Posted by Janelle  on  07/28/2010  at  10:42 AM

Donna- I completely empathize with your fear and frustration. I have to research these issues every day at the same time as I watch my two precious daughters grow in this toxic world filled with many risks I can’t even begin to protect them from. Years ago, I had to come to a certain peace within myself that I could only do my best. At the end of the day, I put away the worry as best as I can and simply try to enjoy each moment I have with my daughters. It’s very important to understand that health is based on many factors - including emotional well-being. I try to find balance by reducing the risks I can, eating healthy, exercising, and finding joy with my daughters. The last three factors go a long way in creating a healthy body that’s more capable of fighting toxic assaults, illness and disease. Try to find your balance and see if that helps.

Posted by Janelle  on  07/28/2010  at  10:31 AM

Ashley and Dr. Jeri - If you read the abundance of articles I’ve written for Healthy Child and other sources over the past ten years, you’ll see that I always emphasize how to eat organics on a budget and I almost always regard new studies through a better safe than sorry lens. This is one article amidst hundreds where I addressed the other side of the coin. Please don’t take the message out of context.

Indeed, my recommendation to eat more produce is preceded by a statement saying most people eat a diet comprised almost entirely of processed foods - and it is these people that will find the biggest health benefits by switching to any type of fresh produce.

Posted by Christina Jaderholm, D.C.  on  07/09/2010  at  02:20 PM

Thank you for a well founded article. When it comes to science we need to be scientific about it, and one study doesn’t cut it. With that being said, hopefully a lot more research will be conducted to show what impact pesticides and other chemicals has on our children’s development.

Meanwhile, fruits and veggies has essential nutritional value, and when it comes to being organic or not, it can be very helpful for the budget and our conscience to follow a few easy rules; If you eat the peal/skin - get it organic (berries, apples, peaches, celery, peppers…etc), while bananas, oranges, corn and peas can be enjoyed conventional without much chemical exposure. Lists are available on-line.

Posted by Verity Downs  on  07/07/2010  at  12:09 PM

I hear everyone saying that organic food is expensive and some of it is. However, a lot of it is not so expensive. It has recently become important to me to eat more organic food.

We live in the Arctic where produce is hard to get, so for two years we have been subscribed to a CSA farm which sends us a box a week by plane. So nearly all of our produce is organic. We have virtually eliminated processed food and have become more vegan since we moved to the Arctic, so even where food is VERY expensive our food budget for five is between the USDA Thrifty Plan and their Low-Cost Plan. (It really doesn’t take that much work either, I spend more time processing produce a week than making bread, sauces, and beans)

I did an extensive calculation of our monthly food usage by ingredients and weight and discovered that we can eat about 60 % organic for less than 50 dollars more a month. Most of the other 40% is not even available organically. We are waiting to see if we will be able to switch to a closer CSA. If we do switch, we will probably save at least $50 a month, so it really will not cost us extra after all. Of course, if we could have more than a postage stamp garden…

Eating organic really doesn’t have to be that expensive if you eat unprocessed, vegan food. Vegan really is better for your body too, check it out.

Posted by Dr. Jeri, Physical Therapist  on  07/02/2010  at  12:37 PM

I agree with Ashley’s response that it is not helpful to downplay a study because you fear it might cause parents to respond the wrong way.  Knowledge is power.  What about the parents that will now think it is worth it to pay the extra cost to keep their children free from pesticides?  Going organic is expensive but people make choices all the time about how they want to spend their money.  If they realized the impact on their health, they might be more willing to reorganize their financial priorities and/or use tips like the “dirty dozen” to make healthier choices more affordable.  I feel for people that want to eat organic and truly can’t afford it.  But maybe if more people understood the benefits, the demand would increase and the prices would decline.  It may be, that for highly sensitive children, they might be better off skipping the most heavily pesticide laden fruits and vegetables all together.  Janelle writes that “Generally, the health benefits (of produce) far outweigh any health risk from the pesticide exposure.”  How does she know that?  Perhaps children that eat strawberries that are covered with pesticides, herbicides and fungicides are not actually healthier than the children that skip strawberries altogether.  Don’t demphazise the importance of organics because it is expensive.  There are solutions to the problem and if more people that couldn’t afford it understood the importance, they would demand changes in our food system that would benefit everyone in every socioeconomic status.

