Pesticides and your health: How to cut your exposure

The bottom line
Most health experts agree that the health benefits of eating more fruits and vegetables – including a lower incidence of some types of cancer and heart disease –  outweigh the potential risks of ingesting pesticide residue. "It's similar to the mercury-in-fish argument," says Khatter. "Mercury contamination in foods like fish raises difficult questions in balancing the health benefits of eating fish against the potentially harmful effects of eating mercury."

The safety debate
Adopting the "better safe than sorry" stance, Canadians are turning to organic food in growing numbers. A recent Nielsen study showed that 34 per cent of us purchase organic foods to avoid pesticides and artificial fertilizers. Yet there is little data on the risks associated with eating fruits and vegetables that contain pesticide residues. And while Canada's top food police – the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) – reported chemical residues in over 22 per cent of both domestic and imported fresh produce in 2004 to 2005, these residues were well within the safety limits set by Health Canada. "To say that our food is laced with pesticides is alarmist," says Henri Bietlot, national manager for the chemical evaluation section in the CFIA's food safety division. 

"Pesticides are one of the most intensely regulated chemicals in society," adds Leonard Ritter, a professor of environmental biology at the University of Guelph in Ontario. Along with Bietlot, Ritter maintains that Canada's conventional food supply is among the safest in the world.

Environmental groups and health advocates aren't convinced. The David Suzuki Foundation says Canadian standards are generally weaker than those established in the U.S., Australia or the European Union. "It is difficult to believe that fruits and vegetables in Canada are so much cleaner than produce in the U.S. or U.K., especially when a substantial proportion of Canadian produce is imported from the U.S.," states a David Suzuki Foundation report, "The Food We Eat: An International Comparison of Pesticide Regulations." There's also concern that women who are pregnant or breast-feeding, infants and young children may be more vulnerable to the effects of pesticide residues. "No one contests that these things are poisons," says Dr. Kapil Khatter, a family physician. "The big question is exactly how much is harmful?" Another key concern, says Khatter, is how even low-level exposure to many different chemicals may affect our health. "Up until now a lot of the standards didn't take into account that we are exposed to more than one pesticide at a time and that they may interact."

The lowdown on organics
Although organic produce contains fewer pesticide residues than regular produce, it may not be pesticide-free. "'Organic' is not a food safety claim," says Laura Telford, executive director of the Canadian Organic Growers. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency defines organic produce as fruits and vegetables that are grown without synthetic pesticides, synthetic fertilizers or sewage sludge and haven't been genetically engineered or irradiated. But pesticides are so pervasive in the air, water and ground that no crop can be guaranteed totally free of them, experts say. "Tests have been done in the remote mountains of B.C., and there are pesticides in those lakes," says Telford. "They get there by air currents, by water currents, and there is nothing we can do about it." Still, research has shown that adults and children who eat organic food have lower levels of pesticides in their bodies.

Until recently, consumers have had no protection against false organic claims. But a new labelling system, which goes into effect in December 2008, will put an end to that. Only products that meet strict criteria for organic production will be able to use the new Canadian organic logo – a maple leaf rising above two hilltops.

"The No. 1 problem we have now is keeping up with the demand for certified Canadian organic produce," says Telford. There are fewer than 4,000 organic farmers across the country, and it typically takes three years to complete the transition from conventional crops to organics.

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Read more:
• The 5 best antioxidant foods
• 10 tips for healthy eating on a budget
• Are plastic drinking bottles bad for your health?

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