Organic diets lower children's exposure to two common pesticides

According to a press release sent out today by the Emory University Health Sciences Center, researchers at the institution, in conjunction with the University of Washington, conducted a study on Seattle-area children to determine the effect of organic food dietary exposure to two common pesticides used in U.S. agricultural production. According Emory University researcher Chensheng "Alex" Lu, PhD, the substitution of organic food items for children's normal diets substantially decreased the pesticide concentration to non-detectable levels.

Previous research has linked organophosphorus pesticides to causes of neurological effects in animals and humans, Dr. Lu says.

"The use of organophosphorus pesticides in residential areas has either been banned or restricted by recent regulatory changes," Dr. Lu continues. "This helps to minimize children's exposure, but still few restrictions have been imposed in agriculture."

In his initial research, Dr. Lu and his colleagues from Emory University, the University of Washington, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) specifically measured the exposure of two organophosphorus pesticides (OP) - malathion and chlorpyrifos - in 23 elementary students in the Seattle area by testing their urine over a 15-day period.

The participants, ages 3 to 11-years-old, were first monitored for three days on their conventional diets before the researchers substituted most of the children's conventional diets with organic food items for five consecutive days. The children were then re-introduced to their normal foods and monitored for an additional seven days.

According to Dr. Lu, there was a "dramatic and immediate protective effect" against the pesticides until the conventional diets were re-introduced. While consuming organic diets, most of the childrenÕs urine samples contained zero concentration for the malathion metabolite. However, once the children returned to their conventional diets, the average malathion metabolite concentration increased to 1.6 parts per billion with a concentration range from 5 to 263 parts per billion, Dr. Lu explains.

This finding is consistent with the 2003 paper published - also focusing on the impact of organic food on Seattle-area children (is it any wonder this is one of the most Green areas in the world?) That study, "Organophosphorus Pesticide Exposure of Urban and Suburban Preschool Children with Organic and Conventional Diets" was written by Cynthia L. Curl, Richard A. Fenske, Kai Elgethun of the Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Washington. It also concluded "that consumption of organic fruits, vegetables, and juice can reduce children's exposure levels from above to below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's current guidelines, thereby shifting exposures from a range of uncertain risk to a range of negligible risk."

While my infant twin sons are still too young for solid food (this will soon change as they approach their 4 month birthday), they will receive a consistent (if not exclusive) diet of organic food. Why risk the exposure?

- David R. Kaufer (President and Chief Green Officer)

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