Preparing to inject a toxic gas pesticide into the soil on her 65-acre berry

June 19, 2006

HSI e-Alert - Strawberry Fields Forever

Health Sciences Institute e-Alert****************************************************Dear Reader,

Vanessa Bogenholm remembers the exact moment she decided to make thechange from conventional farming to organic farming. One day, whilepreparing to inject a gas pesticide into the soil on her 65-acre berryfarm, she dressed herself in protective clothing and put her dog inthe car so he wouldn't inhale the chemical fumes.

Suddenly she thought to herself: This is an insane way to make food.

If only more farmers experienced that moment of enlightenment we mightlive on a far healthier planet.

-----------What does a berry need?-----------

Farmers who change from conventional to organic don't have an easy goof it. Since the day Vanessa put harmful pesticides, herbicides andfertilizer in her past and converted her berry farm to organic, herharvests are smaller and the demands of plant management are much moredifficult.

On the plus side, she no longer has to handle methyl bromide, the soilfumigant and pesticide she was using on the day she decided to makethe change. Farm workers who inhale methyl bromide are at risk ofdeveloping convulsions, impaired cognitive function, neurologicaldamage and even coma and death.

I found Vanessa's story in a recent Associated Press article thatillustrates how farm hands aren't the only ones who suffer from methylbromide exposure. People who live in the vicinity of farms wheremethyl bromide is used have reported flu-like symptoms, headaches,nervousness and vision problems.

On a global scale, this gas has also been shown to contribute to ozonelayer depletion; a drawback that prompted the Montreal Protocol, aninternational treaty that banned the use of methyl bromide as of thisyear. But the U.S. government has been granted exemptions from thetreaty, citing "market disruption" that would economically harmfarmers who depend on methyl bromide to control parasites, root rotand weeds.

The U.S. hopes to continue exemptions from the treaty throughout mostof the decade. By one estimate, more than 10,000 tons of methylbromide will be used on U.S. farms this year.

This poison gas is just one of many toxic agents we might come intocontact with at any given time without ever knowing it. According toHSI Panelist and First Lady of Nutrition Ann Louise Gittleman, Ph.D.,C.N.S., more than 80,000 pesticides, pollutants and chemicals arecurrently in use worldwide. And the combined effect on our health canbe devastating.

-----------Unexpected side effect-----------

This past September, HSI presented a teleconference with Dr.Gittleman, and those who participated came away with a betterunderstanding of environmental toxins and how they compromise ourefforts to stay healthy, even interfering with attempts to lose weight.

Here's how Dr. Gittleman explained the idea of "fattening toxins" in arecent e-mail she sent me:

"In compelling research published in the Journal of Alternative andComplementary Medicine in 2002, Dr. Paula Baillie-Hamilton correlatedthe rise in the use of synthetic chemicals from 1930-2000, with amatching rise in the number of overweight and obese adults in theUnited States. Baillie-Hamilton concluded that growth hormones andpesticides in the food supply are fattening to both animals andhumans. As found in 'Fast Track,' animal studies with pesticides morethan support this theory.

"In addition, a recent 2004 U.S. symposium entitled 'Obesity:Developmental Origins and Environmental Influences' concluded thatenvironmental toxins - particularly estrogen-like chemicals fromplastics in food and drink packaging - play a role in obesity.Furthermore, perchlorate, a rocket fuel component that inhibits theproduction of thyroid hormone by blocking the reuptake of iodine, isthe latest explosive toxin found in our water supply. This is just oneof thousands of 'fattening toxins' contributing to the battle of thebulge.

"Over the past 60 years, our diets, lifestyles and environment haveundergone a petrochemical revolution, placing a huge burden on ourbody's detoxification organs. Our GI tracts are sluggish andconstipated without enough fiber rich foods; we are lacking criticalnutrients needed for the liver's detox pathways; and the liver's detoxenzymes are being inhibited by common medications, excess sugar,caffeine and trans fats."

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....and another thing

Widespread antibiotic use in the 20th century saved untold lives. Butnow it appears there may be a high price to pay.

A new study, recently published in the American Journal ofEpidemiology, set out to look for an association between non-Hodgkin'slymphoma (NHL) and the use of common medications. Cases of NHL are onthe rise, especially in the U.S. where it's most frequently diagnosedin older people. About four percent of cancer deaths are attributableto NHL.

Researchers in Sweden recruited more than 6,000 subjects in Sweden andDenmark; about half were NHL patients. When the subjects' lifetimemedication use was examined, researchers found a clear link betweenNHL risk and the use of antibiotics more than 10 times during adulthood.

In addition, regular use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs(NSAIDs, such as aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen) was "marginallyassociated" with a higher risk of NHL.

The study has an important caveat: Researchers can't conclude thatantibiotic or NSAID use may actually cause NHL; it's possible that apatient's unique susceptibility to infections or inflammation(prompting antibiotic and NSAIDs use) might be the root cause.Nevertheless, most of the medications examined were not associatedwith NHL risk.

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson

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Sources:

"U.S. Wins Exemption from Pesticide Ban" Associated Press, 11/28/05,cnn.com"Medication Use and Risk of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma" American Journalof Epidemiology, Vol. 162, No. 10, September 2005, aje.oxfordjournals.org

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