Everyone's Health

Safety concerns with fruits, vegetables are complex

It is important to say up front that the risk of not having fruits and vegetables is much greater than the risk of eating them.

Health experts consider the hazards from pesticides to be well behind other dangers in our food supply, such as bacterial contamination and naturally occurring toxins. The discussion, however, doesn't end there.

Science has its limits, and there is no absolute way of knowing, for example, whether pesticide residues deemed acceptable today might somehow be contributing to health issues down the road. It is also difficult to predict the effects from combinations of residues, or what might happen when pesticide exposure occurs in conjunction with medications for other health problems.

Our lack of knowledge should not translate to an automatic condemnation, but it does provide additional factors to consider as we plan what foods we want to feed our families.

There are alternatives. One involves organic agriculture, where foods are raised without synthetic pesticides, herbicides or fungicides.

Another alternative, called integrated pest management (IPM), limits the use of synthetic chemicals whenever possible, although they remain a part of the farmer's arsenal to be called upon when needed.

Farmers markets can be a great source for organically grown fruits and vegetables or those produced on farms that practice integrated pest management. An increasing number of supermarkets offer these foods as well.

The discussion of organic versus conventional agriculture needs to go beyond the safety of the foods we eat. Concerns must also include the risk to workers who manufacture, transport and apply these powerful chemicals, and to our environment.

All this helps to explains why, despite assurances, survey after survey reveals that American consumers continue to be wary.

We are the best fed country in the world. Yet this status comes with a tremendous price in natural and human resources. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 40 billion pounds of commercial fertilizer is used in the United States annually. Then factor in the 900 million pounds of pesticides used annually to control weeds, insects, diseases, and other pests. These compounds are manufactured from petroleum, which helps explain why farming uses up more oil than any other single industry.

America's preoccupation with perfect-looking produce is one factor behind the continued demand for pesticides. A survey conducted on citrus fruits by Public Voice and another by the American Farm Bureau Federation found that, in some cases, more than half the pesticides used are for purely cosmetic reasons, such as to prevent minor external blemishes that had nothing to do with the taste or wholesomeness of the fruit.

No one wants to impair our ability to feed the nation. The focus should be on the direction agriculture should be heading. We need to balance human needs with costs and environmental concerns.

Agriculture cannot continue to operate using environmental “deficit spending.” Today's output should not mean a loss of tomorrow's resources. This being said, we cannot wake up one morning and say, “From now on, we're going to farm organic.”

There needs to be a course that guides our agricultural environment back to health without impairing our capabilities. Ideally it would be a balanced, sustainable system that gives back as it takes.

Information is power here, I recommend the excellent (and entertaining) discussion of foods, organics and conventional farming in the book The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals

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