The Organic Center acts as a kind of shadow USDA, digesting the latest peer-reviewed research on organic food, translating it into English, and issuing summary reports.
Consumers won't want to miss the center's newest one on pesticide residues [PDF]. It contains one of those handy guides on which conventional fruits and veggies convey the most toxic traces to eaters (here's a handy two-pager [PDF] for the fridge), as well as a blunt and important discussion of the plant- and mineral-based pesticides allowed in organic production.
But what really caught my eye was the bit about milk -- and how it brims with industrial-chemical and pesticide residues.
The Organic Center points us to 2004 testing of 739 samples of conventional milk, performed by the USDA's Pesticide Data Program. Here's what they found.
- Ninety-six percent of samples contained DDE, "a breakdown product of DDT, which was banned from agricultural use in the early 1970s. DDT is very persistent and remains to this day in many cropland soils; its soil half-life (time required for 50 percent to dissipate) is generally between 15 and 30 years, depending on soil and climatic properties."
- Nearly 99 percent contained diphenylamine (DPA), a "'high volume' industrial chemical used for many purposes in manufacturing rubber and plastic parts, and in making certain drugs."
- Forty-one percent of samples contained dieldrin, a "long-banned" organochlorine pesticide.
- Endosulfan sulfate, an endocrine disrupter, turned up in 18 percent of samples.
- About a quarter of samples delivered synthetic pyrethroid insecticides.
- Nearly 9 percent of samples contained a lovely-sounding chemical called 3-hydroxycarbofuran, a "highly-toxic breakdown product of the carbamate insecticide."
The USDA didn't comprehensively test conventional against organic milk. However, 10 of the 739 samples were labeled organic -- and "just like virtually all samples, all 10 samples contained DPA and nine had DDE residues," the Organic Center reports.
Clearly, that bit needs more study -- 10 samples can tell us little. I'd like to see studies that differentiate between varieties of organic ag -- pasture-based systems and the confined style favored by mega-organic dairies like Aurora and Horizon.
But the presence of all of this industrial crap in our milk supply is surely alarming. As the Organic Center states:
The fact that over one-quarter of the conventional milk samples tested in 2004 contained endosulfan or a carbofuran metabolite is deeply worrisome, given that these chemicals are among the pesticides found in numerous toxicological studies to pose serious developmental risks during pregnancy and to infants and children as their bodies grow and mature.
I like how all of this information has been sitting around since 2004, not going much of anywhere even as the USDA pushes milk as a healthy dietary staple, even -- if not especially -- for pregnant women and children, the very folks most vulnerable to pesticides.
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Comments
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Fawn Pattison Posted 3:44 am
13 Mar 2008
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GreenEngineer Posted 3:56 am
13 Mar 2008
As long as we're dreaming, I'd also like to see testing that differentiates based on where the milk was produced. I suspect that it will be very different in different parts of the country, where the land has a history of more or less exposure to chemicals.
Of course, I doubt either of these tests will be done, at least not by the USDA. Both are likely to show the big-organic producers in a bad light compared to their smaller brethren, and that's not something the USDA is generally interested in doing.
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jmh31 Posted 4:26 am
13 Mar 2008
It seems that fruits with skins that are commonly not eaten have low(er) amounts of residue, which leads me to believe that if an apple skin is discarded (or perhaps vigorously washed) it may have a lower dietary risk index.
Does anyone know?
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sindark Posted 4:28 am
13 Mar 2008
To make a sensible choice, people need data about the level of contaminants present, as well as the levels known to be harmful for normal people and members of vulnerable groups.
a sibilant intake of breath
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Fawn Pattison Posted 4:40 am
13 Mar 2008
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Corey McKrill Posted 5:16 am
13 Mar 2008
Lactose intolerance is a problem for 1 in 5 adult Americans. Yet, dairy is a ubiquitous part of our food and culture. I get more blank stares when I request "no dairy" than my vegetarian girlfriend does when she asks for no meat. Yes, it makes cutting dairy out of your diet (especially cheese), difficult. I have several friends who admit to having some level of intolerance to dairy, but still eat it anyway, probably because it's so hard to avoid. Most of my other friends and some family members, no matter how often I explain it, can't seem to comprehend why I, in fact, don't want to go get dinner at a pizza joint.
Perhaps if the public's awareness about industrial dairy production was comparable to that of industrial meat, we'd be more conscious of how much we actually consume on a daily basis.
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wiscidea Posted 10:36 pm
13 Mar 2008
And, of course, thank you Organic Center for producing a balanced and unbiased assessment of pesticides in/on our food. I was very impressed by the examination of chemicals acceptable for organic agriculture and the potential hazards of those chemicals.
I've been searching for a list of chemicals acceptable for organic agriculturefor some time and now I finally have it. I was starting to wonder whether the industry preferred to keep a lid on their dark secret.
I look forward to more discussion of ALL the chemicals applied to our food, the hazards for human and other animals, and an exploration of exactly where all of those chemicals, synthetic and natural, come from.
I think it is time to demand elimination of ALL pesticides from agriculture. They are designed or extracted to kill insects. It is no surprise that even natural pesticides inflict collateral damage by harming insects like bees.
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