Organic foods: Children are particularly vulnerable to the toxic effects of pesticides because they are small in size and their bodies and brains are still growing.  

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Organic Food and Organics

Children and Organic Foods 
 Avoiding the Most Poisoned Foods by Feeding Children Organically-Grown Foods

By DH Owens

Eating organic foods: 

More information about organic foods: 

• Apples
• Peaches
• Pears
• Grapes
• Strawberries
• Cantaloupe
• Green beans
• Winter squash
• Spinach 

Does this look like a picture of the foods your children like best?

Except for winter squash and spinach, those foods could conjure up a picture of any kid's plate.

Every day American children consume unsafe levels of a class of pesticides that can harm the developing brain and nervous system, according to a new analysis of federal data by the Environmental Working Group (EWG).

According to the EWG report, peaches, apples, pears and grapes, are the most common sources of exposure to unsafe levels of organophosphate pesticides, neural toxins, for young children. The report says the solution is not for infants, children and pregnant women to eat fewer fruits and vegetables, but to rid these otherwise healthful foods of the most dangerous pesticides.

"Kids should be able to eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables without risking brain or nerve damage," said EWG vice president for research Richard Wiles, lead author of the study.

The report, Overexposed: Organophosphate Insecticides in Children's Food, is in response to the Food Quality Protection Act, passed unanimously by Congress in 1996, that requires all pesticides to be safe for infants and children. The law further stipulates that combined exposures to pesticides be considered when setting safety standards. 

Despite this act of Congress,  the  Environmental Working Group (1998) found that millions of American children are exposed to levels of pesticides through their food that surpass limits considered to be safe. 

Also, remember: Children are particularly vulnerable to the toxic effects of pesticides  because 

1. They are small in body size. 

2. Their bodies and their brains are still growing. 

Some organic foods have been shown to contain pesticides, due to the fact that some pesticides are persistent in soil and possibly due to spraying drift, but for the most part, organic foods are a significant safety improvement over conventional foods which are deliberately poisoned with pesticides.

Organic foods for health of people, animals, and planet earth.

More about children and organic foods--kids and neurotoxins.

Additional information about organic food and organics.

Transition into Organic Foods
Interested in changing your eating habits? This educational and fact-filled book is a simple read with easy to understand differences between conventional, organic, and natural foods.

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