"Exposure to pesticides
can be decreased by choosing, to the extent possible, food grown
without pesticides or chemical fertilizers... Similarly, exposure to
antibiotics, growth hormones, and toxic run-off from livestock feed lots
can be minimized by eating free-range meat raised without these
medications," according to the landmark report, "Reducing Environmental
Cancer Risk: What We Can Do Now," submitted to President Obama by Dr.
LaSalle Leffall, Jr., an oncologist and professor of surgery at Howard University, and Dr. Margaret
L. Kripke, an immunologist at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in
Houston.
"Organic production and
processing is the only system that uses certification and inspection to
verify that these chemicals are not used on the farm all the way to our
dinner tables," said
Christine
Bushway, Executive Director of the Organic Trade Association
(OTA).
Organic production is
based on a system of farming without the use of toxic and persistent
pesticides (herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides) and synthetic
fertilizers. Organically produced foods also must be produced without
the use of antibiotics, synthetic hormones, genetic engineering and
other excluded practices, sewage sludge, or irradiation. Organic foods
are minimally processed without artificial ingredients, preservatives,
or irradiation to maintain the integrity of the food. In addition,
animal confinement in feedlots is prohibited.
"Consumers should know
that organic foods have the least chemicals applied in their production
and the least residues in the final products. Thus, those seeking to
minimize their exposure to these chemicals and follow the
recommendations of the President's Cancer Panel, can look for the USDA
Organic label wherever they shop," said Bushway.
"The American people --
even before they are born -- are bombarded continually with myriad
combinations of these dangerous exposures," the panel wrote in a letter
to President Obama. It added, "The Panel urges you most strongly to use
the power of your office to remove the carcinogens and other toxins from
our food, water, and air that needlessly increase health care costs,
cripple our Nation's productivity, and devastate American lives."
It added, "Many known
or suspected carcinogens first identified through studies of industrial
and agricultural occupational exposures have since found their way into
soil, air, water and numerous consumer products... Some of these
chemicals have been found in maternal blood, placental tissue, and
breast milk samples from pregnant women and mothers who recently gave
birth. Thus, chemical contaminants are being passed on to the next
generation, both prenatally and during breastfeeding."
"OTA is gratified to
see a prestigious scientific panel recognize what the organic farmers
and the organic community have realized about environmental health and
organic agriculture for decades, and we applaud them for taking on this
critical issue," Bushway added.
The full report is
available online at http://deainfo.nci.nih.gov/advisory/pcp/pcp08-09rpt/PCP_Report_08-09_508.pdf.
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