarkable 98%.

This is the data we have been waiting for. 

• A case can be made that reliance on managing ecosystems to prevent pest problems is the single most important distinguishing characteristic of organic farms compared to nearby conventionally managed ones.