The Link Between Cancer & Pesticides

By Cliff Walsh


The U.S. agricultural market and chemical industry sells just under a billion pounds of insecticides and herbicides each year. The government allows this to happen despite knowing that farmers and those that apply pesticides, as well as factory workers at pesticide plants get cancer at significantly higher rates than those that do not work on farms or in chemical plants. Very little effort has been made, to date, by the government in order to get to the bottom of this crisis. Pesticides can also be found in our water.

Pesticides are used to kill or deter insects, weeds, fungus, bacteria, and animals. It is not a stretch to believe that the same chemicals used to kill insects and plants on our food could kill our cells once we ingest those chemicals. Carcinogenic chemicals are known to damage and even alter our DNA, due to the creation of free radicals that can accelerate the spread of cancerous cells.

Many of these dangerous chemicals are also fat soluble, meaning they can remain in our fat cells for years. I went through about two weeks of detox symptoms when I converted to an organic vegan diet. There were definitely chemicals hitting my blood stream. The most common symptom is a consistent headache.

Although the government doesn't appear to be making any effort to understand this causation, much research has been done privately. The evidence clearly shows a distinct link between cancer and insecticides and herbicides. A research project done in the U.S., which tested over 55,000 farm workers for skin cancer, showed that those who applied the most pesticides over their careers had the highest rates of cancer. Those is the top group were more than 2.5x as likely to get skin cancer than the bottom group.

A study in Argentina recently showed a diverse range of cancer rates among its provinces that were highly correlated to the usage of pesticides. The instances of cancer were twice as high in some areas, compared to those will limited pesticide application. This is an appropriate study for Americans to consider as Argentina uses similar levels of pesticides as we do. The two countries, unfortunately, generate more than two-thirds of global GMO foods. Herbicides and insecticides are used heavily on genetically-modified crops.

Spend a few minutes looking over research on the internet and you can find well-respected doctors and university researchers connecting pesticides to a variety of different cancers.

I put little faith in the claims made by these chemical companies when they say their products don't harm us and that they are doing a public service by boosting food output. Without these pesticides, according to pesticide industry execs, we would all be starving right now. I find that hard to believe, particularly when remembering that a variety of previous industry products have been removed from the shelves because they were deemed carcinogenic, like DDT and PCBs.

I recommend that people avoid pesticides by eating organic produce. If that is a problem because of cost or availability, it is okay to buy non-organic fruits and vegetables that have thick skin or protective shells. Berries and thin-skinned fruits are the most at risk for pesticide contamination. A filter for your water intake is also recommended.




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