Organic foods was the topic of a "Must-Know Monday" presentation by Humanities Administrative Assistant Rachel Dickey in room CC005 on October 16.

"Our food is becoming increasingly contaminated," began Dickey. Not only that, but "sixty to seventy percent of the food now on supermarket shelves is genetically engineered food." Foods are even being genetically modified to produce certain chemicals, such as pesticides and pharmaceuticals, she said.

Dickey explained that the organic foods movement originated in the early 1960's as a response to reports about the deleterious effects of ammonium nitrate, an explosive chemical that could also be used as a potent fertilizer, and DDT, an insecticide currently banned in the United States. DDT is still used in many Third World countries.

The book Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson, alleged in 1962 that DDT was interfering with the reproduction of bird species such as the bald eagle by causing the shells of their eggs to be too thin. The book was eventually responsible for the US moratorium on DDT.

Many farmers and consumers began to reconsider the safety of their food production processes. Despite higher initial costs, they sought to return to traditional farming methods that relied more on simple prevention techniques to control pests than complex synthetic compounds.

Organic foods today taste better, are more nutritious, and are produced with far less threat to local environments than those produced by conventional methods, Dickey said.

A recent study conducted by the University of Washington found that children who eat conventional foods have levels of pesticide contamination six to nine times higher than those who eat organic foods, according to an NBC News report.

"Their metabolites were higher than the adult averages found in some of the most recent Center for Disease Control human exposure studies," said Richard Frenske, one of the researchers mentioned in the report.

The study concluded that chronic exposure to low levels of pesticides could very well be putting children at risk for some cancers, including leukemia.

For this and other reasons, eating organic is increasingly becoming the less poisonous - if slightly more expensive - way to nourish and sustain ourselves as well as our environment, Dickey noted.

Organic crops and livestock are grown on farms that try to sustain ecosystems and biodiversity through soil conservation and other renewable resource practices. Occasionally, under approved circumstances, organic farmers may use pesticides that are derived from animal or vegetable sources and break down easily after use.

Sewage sludge, which is raw sewage with most of the water removed, is now a common fertilizer for conventional growers, even though sewage sludge contains waste from hospitals, industry, and household toilets. Dickey pointed out that these byproducts contain a multitude of probably toxic pathogens.

Dickey said though foods may be washed before sale or consumption, "chemical residues have been shown to accumulate in the human body," perhaps at levels significant enough to cause illness in vulnerable population groups, such as children or the elderly.

Dickey offered some organic chips, dip and teas provided by Wild Oats for the meeting, and before closing, urged everyone to try eating organic at least as a way of supporting agriculture that is friendly to the environment and other living creatures.

More information may be obtained at http://centerforfoodsafety.org.

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