Washington Injury Law Blog

A yearlong study of 21 Mercer Island, Washington children ages 3-11 showed that everyday foods commonly eaten contain low levels of pesticides. Although the pesticide levels met  government standards it is not known whether prolonged exposure to low levels of pesticides may cause harm down the road for these kids or us 10, 20, or 30 years from now. High-levels have been shown to cause serious health problems or even death.

When you switch to an organic diet the study found the pesticides disappeared within 8-36 hours. They came back almost immediately upon resuming a conventional diet. Click here for the full Seattle PI article.

You shouldn’t overreact and feel you have to switch to an all organic diet immediately according to the study. If you can great, go all organic. However, this can be an expensive, especially here in Seattle during winter when crops don’t grown. Knowing where your produce and food comes from can help. Buying from a local farmer who can tell you whether he uses pesticides on his crops or not is a good step. Or incorporate as much organic food into your diet as you can afford.

Hopefully more studies like this will be done. The more information we have the better we can make decisions on the food we buy and eat.