The Natural Child
Column
For Families Living
Greener, Healthier Lifestyles
Organics Are Good for Kids
by
Wendy Priesnitz
A University of Washington study
that analyzed pesticide breakdown products (metabolites) in
pre-school aged children has found that children eating organic
fruits and vegetables had concentrations of pesticide metabolites
six times lower than children eating conventional produce.
The study, published
in the Environmental Health Perspectives
journal, compared metabolite concentrations of organo-phosphorus
(OP) pesticides in the urine of 39 urban and suburban children aged
two to four years. The authors focused on children’s dietary
pesticide exposure because children are at greater risk for two
reasons: They eat more food relative to body mass and they eat foods
higher in pesticide residues – such as juices, fresh fruits and
vegetables.
An earlier study cited by the
authors looked at pesticide metabolites in the urine of 96 urban and
suburban children and found OP pesticides in the urine of all
children but one. The parents of the child with no pesticide
metabolites reported buying exclusively organic produce.
Researchers recruited children for the study outside
of conventional and organic grocery stores in the Seattle
metropolitan region and asked parents to record all food consumed in
a three-day period prior to collecting their child’s urine over the
next 24 hours.
Based on the food diaries, the study assigned the children
into groups consuming at least 75 percent organic or at least 75 percent
conventional fruits and vegetables. Parents were also asked about household
pesticide use in their homes and on gardens, lawns and pets. Although the
authors found that parents of children eating conventional diets were more
likely to report some home pesticide use, they did not find significant
differences in concentrations of pesticide metabolites based on this use.
Because many of the OP pesticides break down into identical
metabolites, the study did not provide information on the specific
pesticides children were exposed to. However, the study did determine that
some children were at risk for consuming more OP pesticides than the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency considers “safe” as a daily dose.
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