Posted by Donna  on  07/02/2010  at  11:58 AM

I appreicate your article too and understand that you’re not saying “don’t buy organic,” but saying eat fruits and vegetables, whether organic or not.  I do want to ask one question though - how do you choose your battles and find that healthy balance without stressing out?  In my house, we only clean with vinegar, eat off glass plates and only use glass food storage; we don’t burn candles or build fires; nothing is scented (unless naturally); clothes and sheets are 100% cotton; baby shampoo, sunscreen and bug repellant are chemical-free; vinyl shower curtains and flip flops have been replaced with PEVA and EVA, etc., etc., etc.  But I still stress about everything.  I look at my cabinets and worry that the formaldehyde is getting into my glass bowls and cups - so I rinse everything off.  I look at all my child’s plastic toys that I can’t afford to throw away, so I make him wash his hands all the time (which I know is probably driving him nuts).  I wonder if the shedding from our 100% wool rugs is aggravating my child’s asthma.  I stress that the paint that was used four years ago in the nursery was not low or no-voc and wonder if my child is still breathing in VOC’s.  I wonder if the solid wood furniture I think I’m buying has hidden plywood in it and is offgassing.  I stress that my stainless steel pans are leaching nickel.  I worry that my child is inhaling the neighbor’s weed killer (I made my husband quit using it and am forever hearing about how bad the grass looks).  I worry about the nano-particles in his chemical free sunscreen.  The last few years with all the issues concerning BPA, PVC and lead in toys, vaccines and cancer causing ingredients in children’s baths products have been overwhelming (and my child is three, about to turn four), so how do you stop worrying?  I’m asking this sincerely, not sarcastically.  I’m afraid I’m going to look back at these precious years and realize that instead of enjoying them, I spent my time fearing everything.  And yes, I know I sound crazy, but it’s because I’m driving myself there - and probably the rest of my family too.  :)

Posted by Ashley Koff RD  on  07/01/2010  at  02:35 PM

I appreciate your taking the time to look at different viewpoints and attempt to communicate a rationale that could address the middle-ground. However, I feel that you failed and I am disappointed that Healthy Child would run your piece without a balancing point of view. First, if you are to attack a study’s merits, I’d like to see a more thorough assessment - the study was critiqued by several colleagues whose credentials and knowledge I respect, and it also came out at a time when the President’s report on cancer also spoke to the benefits of organics. If you correctly object to anything, I believe it is to how the media could choose to interpret the findings or communicate recommendations…but I didn’t find any examples where the media said “Skip fruits and vegetables…” rather I did see examples where people spoke to how to make affordable AND organic choices (in the case of the ‘Dirty Dozen’) and how to create a diet with the lowest pesticide-residue exposure. I found parents of all socio-economic levels appreciative of this advice in the comments collected.  The conversation of processed foods versus whole foods is an important one to have and to lead our education, but the conversation of chemically-grown fruits and vegetables versus organic ones is equally important and I felt your article did a great disservice to this part.

Posted by Mich  on  06/24/2010  at  07:47 AM

Thanks so much for this - I really needed to read it right now.  Two years ago, I ate mostly organic and used mostly organic and natural body products.  Since that time, though, I moved and lost my Frontier co-op group, and then in the last year, my husband and I have both lost our jobs.  Very little that we consume is organic anymore, and I’ve been worrying about it a lot lately.  And frankly, feeling a lot of guilt and shame.  I don’t think I even realized how much it had been bothering me until I read your article.  You really helped me to relieve some of that guilt and realize that I’m still doing a good thing for my kids by avoiding processed foods as much as possible and feeding them lots of fruits and veggies, even if they aren’t organic.  We’ll get back to where we were eventually, but for the time being, we’re simply doing the best we can.  And that’s a (or any parent) can ask of myself.

Posted by Minneapolis Farmers Market  on  06/24/2010  at  07:15 AM

The farmers market is your #1 resource for fresh produce and the value is extraordinary.
It’s the place your food dollars go the distance.  A buck will often buy you a head of lettuce or a bunch of beets or a bunch of spinach.  Two bucks will get you broccoli.  And the nutritional value of just-picked produce is sensational.
Most small farmers at farmers market can’t afford organic certification - but they grow sustainably.  Without chemicals. 
So this is a place where you really can have your cake and eat it, too