If you haven’t yet heard the news, you will. Yesterday the President’s Cancer Panel released a report that is nothing less than monumental for the organic food movement. It urges consumers to choose food grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers, antibiotics and growth hormones to decrease their exposure to chemicals that can increase their risk of developing cancer.
This landmark report by a prestigious mainstream scientific panel is recognition at the highest level that the chemicals present in our environment have direct and serious consequences for human health — especially for children, who are far more susceptible to damage from environmental chemical exposures than adults. It was submitted to President Obama by Dr. LaSalle Leffall, Jr., an oncologist and professor of surgery at Howard University, and Dr. Margaret L. Kripke, an immunologist at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
Established in 1971, the President’s Cancer Panel is a respected, conservative panel of three experts from the mainstream of scientific and medical thinking. One seat is currently vacant; both panel members who submitted the report were originally appointed by former President George W. Bush. “We wanted to let people know that we’re concerned, and that they should be concerned,” Professor Leffall told the New York Times.
It’s likely that industry interests will come out harshly against the report, and that there will be loud political wrangling over what to do about it. But with statistics showing that 41% of Americans will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives, and that some cancers are actually becoming more common — especially in children — it would seem that the report’s recommendation of immediate action coupled with future prudence in the approval and use of environmental chemicals would be an easy middle road to take.
Why choose organic? You’ve heard it from us before, and we’ll keep saying it: When you buy organic produce, you’re choosing food grown without synthetic chemicals, using sustainable farming methods that protect the environment. Eating organic helps reduce your dietary exposure to pesticide residues — which is especially important for children, whose developing bodies are particularly vulnerable.
View the the full 240-page report.
Reprinted from Earthbound Farm.
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