Harmful Residues Can Cause Neurodevelopmental, Other Disorders
The consumer products testing group Consumer Reports (CR) has issued ratings on 49 fruits and vegetables to get the health benefits from these foods while minimizing the risk of ingesting toxic chemicals. CR analyzed five years of data from the Department of Agriculture on 24,000 samples of fruits and vegetables covering about 450 pesticides. In some cases, pesticide residues exceeded what CR’s experts considered safe. The ratings can be used to minimize risk by choosing fruits and vegetables grown with fewer and safer pesticides. In most but not all cases, that means choosing organic over nonorganic options. Organic farming protects the consumer, agricultural workers, and residents near farms from exposure. Pesticides have been shown to increase the risk of developing several health conditions from asthma and Parkinson’s to cancer and neurodevelopmental disorders. Several studies have linked pesticide exposure in pregnancy and early life to a higher rate of autism.
